Tagged As: Pilates Diet
Question:
First off, I've never actually done pilates myself but from what I have read about it and the claims I hear, I'm still sceptical. I would be happy to give it a go to experience it for myself but there are no classes where I live. Anyway, the reason I post is because someone is disagreeing with me and she swears by pilates. She has only been doing it for 6 weeks and says she has noticeable results in that her arms and stomach are more toned (yeah yeah I know) and that people are telling her they think her arms and stomach do look different. My thinking is that her friends are just saying it to be encouraging. This girl has also started doing cardio work so I think perhaps she has lost some weight and is of the belief that it is the pilates toning her up. I just don't see how pilates could tone her up in 6 weeks, when it took longer for me doing weight training to notice a change in my arms and other parts (I noticed changes after the first 3 months). I know pilates uses special equipment. Are the exercises weight bearing? I've tried to read info from various pilates school websites but some have the equipment and some don't so I don't know what's going on there. If in fact this girl has had some kind of changes occur in 6 weeks, what could they likely be, to make her see changes? Imagination perhaps? if it makes her feel better then that's great, but I suspect it's more a placebo thing. Of course, I'm happy to be proven wrong.
Answer:
I started Pilates in August, chubby, and I've lost about 30 pounds since then so you can more easily see the muscle -- but for the first time in my life I have something approaching a six pack. There is *nothing in the world like it*; especially for women. I totally believe this girl because I think I lost about eleven inches in the first six weeks. In twelve..and then going on twenty...I'm just a different c all over. My *inner thighs* are hard. But..you just have to take the plunge and try it. No one I've ever run into has been sorry they did. By the way, you're not finding much online info about Pilates because there isn't any. I spent about a month looking before I took a chance. Also, you don't need to use the machines; look for a book or tape called a mat class. Do it every day. Amaze your friends. the girl I refer to has added that she has not lost any weight but that she has toned up by her muscles getting bigger in the arms, and her stomach isn't as flabby. To me, if your stomach isn't as flabby then you've most probably lost weight. My stomach is still flabby despite the weight training, or more specifically, the abs part of my routine, and there is no way I'd say my stomach is more toned or my stomach appears more muscular. Even though I know with the work I've done there has been a change. If anyone else can jump in here as well, and give me opinions on how someone can claim to have increased their muscle size in their arms after 6 weeks of pilates I would be very interested to read it. Krista, I'd love to hear your take on this. It took me about 3 months before I noticed visible changes in my shoulders, biceps and triceps and that was with weight training three times a week. I am highly sceptical of claims of muscle growth (toned, argh argh argh) from 6 weeks of pilates. I know a number of people who say it was a waste of money, but hey, different strokes for different folks. I know others who love it. I've already amazed friends with my results from weight training I'm a ditz, I have read that already and referred the pilates girl to it. But she is adamant that it's all bullshit as she has noticed her arms change in shape in the 6 weeks and is asking people to explain why this is so. Without seeing this girl of course I wouldn't know but I suspect she's imagining such changes or at the least is quite mistaken. If it floats her boat and she feels better about herself then that's great. But frankly I don't believe she has achieved that in 6 weeks of a few classes a week. It's not someone I want to argue with so I can't exactly be really blunt and pooh-poohey as we otherwise get along really well, I just discovered today that she suffers depression and the last thing I want to do is rain on her parade and possibly undo any good feelings from pilates that she has. One note on this sort of six week change; people who start out overweight and / or out of shape can make some noticeable progress on almost any program, especially if paying attention to their diet at the same time. Add this to how subjective self image can be, and it's not hard to convince inexperienced trainees that almost any training system is the greatest thing since sliced bread. And once they've devoted time and money to the system, they have a vested interest in believing that it's effective. You won't be able to change her mind; you can present her with accurate information, and she might at some point be ready for it. You are a ditz. You go from doing nothing to doing something everyday for six weeks and you will notice a change. I've been doing Pilates for a few months now and I like it. I use to do Yoga before. To me, Pilates is nothing more than a different type of Yoga. And I like Yoga therefore I like Pilates. If you want to lose weight or get in shape...I would say lift weights, do cardio, and eat well. I've been that for a bit now too and that works. Pilates is relaxing and a good stomach workout when done right. My two cents. There is nothing at all wrong with Pilates as a program for fitness. What is wrong is the claims they are making about 'nothing