Does Pilates Count as Strength Training? Experts Set the Record Straight Once and for All

Pilates—the low-impact, core-centric exercise method—is having a moment. Yes, the slow, controlled movements are challenging and can fire up your abs in just minutes (just try the Pilates hundred!)

But even if Pilates is your go-to workout, don’t ditch your weightlifting or cardio routine just yet. While a regular Pilates practice can help improve overall body strength and muscle, there’s a limit to those gains, says Christine Sellers, NCPT, certified Pilates instructor at Bridge Body Clinic and Training Center in Atlanta.

Even if your usual Pilates class leaves you a sweaty, shaky mess, your heart rate won’t get elevated long enough to have cardiovascular benefits, either.

That sweating and shaking isn’t for nothing, though. Pilates can increase balance, mobility, and total-body strength. But does it count as strength training? The answer: Yes and no.

While you can build strength and muscle doing Pilates—and it’s a great supplemental form of exercise—our experts say it shouldn’t take the place of a consistent weight-training routine. Here’s all you need to know about when to use Pilates as strength training—and when to mix it up.

Is Pilates strength training?

“You can absolutely build both muscle and strength with Pilates,” says Abby Suskin, CPT, a certified personal trainer, certified BASI Pilates instructor, and founder of Pilates With Abs. “Pilates is a form of resistance training, meaning it’s a type of exercise that works against an external force to build muscular strength and endurance.”

With traditional strength training, that force comes from a free weight or barbell. In Pilates, your body weight, a reformer spring, or a resistance band can provide that same resistance.

“A well-programmed Pilates class will load all major muscle groups and build strength through low-impact, slow, sustained movements,” Suskin says.

The bottom line? With a regular, balanced Pilates regimen, you’ll increase overall body strength—especially if you’re working out on equipment like a reformer.

Can you build muscle and strength with Pilates?

Because Pilates is a bodyweight activity, “you can get stronger and build muscle with the mat repertoire, depending on the strength level you came in with,” Sellers says.

Traditional Pilates exercises like shoulder bridges and push-ups can also challenge load and build strength—at first, according to Sellers. But once you reach a certain fitness level, it’s challenging to build more strength and muscle with those bodyweight-only movements, That’s because your muscles get strengthened by increased load, and the benefits of Pilates will level off over time.

Both Sellers and Suskin recommend adding light weights, loop bands, and other props to mat Pilates exercises to increase resistance and build more muscle load once you’ve aced the basics.

The benefits of Pilates for muscle building and strengthening

Pilates is best for building muscle and strength in your core, the deep abdominal muscles that support your spine, according to Suskin.

“A Pilates class will focus on exercises that build core strength and endurance, and your teacher will cue you to breathe at certain points during an exercise to maximize the activation of your core muscles,” she says.

Traditional Pilates exercises like the single-leg stretch and roll-up target and strengthen deep abdominal muscles like the transverse abdominis and obliques, which improve overall posture and mobility, helping to prevent injuries and lower back pain.

Pilates vs. cardio

While you may work up a sweat during a great Pilates workout, unfortunately it doesn’t count as cardio, Sellers says.

“Cardio is any form of movement that gets your heart rate up and keeps it there for an extended period of time,” she explains. “There are points during a mat workout when your heart rate will elevate, but typically, it isn’t for long enough to truly reap the benefits.”

For maximum heart and metabolic benefit, you’re better off doing continuous aerobic activity like running or biking, Suskin says.

Pilates vs. weightlifting

Yes, you’ll gain some strength benefits from doing Pilates, but lifting weights is the best way to build muscle, according to Suskin.

“Strength is just one component of a Pilates workout, whereas the goal of weightlifting is to increase muscle size [hypertrophy] through progressively adding more load and stress to muscles over time,” Suskin says. “If your goal is to increase strength using bodyweight and lighter loads, Pilates will absolutely help you get stronger,” she continues. But if you want to increase muscle size, she recommends a traditional strength-training program.

Weightlifting is especially important as you age, because lifting heavy will not only improve your strength, but your mobility, which can help prevent injuries, Sellers says.

With its emphasis on core strength and flexibility, “Pilates can be a great way to supplement that strength training and also help prevent injury,” Suskin adds.

“You can absolutely build both muscle and strength with Pilates. Pilates is a form of resistance training, meaning it’s a type of exercise that works against an external force to build muscular strength and endurance.” —Abby Suskin, CPT

The best strength-building Pilates moves

1. Shoulder bridge leg lift

This Pilates staple challenges your balance while strengthening your glutes, quads, core, and arms, Sellers says.

1. 1.
   Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
2. 2.
   Hold a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in, with your arms down by your sides.
3. 3.
   Squeeze your glutes and core, and press through your feet to drive your hips up toward the ceiling until you form a diagonal line from knees to hips to chest.
4. 4.
   Straighten one leg out in front of you as you reach the opposite arm overhead, keeping your hips lifted and level.
5. 5.
   Return your lifted arm and leg back down to the ground.
6. 6.
   Repeat 10 times on one arm and leg, then switch sides.

TIP

Up the intensity by lifting both arms overhead while extending one leg out in front of you.

2. Double-leg stretch

Add a challenge to this core staple with light weights.

