Pilates For Weight Loss

Pilates is an amazing exercise for many reasons. See our blog on health benefits to Pilates to find out how it can help you. One question I get asked frequently is....Can Pilates help you loose weight? Is it possible to use Pilates for weight loss?

How Pilates helps with weight loss

Pilates is a mat based gentle exercise form. So in terms of burning calories it is fairly low. Calorie burn will depend on how much you weigh, how fit you are and what level of workout you are doing. In one of our beginner workouts you might expect to burn up to 200 calories. For one of our intermediate workouts that might increase to beyond 300 calories. Taking that into consideration it isn't going to help you shed lots of pounds. However what it does do is shape your body! It teaches you to hold yourself in all the right areas to give you a more slender shape and figure. It also can help to build confidence with exercise and is an amazing place to start if you are starting your weight loss and fitness journey. If you are wanting to loose weight and haven't exercised in a long time Pilates is a brilliant place to start. One of the many benefits of Pilates is it builds strength to protect your joints which will help prevent injuries occurring. You should find that by building this strength and confidence it allows you to progress to other exercise forms.

Success stories

I have had the pleasure of working with some fabulous people in my career. Some of which have struggled to exercise and loose weight purely because they suffer with pain or don't know where to start. I can recall a number of success stories that I have helped loose weight and improve their quality of life by introducing them to clinical Pilates. One lady I recently worked with came to see me with a history of back pain. She had also had spinal surgery many years before. She struggled to get up her stairs without suffering pain in her back and was at a loss as to what to do or where to start. She was only in her 30s! She had tried some online pilates workouts (Not by Your Pilates Physio) but she felt they weren't suitable for her. I worked with her to build her core strength with clinical Pilates and she started doing our online workouts at home herself. Within weeks her pain was much better, her core strength had improved as well as her flexibility and confidence to move. This allowed her to start walking again (a passion of hers she had lost) and was soon walking 10-15 miles regularly. This combined with her healthy diet has now allowed her to loose a jaw dropping 6.5 stone!! Her quality of life has changed dramatically and I am so proud of her achievements. This she wouldn't have achieved without clinical Pilates!

Another case I can recall is of a gentleman in his early 40s who was unfit, unhealthy, over weight and suffered regular episodes of back pain. On top of this his posture was terrible! His aim was to strengthen his core to support his back and reduce his back pain. Very soon his core strength improved which allowed him to return to activities such as skiing. Combining a healthy diet we eventually saw him loose 2 stone and develop a six pack! He hasn't suffered any back pain since!

Both of these cases continue to do clinical Pilates with Your Pilates Physio as it allows them to lead a healthier, fitter lifestyle! They would not be where they are without my help!

If you have any questions on how I can help you on your fitness/weight loss journey please get in touch!