A
The answer depends to a large degree on what it is you’re trying to strengthen.
In general, Pilates exercises, originally developed by the fitness trainer Joseph Pilates, target the core muscles around the spine. If your aim is to strengthen your midsection, then Pilates is a fine choice. In a
small but well-designed study last year, nine sedentary women who completed 36 weeks of supervised Pilates training bulked up their abdominal muscles by as much as 20 percent, while also lessening any existing muscular imbalances there.
“Pilates can be recommended as an effective method to reinforce the muscles of the abdominal wall and to compensate pre-existing asymmetric developments,” the authors said.
But whether such training fortifies the rest of the body is questionable. A review last year of Pilates-related science found little credible evidence that the exercises added muscle or incinerated body fat apart from in the midsection.
Yoga, however, especially hatha yoga, with its flowing poses, may strengthen larger sections of the body.
“Depending on the specific style, yoga is a quite intensive exercise intervention,” said Holger Cramer, a research fellow in integrative medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, who is studying the physical impact of yoga. A telling
2011 study published in the Asian Journal of Sports Medicine found that after six months of almost-daily sun salutations (a multipart yoga pose) and no other resistance training, young men and women could bench-press significantly more weight and complete far more push-ups and pull-ups than at the start of the study.
The upshot? Pilates may be preferable if your primary goal is a solid core, but if you’re hoping to strengthen your upper body and goose your push-up tally, you’ll probably accomplish more with sun salutations and other yoga moves.
40 Comments
Comparing the side benefit of other exercises for improving strength is interesting, but specificity is still a basic principle that serves as a baseline.
Yoga is more of a struggle because I am the least flexible person I have ever known. Some of the stretch sequences always feel wonderful though and I love the sense of community.
I encourage readers to try different instructors and classes until you find the style or teaching techniques that are right for you. Different strokes for different folks.
There are lots of ways to strengthen your core. Lots.
Hatha yoga refers to the six aspects
pursued to obtain samadhi (mastery of the mind), which itself is one of the eight limbs of yoga (roughly meaning "to yoke".) Asana, the physical poses and postures, is another limb. (As per Patanjali).
We have begun to refer primarily to the physical practices of asana and pranayama (breath control) as"yoga". The goal is to prepare the body for meditation.
There are vigorous, fiery, flowing asana practices, and there are measured, controlled, calm asana practices. Sometimes they are the same. Asana practice may be taught as goal oriented but generally it is more experiential, and goals likely to be more qualitative than quantitative.
There are just as many schools and styles of Pilates (and as much politics.)
I can't speak for the man, but many (and I) see Contrology as absolutely a workout for the entire body, especially when the apparatus is taken in to account. Pilates is totally goal-oriented, with clear progressions- and is almost purely a physical practice (with tremendous mental benefits).
This is really the biggest difference between Pilates and yoga. Asana and Pilates are really not that different.
There are Pilates practices that are vigorous, fiery and flowing and that are measured controlled and calm, and sometime the same person needs their workout one way on Monday and the other way on Friday.
Does it frustrate me that I'm only doing my core? Absolutely. But better to do something than nothing - or the wrong thing.
People are told to see their doctors before starting an exercise program - that doctor should include a physiatrist or someone else who can study how your body is made and suggest an appropriate type of exercise.
"from the present study, it can be concluded that sun salutation is an easier and less time consuming alternative to improve strength, body composition and general body endurance."
if you look at the graphic for sun salutation provided in that study, it requires core strength and core stability to be able to even hold yourself up.
These are two crucial elements in any sound, functional, movement program let alone Pilates.
And the core is comprised of 29 muscles that wrap around the abs, hips, butt and inner thighs. The core IS NOT just the abs.
Ms. Reynolds, I would have thought you would have done that homework at least before posting this contest between yoga and Pilates.
I don't agree with your conclusion about which is better at strengthening.
If you do not have a strong/stable and well founded core you are opening up yourself to possible injury somewhere down the line.
Maybe that's why articles are written on how many injuries there are in yoga classes.
Practice Pilates so it can help build strength to improve your yoga;)
http://www.MoveMoreToday.com
"after six months of almost-daily sun salutations (a multipart yoga pose) and no other resistance training, young men and women could bench-press significantly more weight and complete far more push-ups and pull-ups than at the start of the study."
The operative word there is the word "YOUNG"! Thus, the sentence says nothing about middle-aged or older practitioners of yoga.
When I was younger, my body could do a lot of things it can't now. Let me know when someone studies whether 6 months of "almost-daily" sun salutations result in OLDER people being able to bench-press significantly more weight, etc.
I don't have a dog in this fight, but my POINT is that the article says yoga lets YOUNG people bench-press more weight & complete more push-ups & pull-ups. That's great for the YOUNG people. But the article says NOTHING to indicate that the same results are true for people in their 40's-80's. When they do THAT study & can give the results, I'll be interested in hearing about it.
And there's also the matter of learning the correct way to do the yoga poses. A PT friend of mine told me that she gets a lot of patients who have developed serious injuries from yoga becasue they didn't learn the correct way of practicing.
As mentioned above, there is often a "fusion" when it comes to certain practices.
For those who can no longer practice in a crowded, fast paced class suggest either therapeutic yoga or pilates. The meditative aspect of yoga practice can be done independently if one likes.
The purpose of the Pilates study: "to analyze the effects of Pilates on the volume of the rectus abdominis (RA), obliques, and transversus abdominis, with the last two considered conjointly (OT)."
The purpose of the yoga study: "to evaluate effects of regular practice of sun salutation on muscle strength, general body endurance and body composition."
Apples and oranges.
I do Pilates under the instruction of a skilled teacher who makes a point of knowing her clients' physical issues, strengths, and limitations, and who constantly switches up routines and challenges us with additional complexity and subtlety as we advance. Her students do lots of upper-body, arm, leg, and foot work, and though each exercise is usually powered from the core, we are strong head to toe. It is a complete misrepresentation of Pilates to reduce it to a mere core-strengthening discipline.
I'm in complete agreement with Anita above too - my teacher is a lot like hers, extremely thorough in approach. It really is a whole-body discipline that takes a great deal of focus and control, In fact, one of the older names for it was Contrology - very apt, as one finds out when struggling through even some basic Pilates exercises. Along the way, I found out that there's more than one way to get strong. Take a look at any serious Pilates practitioner who has also followed a healthy diet and does some cardio exercise or dancing to compliment - he/she is like a steel spring, compact, but quite strong and able.
Remember.. "A rose by any other name is still a rose.. "
or Yoga by any other name is still Yoga!
narayani laura