One of the most common questions I get asked is “How do I lose weight with Pilates?”. The simple truth is that our body is like a Calorie Bank, that either adds or withdraws from our fat deposits based on the amount of calories we consume (deposit) versus the calories we burn off (spend). If we are consuming more calories than we are burning off then we will be adding to our fat deposits over time. If we are burning off more calories than we are consuming then we will be withdrawing from our fat deposits and gradually losing weight. So any exercise you do will be helping you burn off more calories and helping you get the results of weight loss. Having said that we can maximise the weight loss power of our exercise with a few key ingredients.
Increase Muscle Tone
Pilates is a form of resistance training that helps you build long lean muscles. Pilates will improve your muscle tone, improving both your overall strength and endurance. Improved muscle tone is one of the key ingredients for weight loss. Muscles burn more energy (Calories) than fat, therefore the more lean muscle mass your body contains the greater the calorie burning ability you have. Improving your muscle tone will help boost your weight loss efforts tremendously.
Fitness (Cardio) Training
Cardiovascular training incorporated within your exercise schedule will be of great benefit. Cardio exercise is your main tool for burning calories and losing weight. We incorporate Cardio exercise as an essential part of in our Pilates sessions for our clients wanting to manage their weight. Reformer classes in particular will pump your heart rate up, as we use compound exercises, utilizing also the tower to assist in improving muscle conditioning as well as improving fat burning. Utilizing the jump board will also boost the amount of calories you are burning in one session. The general recommendation is to get at least 30 minutes of Cardiovascular exercise per day. However the days your are not performing Pilates (incorporating cardio and resistance training) you should aim for 45 to 60 minutes of pure cardio, such as walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, whatever you enjoy doing and can maintain at a sufficient level of intensity and duration.
Spinlates ( combination of 30 mins spinning followed by 30 mins reformer) is a fantastic tool to help boost your cardio and conditioning training.
Contact Charell if you wish to chat further about this session.