This method of exercise continues to win over practitioners around the world.
Pilates is recognized as a movement-building technique, that is, it works with the aim of improving posture, balance, strength and flexibility of the body. A fact that does not prevent you from asking yourself questions about its benefits, for example: does Pilates strengthen muscles?
Pilates strengthens muscles based on the professional’s response
“The exercise technique based on the theory developed by Joseph Pilates combines increased muscle tone, combined with stretching, flexibility in movements and consequent strengthening of the muscles”, Luiz Guglielmo Coppolecchio, the general coordinator of the Physiotherapy fitness sector at Rede Hospital Casa, responded exclusively to Sport Life.
In this sense, Luiz Guilherme then emphasized that it is not feasible to determine a training load for those who aim to strengthen their muscles through Pilates. The reason is that training varies from person to person, and there is also a need for individual, morphological and biomechanical analysis so that exercises can be prescribed directly proportional to each individual need.
“But the increase in greater muscle strength is linked to the frequency of training, regularity and load capacity of each person. The result is practically immediate, especially for sedentary people or with some mobility limitations, which make it impossible for the person to perform exercises. Pilates immediately improves breathing, tone and flexibility.
Additions on muscle strengthening in pilates
When asked if there is any veto for this Pilates work with those who live with a herniated disc, this professional stated that there is no contraindication given the effectiveness of this proposal for the treatment or even prevention of pathologies related to the spine.
“Increasing mobility and flexibility, as well as strength and muscle tone in the stabilizing muscles of the spine, repositions the vertebrae and, in turn, decompresses the discs, resulting in significant symptom relief,” she said.
For those who set this goal, Luiz also suggested weight training, swimming, functional exercises and CrossFit, that is, all the modalities mentioned are able to develop the potential of muscle strengthening.
“Each modality has its own specifics. Bodybuilding has a greater immediate gain in muscle strength, but does not work on body awareness and breathing, in addition to the flexibility that comes from Pilates classes. Each modality will have a greater function based on the needs of the practitioner and desires.”, he warned.
Can Pilates be replaced with weight training?
“No. Pilates is a type of therapeutic exercise, which has body awareness, respiratory awareness and stretching as its philosophical basis. This means that people with different pathologies can practice it without major contraindications. Bodybuilding, on the other hand, is characterized by a pulley system or direct weight lifting. Which generates more instantaneous and aesthetically impactful results, but does not use the philosophical foundations of Pilates, therefore having greater restrictions in general”, concluded Luiz Guilherme Coppolecchio.
Given
So far, no research has been conducted to reveal the number of Pilates practitioners in Brazil. What prevails is that 288,000,000 searches for pilates were made on the search engine “Google” in 2021.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
