Welcome to the September edition of Pilates Central News.

In this edition:

• Pilates and muscle strength
• Electric Pilates
• Standing room only
• Very hot Pilates

Pilates and muscle strength

Most of us don’t do Pilates to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pumping iron is more commonly associated with bulging biceps. But whether Pilates can improve your muscle strength or even lengthen muscles has been a matter of some debate.

The Independent recently ran a feature headed, “Think Pilates gains are incompatible? Think again.” It pointed out that all the viral videos of gym bros struggling on Reformers showed how much strength is required for Pilates.

Physiotherapist Helen O’Leary explained to the Independent: “When you start resistance training, you often experience really quick improvements in your strength. However, these improvements are as a result of what we call neuromuscular adaptation. This means that the part of your brain responsible for movement control gets better at sending messages to the muscles to tell them to contract at an appropriate intensity. Through many repetitions, this neural pathway gets more effective and we get better at ‘firing’ up the muscle.”

In general to really improve muscles users need to do Pilates several times a week and when it starts to feel easy challenge themselves with greater resistance and “progressive overload” by doing more reps with either mat or Reformer Pilates.

If you want to enter a bodybuilding competition then Pilates probably won’t get you there, but there will certainly be gains for new users in terms of muscle endurance. The Independent listed five Pilates exercises for improving muscles. They were knee hovers for strengthening the shoulders, arms, and abdominals; dead bugs for strengthening the abdominals; bridges for building strength in the gluteus maximus; side lifts for working the lateral abdominal and back muscles, and static shoulder strength; and leg pulls for strengthening shoulders, arms, abdominal and back muscles.

But there are limits to what Pilates can do. A Guardian feature recently asked if Pilates could lengthen muscles, as some influencers claim. “Definitely not,” was the verdict of Dr Christopher Morse, reader in exercise physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport. Morse said it was more a case of muscles appearing longer as flexibility increases after stretches and resistance work: “The body has simply got better at dealing with the discomfort of being in a stretch position,” said Dr Morse. “From one day to the next, if I attempt to touch my toes and get progressively closer to the floor, the hamstring will elongate further, but not because it has grown longer. You’re going to be able to stretch further because the muscle can tolerate the stretch better, rather than because it has increased in length.”

But, generally speaking, Pilates will indeed improve your muscles. Both mat and Reformer Pilates use resistance to enhance strength. Pilates can improve muscles and body tone, but as with all exercises, respect your limits, start slowly, then increase your repetitions, perhaps bring in resistance with weights and bands and allow adequate recovery time. Remember Pilates is strong stuff.

Electric Pilates

“Naomi Campbell shares the unlikely secret to her toned physique as she slips into an electric stimulation suit for a gruelling Pilates session,” reads the Daily Mail. Supermodel Naomi, 55, posted Instagram pictures of herself on a Reformer machine wearing a bulky electric stimulation suit, the current trend in the world of Pilates fashion. She was on a trip to Brazil where she worked out with her personal trainer Rafael Ferreira and donned the electric outfit.

The Daily Mail explains: “The EMS is designed to enhance workouts by delivering low-frequency electrical impulses to major muscles, causing them to contract more intensely. Posing in the unlikely addition to her gym wardrobe, Naomi then shared a clip of herself exercising on the Reformer Pilates machine.”

The suit might make her look a little like an off-duty cosmonaut. but it has clearly impressed Campbell. Naomi is a long-term fan of Pilates, having previously said, “Stretching is important. I danced for many years, so Pilates is something that elongates you and keeps you toned.” Let’s hope she keeps enjoying her electric sessions. As she slides on the Reformer in her EMS suit the south London-born supermodel looks perfectly toned and has fully recharged her batteries in Brazil.

Standing room only

“Standing Pilates is the latest Lazy Girl workout. I tried a week of it and it was anything but easy,” declares the latest Pilates feature in Marie Claire.

Sooner or later someone had to invent Standing Pilates. Writer Katie Sims, already a Pilates fan, decided to give the viral craze a try. “Two words — it burns,” is her conclusion.  Standing Pilates uses the principles of classical Pilates – core control, posture, and mindful movement – creating, “a workout that challenges your balance, engages your stabilising muscles, and adds a bit of real-world functionality to your routine.”

Sims writes that though it initially felt challenging, there is, “something quietly satisfying about the workout. I noticed straight away that I was using muscles I usually forget exist – my glutes, calves, and those stabilising muscles around my ankles. As instructor Tara Riley reminded me, ‘standing work is brilliant for building strength, improving posture, and firing up those stabilising muscles that keep you steady’. Honestly, I could feel every single one of them waking up.”

By day four Katie was feeling more confident on her feet. “My wobbling had decreased, and I was noticing improvements in posture and balance that carried over even when I wasn’t exercising.”

At the end of the week, “I felt a sense of accomplishment I didn’t expect from what I’d assumed would be a “lazy girl” workout. It was low-impact, easy to do at home, but still surprisingly demanding – standing really does change your muscles more.” Perhaps all form of Pilates deserve a standing ovation.

Very hot Pilates

A heated debate has broken out at a Melbourne Pilates studio reports the Australian Daily Mail. A TikTok review of the CorePlus studio complained that some men at the Hot Pilates classes were going topless and shirts should be made compulsory. Since Hot Pilates is held in studios heated between 34-38 degrees some perspiration is inevitable.

The anti tops-off comments included, “even if women wear tiny crop tops it’s still a top”, “the audacity of men!” and “I’ve seen men with shirts spray sweat everywhere, it’s gross!” One person even complained “I’ve also seen a man wear speedos in class. JUST speedos. No!”

Other comments were more sympathetic, such as, “I’m there doing my own workout. I’m not bothered about what everyone else is wearing. Everyone should focus on their own workout.” Another comment said: “The hot classes are bras and short shorts, let the guy have his sweat.”

“We’ve only had a few instances where inappropriate clothing has been worn, and we’ve respectfully asked them to wear additional clothing for the comfort of other members in the room,” said studio owner Georgia Craig after the debate went viral.

Ironically Joseph Pilates himself might have been in a bit of trouble if he was in Australia today — at his New York studio he often wore just a tiny pair of shorts and went topless when teaching. Thankfully everyone at Pilates Central will be remaining fully clothed so perhaps it’s not worth getting too hot and bothered about.

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The Pilates Central Team