For weeks I did 20 minutes of Pilates exercises daily with a video, but I don’t notice any effect. I don’t get the long muscles of a ballet dancer. I recently heard that Pilates is too light an exercise to get fit with. Could it be because of that? I personally find the exercises tough. It even gives me back pain. Why am I not getting fit with Pilates?
H. Visscher
Marjon van Oers, exercise expert:
We are sorry that you had such a bad experience with Pilates. Your story does not show which exercises you do and whether you do this under supervision. One thing is now clear to me; pilates works!
A sensitive back can indeed protest at first, but you really have to get through that. While Pilates itself should never hurt, you may not be performing the exercises correctly and at the right level.
In addition to Pilates, you also need conditional training for total fitness, such as walking, cycling or swimming. The heart rate is indeed not high enough in (beginner) Pilates to really challenge your condition. That is probably what is meant by Pilates not being enough to get fit.
It all depends on your goals in the end: how fit do you want to get? But something is better than nothing anyway, of course. Pilates does indeed give you ‘long muscles’, more than you would get with normal strength training on machines alone. This is due to the combination of strength, flexibility and mobility exercises.
With Pilates, you mainly cultivate the abdominal muscles that you want in deeper places and they also form the corset (powerhouse) for your back. Because they are more in an invisible place, it seems as if nothing changes at first. But with a good Pilates training, your posture will also improve, making you appear taller and slimmer.
The fact that you are not yet seeing real results may also be because your abs are still hidden under a layer of fat? To get rid of that, you should always do a combination of workouts. And, of course, take a close look at your diet.
I would advise you to do some good basic Pilates training under supervision. Maybe every day is a bit much in the beginning. Do it every other day and then vary the exercises you do sufficiently. Don’t be discouraged, because Pilates really is one of the best things you can do for your body!
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