Will Pilates make my muscles leaner?
Pilates gives you leaner muscles
You may have read articles on the benefits of Pilates claiming that it will result in longer, leaner muscles. This is not strictly true when it comes to muscle length because our muscles have a predefined length from the time we reach maturity. However Pilates allows us to tap into the full potential of our muscles and we start to use the full length of those muscles.
Many activities can contribute to shortening of the muscles. But with Pilates we are building core strength and flexibility which means you may be more likely to stand taller and appear longer, but it’s not because you have actually increased the length of your muscles.
And as for leaner, Pilates will increase your muscle tone which will make you look leaner, not necessarily the muscles themselves. Increasing muscle tone increases our metabolism because we need more energy to maintain that muscle tone. As a result of increasing your metabolism you may start to see weight loss results.
But that will all depend on your discipline and attention to what you eat. What we eat can either have a positive or negative impact on our bodies. We must ensure that the positive food choices outweigh the negative. Pilates will increase your body awareness i.e. how you move and how your body feels and you don’t want to eat things that are going to take from all the good you have just done in your Pilates session.
Peter Ledwidge
Pilates Instructor