1. 1.
   Lie on your back with your legs extended.
2. 2.
   Hold a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in, with your arms down by your sides.
3. 3.
   Pull your knees into your chest with your arms as you curl your head, neck, and shoulders off the mat.
4. 4.
   Inhale and extend your legs out to a 45-degree angle while reaching your arms overhead, holding for three counts.
5. 5.
   Exhale and bring your arms and legs back to the starting position.
6. 6.
   Repeat 10 times.

TIP

If you feel strain in your neck, ditch the weights or lower your head back to the mat.

3. Single-leg stretch

This arm and core burner works your internal and external obliques as well as your biceps and triceps.

1. 1.
   Lie on your back with legs extended, your right hand behind your head, and hold a weight in your left hand with your left arm extended down by your side.
2. 2.
   Curl your head up, lift your legs up to the ceiling, and rotate your torso to the right.
3. 3.
   Lower your left leg as you reach your left arm toward the outside of your right leg.
4. 4.
   Lifting your shoulder blades off the mat, hold for three counts, then lower your head and lift your leg back up.
5. 5.
   Repeat 10 times on one side, then switch sides.

4. Clamshell plank

A combination of a clamshell and a plank, this full-body move works your glutes, hips, arms, and obliques.

1. 1.
   Lie on your right side, propping your body up with your right forearm directly underneath your shoulder.
2. 2.
   Hold a light dumbbell in your left hand with your palm facing in.
3. 3.
   Bend your knees and stack your legs on top of each other.
4. 4.
   Engage your bottom hip and forearm to lift your upper body off the mat.
5. 5.
   Keep your feet together and open your top hip toward the ceiling while lifting your top arm straight above you in the air.
6. 6.
   Lower your arm and leg and repeat 10 times.
7. 7.
   Switch sides.

TIP

To lower the intensity, remove the weight and/or keep your lower hip on the ground.

5. Push-up

This bodyweight exercise builds upper-body strength by working muscles like your chest, arms, and back.

1. 1.
   Start in a high plank position, with your shoulders stacked over your wrists, your pelvis tucked, and your legs straight.
2. 2.
   Inhale as you bend your elbows 45 degrees to the side and slowly lower your body toward the floor as low as you can go without swaying in your lower back and losing your core connection.
3. 3.
   Pause for a moment at the “bottom” of the push-up.
4. 4.
   Exhale and engage your core as you press through your palms to push back up to the starting position.
5. 5.
   Repeat 10 times.

TIP

Try one of these push-up alternatives that work the exact same muscles.

6. Side plank

This exercise fires up your obliques, arms, and hips while also improving balance.

1. 1.
   Start lying on your left side with your legs straight, feet flexed, and legs stacked with left bottom forearm underneath your shoulder.
2. 2.
   Exhale as you lift the hips up, then hold for 10 to 30 seconds on each side, while keeping your pelvis tucked under to engage your core and support your lower back.
3. 3.
   Do 5 to 8 reps on one side, then repeat on the other.

TIP

Modify the exercise by keeping the knees bent and down on the mat.

7. Spinal extension

This prone (on your back) exercise works your posterior chain, or the muscles on the back side of your body.

1. 1.
   Start lying on your stomach with your hands underneath your shoulders, elbows tucked into your ribs, and legs extended straight out on the mat.
2. 2.
   Inhale and tuck your pelvis to engage your core.
3. 3.
   At the same time, extend your arms straight out in front of you, biceps by your ears.
4. 4.
   Exhale and lift your head, chest, arms, and legs off the mat.
5. 5.
   Hold for one inhale, then exhale to lower to the starting position.
6. 6.
   Repeat 10 times.

TIP

If you feel any tension in your lower back, keep your legs on the mat and lift only your upper body.

8. Roll-up

In a traditional Pilates movement, the roll-up helps to mobilize your spine and build core strength.

1. 1.
   Start lying on your back with your legs extended straight out and your arms overhead.
2. 2.
   Inhale to prepare, then exhale and curl your chin toward your chest, reaching your arms straight in front of you as roll up slowly into an active forward fold.
3. 3.
   Inhale and reach your fingertips toward your toes as you pull your belly button toward your lower back.
4. 4.
   Exhale and roll down as slowly as possible, one vertebra at a time, until you’re lying back on the mat.
5. 5.
   Repeat 10 times.

TIP

Bend your knees or use your hands behind your thighs for support as you roll up and down.

9. Bridge

A staple of Pilates and strength training classes, the bridge works your core, hamstrings, and glutes while improving balance.

1. 1.
   Start lying on your back with your arms down by your sides, your knees bent, and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. 
2. 2.
   Keep your pelvis in line with your spine as you inhale to lift your hips and spine up off the mat. Squeeze your glutes and core as you do so. 
3. 3.
   Exhale to lower your hips and spine back down to the mat. 
4. 4.
   Repeat 10 times.

TIP

Add a weight or bar on top of your hips to add more load and make the exercise harder.

The bottom line

Pilates is known for its slow, controlled movements, which are ideal for building core strength and improving mobility and balance. Those bodyweight moves can also help you strengthen your arms, back, glutes, hips, and hamstrings—up to a point.

Muscle-building requires increased load. For the best results, incorporate weights or other resistance-type props into Pilates exercises, like the ones listed above, and commit to a traditional strength-training program at least two times per week.