Is Reformer Pilates Good for Weight Loss
If you’ve been searching for a workout that helps you lose weight, you’ve probably seen Pilates come up. But does reformer Pilates actually help with weight loss?
Before I answer that, I want to tell you why I found this style of training in the first place. Because my relationship with fitness hasn’t always looked like it does today.
In my 20s, I was doing what a lot of people do when they’re trying to get in shape. I was doing bootcamps (what many people now call circuit training), OrangeTheory, running, strength training, and pushing myself through intense workouts.
The problem? I wasn’t supporting my body the way I needed to.
How Often Should I Do Pilates as a Beginner?
Starting something new always comes with questions and a learning curve, but honestly how often do we get the opportunity to be beginners as adults? When kickstarting your Pilates-inspired strength training journey, we typically hear these questions from potential clients.
How many classes should I take?
How often should I come?
When will I start seeing results?
The answer depends on your goals, your current fitness level, and your schedule—but the biggest factor is consistency.
It’s all about creating a routine your body can adapt to and your schedule can support.
Do I Have to Lift Heavy to Build Lean Muscle?
The internet is screaming about Pilates vs Strength Training and lifting heavy vs the pilates body. And while I get that people have experienced transformation doing different modalities, we also have to understand that one of the most persistent myths in fitness is that muscle growth only happens with heavy weights and low reps.
Scientific consensus has largely debunked that idea. To get technical for a minute..multiple randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses—including landmark research led by Stuart Phillips at McMaster University—show that hypertrophy (muscle growth) can occur across a wide range of loads, as long as the working sets are taken close to muscular failure.
In other words, muscle growth is driven less by how heavy the load is and more by how close you get to the point where the muscle can no longer perform the task.
That is the definition of hypertrophy stimulus: sufficient mechanical tension and fatigue. Heavy loads are simply one way to reach that threshold. They are not the only way.
The Difference Between a Workout You Outgrow and One You Grow With
Never forget that the boutique fitness industry convinced an entire generation of people that feeling the burn, being sweaty, and sore was the same thing as building strength.
And for a while, most of us believed it.
Because sweating feels productive.
Being exhausted feels effective.
Walking out barely able to move feels like something must’ve worked, because…didn’t we?
But eventually, a lot of us hit the same wall.