else getting these results' and shaping muscles. Its rigorous. Combined with a decent diet you can get dramamtic results. As you can with almost any combination of rigorous exercise and diet. If it works for this girl and motivates her to continue (a lot of people really like the idea of dance related and are motivated by the idea of long, toned muscles even if they don't have the genetics) then let her go. What can possibly be wrong? There are a lot of different ways to achieve physical health. What works for me might not work for a lot of other people. I do Pilates once a week, and I think it's great for some things, but not necessarily the things that Pilates teachers say it's good for. I do think that it can dramatically increase range of motion in your joints and help with abdominal strength. If you're interested in getting really strong hip flexors, well-developed outward rotators at the hip, and articulation of the feet, it's an outstanding workout plan. However, I don't think it's an ideal way to lean out/tone up. It really doesn't address your arms as much as your torso, either. Why don't you just let that poor girl get her exercise? She's happy, right? She'll probably grow out of it on her own. Yes, we all grow out of happiness. When young, the world is a place of promise, of hope. But then the days and weeks and years grind on, forcing us to face despair and misery again and again, never able to help, never able to gain or grant a single moment of respite, of peace, and... As I mentioned in a previous post, she is asking myself (and others) why she has noticeable changes in her arms (i.e. more muscle) and a more toned stomach (she says she hasn't lost weight but her stomach isn't as flabby). She is asking us in a more argumentative fashion, and I am sceptical of her claims but I don't want to burst her bubble. So, my question to mfw was if she is noticing toned arms and stomach but insists she hasn't lost weight, is her sudden appearance of bigger muscles or abs (in 6 weeks) nothing more than her imagination and her friends telling her she is more toned? And again, as I mentioned in a previous post it took me 3 months of lifting weights to notice visible changes and as such I don't see how 6 weeks of pilates would suddenly increase the size of muscles in her arms and make her stomach less flabby but not have lost any weight. I'm happy to let the girl go on her merry way, because if it works for her, which it seems to be, then that's great. She's read the stuff on Krista's pages and has been told that a lot of the advertising literature regarding pilates states things that aren't exactly the real deal, but she thinks the info on Krista's pages (for example) is bullshit because in 6 weeks she has toned arms and stomach but says she has not lost any weight. I am trying to find out and get comment on whether or not this girl's claims have any truth to them in that, (again), if she has noticed changes in 6 weeks (toned arms and stomach) but says she hasn't lost weight but her stomach isn't as flabby, then (again), what could these changes be attributed to (imagination, the encouragement of her friends or indeed something more). Yes I'm sceptical about it as it took me 3 months of serious lifting before I got noticed my first lot of results, but if in fact this girl's claims are true then I learn something new. I'm sceptical yes, but I'm also open to the possibility that maybe there are some real changes. I don't really care if one side of the argument is better written than the other. That has nothing to do with it, besides the girl in question has been quite articulate. If you want to read something more in to this as you seem to imply from your second followup, fine. I've asked my questions in plain black and white and not I'm afraid to hold back that I am indeed sceptical of a 6 week course of pilates a couple/few times a week increasing the size of someones arm and abdominal muscles as compared to say, at least 3 months of serious lifting 3 times a week. In my experience, people's self-perception can radically change with exercise, and they can see things which are not really noticeable. On the other hand, why fix something that someone doesn't think is broken? you do know you are in misc.fitness.WEIGHTS, right? Pilates is not bullshit. Claims about the power of Pilates often are, though. That's probably true. I know from my own experience, though, that what happened to me in 12 weeks was close to a frickin miracle. I have a feeling that people who dismiss it have never actually done it, or done it long enough to see what the fanatics such as myself are raving about. I'll give you some real numbers -- admitting that while I was doing this I was also on a diet: July 29, 2002: Weight: 225, down from an astronomical high of 278 Hip - 46 Waist-35 Bust-42 Yesterday: Weight: 178 Hip: 38 *even* Waist:28 Bust:37 Pilates didn't just improve my body image. It improved my *ass*. That's all I'm saying. There is NO technical research confirming either the overblown claims of Pilates practitioners or the relative efficacy of Pilates and any other training modality. By contrast, there is extensive research comparing weight training in many, many forms to many other methods of training. For some reason, Pilates practitioners feel they don't need to submit to scrutiny. Much harder to market yourself with a slogan like Pilates: Clinically Proven to be Not Bad. On the other hand, Pilates sounds a bit like Pirates, so you've got to give them credit for that.
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