So Why is Pilates Different from Going to the Gym or Yoga? Part I

I was asked in a previous post what makes Pilates different from going to the gym or Yoaga?. In the interest of full disclosure, my wife asked the question but its a good question, so here goes :)

In this post I'll write about Gym workouts in relation to Pilates. A typical workout at the gym would consist of:

• Some stretching to warm up and cool down.
• Some cardio work.
• Some or sometimes lots of resistance work.

Stretching. This may be a bit contentious but unless a good instructor is around nobody seems to stretch, and even if there is, a lot more stretching will be done in a Pilates class. Good general flexibility is necessary to perform intermediate matwork and I've never taught anybody flexible enough starting out.

Cardio. Running, swimming, rowing on machines and so on are all common forms of cardiovascular exercise at gyms. As with basic resistance equipment, such as Bench Press or Hamstring Curl, cardio machines are pretty straight forward to use and certainly improve cardio function but will tend to work only a few muscles. By comparison Pilates does not emphasise cardiovascular development separately from other aspects of fitness: it is intrinsic into each and every workout. Through practice over time, control of movements increases and exercises which initially are done slowly can be done at a greater speed or with larger, more demanding motion. The exercises flow into each other with set transitions between: they should be performed without break in movement or concentration. The Classic Matwork routine takes an intermediate practitioner about 40 minutes to complete, advanced practitioners can do exactly the same set of exercises in less than 15 minutes. The heart will work just as hard during the performance as it would when jogging at a good pace with the advantage of high intensity peaks interspersed throughout.

Resistance. At the gym after stretching, most people warm up on a running machine or other cardio equipment and then finish up with weight training. By contrast almost every Pilates exercise is a resistance exercise, there is no division between stretching, cardio work and resistance work. Pilates used the weight of the body or springs in one form or another not weights for resistance. His matwork strengthens every part of the body, his equipment is ancillary to his matwork: it adds extra variety, new challenges and can be used to support the body and make some exercises easier to learn for the beginner.

Joseph Pilates developed his system to incorporate these 3 activities in one set of exercises, saving a lot of time and with careful selection, will do wonders for bad backs, knees, hips and so on as well as general fitness. I strongly believe in Pilates as an exercise discipline but a good gym instructor should be able to give you and excellent workout too. What it really comes down to is which kind of setup you prefer, if you have any special needs or want to learn how to work every part of your body with only a mat.