top of page

Is Pilates Enough Exercise? Here’s What It Does and What It Doesn’t.

  • Aug 18
  • 9 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

By: 63° Editorial


August, 2026.


Pilates can build strength, control, flexibility and body awareness. But if it is the only exercise you do, does it cover everything your body needs? The answer depends partly on what your Pilates actually looks like and what you mean by “enough.”


Pilates is having a moment. Studios are opening. Reformer classes are booked out. Grip socks have somehow become a fashion category and across social media, Pilates has been credited with almost everything from “toning” and posture to strength, weight loss, injury prevention and a complete transformation of the body.


Underneath the aesthetics, though, Pilates is a legitimate form of exercise with a growing research base. So, is Pilates good for you?


There is plenty of evidence that it can be.


  1. Is Pilates enough on its own?

It can cover several important pieces of physical fitness very well. But depending on the style and intensity of your practice, it may not fully cover the aerobic and progressive strength work recommended for comprehensive health and fitness.


Let's unpack that properly.


  1. What is Pilates actually training?

Pilates generally emphasises controlled movement, trunk stability, breathing, alignment, coordination, mobility and muscular control. Modern Pilates can look dramatically different depending on where you practise. There is mat Pilates. Reformer Pilates. Clinical Pilates. Beginner restorative classes. Advanced athletic sessions. Classes with springs and substantial resistance. Classes where your heart rate barely rises. Classes that leave experienced exercisers shaking.


So asking whether “Pilates” is enough is a little like asking whether “running” is intense. A slow jog and a sprint workout are both running. They are physiologically different. Still, research can tell us what Pilates tends to do well.


  1. Pilates can improve strength but the evidence needs context


That is meaningful.


Pilates is resistance exercise. Your muscles have to generate force against gravity, body weight, springs or external resistance. If the exercise is challenging enough, adaptation can occur. But now comes the nuance. A 2024 systematic review examining Pilates for strength, endurance and muscle hypertrophy found low-quality evidence and no clear superiority over control for some strength outcomes, with limitations in the available trials.


Another review comparing Pilates with other forms of exercise found very low- to low-certainty evidence that Pilates was not clearly superior to other exercise modalities for dynamic strength. That doesn't mean Pilates “doesn't build strength.” It means the science base does not justify treating every Pilates class as equivalent to a well-designed progressive resistance-training programme.


  1. Progressive overload still matters

Muscle adapts to challenge. To continue gaining strength, the muscular system generally needs progressively sufficient resistance or difficulty over time. That can happen in Pilates, harder springs, greater range of motion, more challenging leverage, single-limb work, more complex exercises, higher resistance, more repetitions, longer time under tension.


The problem is that not every Pilates class is programmed around progressive overload in a way specifically designed to maximise strength. Current exercise-science guidance supports progressive resistance training as an effective way to improve muscle strength, hypertrophy and physical performance.



So if your goal is general strength, control and muscular endurance, Pilates may contribute substantially. If your goal is maximising strength or building significant muscle mass, you may benefit from adding dedicated resistance training with loads that can be progressively increased.


Those are different goals.


  1. What Pilates appears to do particularly well; flexibility and control


Pilates also demands coordination. You are often controlling the pelvis, ribcage, spine and limbs simultaneously while breathing and maintaining alignment. That neuromuscular component may be one reason people frequently report feeling more aware of how their bodies move.


“Body awareness” is harder to reduce to a single laboratory number than strength or VO₂ max, but movement quality and control can be valuable particularly for people who enjoy the method enough to practise consistently.


  1. What about balance?

There is evidence Pilates may improve balance in some populations, particularly older adults

A systematic review on older adults found evidence suggesting Pilates can improve balance, although the authors noted limited data on whether this translates into actual reductions in falls. Other reviews have reached more mixed conclusions depending on the population and outcome measured.


  1. Can Pilates count as cardio?

Sometimes, but not always enough to meet your aerobic needs.




But that does not mean a typical low- to moderate-intensity Pilates class reliably provides the same aerobic stimulus as brisk walking, running, cycling or swimming.


Intensity varies enormously. If your Pilates class leaves you breathing harder, raises your heart rate substantially and keeps it elevated for meaningful periods, some of that session may contribute towards aerobic physical activity. If you spend most of the class moving slowly with a relatively low cardiovascular demand, it may not.



A simple practical test of moderate intensity is often whether you are breathing faster but can still speak in sentences.


If Pilates is your only exercise and your cardiovascular system is rarely challenged, you are probably missing a piece of the picture.


  1. Then there is dedicated muscle-strengthening work


Can Pilates satisfy that? Potentially, depending on the programme. A challenging reformer session that works the legs, hips, back, chest, shoulders, arms and trunk against meaningful resistance may function as muscle-strengthening exercise.


A gentle mobility-focused mat class may not provide the same stimulus. So the answer cannot be determined purely by the label Pilates. Ask, "am I progressively challenging my muscles?", "am I working all the major muscle groups?", "Does the exercise remain difficult enough to require adaptation?"


If yes, Pilates may be doing more of the strength job. If not, supplementing it with resistance training is sensible.


  1. What Pilates is not particularly designed for is bone loading

This becomes increasingly important with age, and particularly for women. Bone responds to mechanical loading. Resistance training and weight-bearing impact activities can help preserve or improve bone-related outcomes, depending on age, health status and exercise programme.


Pilates is weight-bearing in some positions and can generate muscular force, so it is not irrelevant to bone health. But many forms of Pilates provide relatively little high-impact loading. If bone health is a major goal for example in midlife or later life, a programme that also includes resistance training and appropriate weight-bearing/impact activity may offer a more comprehensive strategy.


That does not mean everybody should suddenly start jumping. Exercise choice should reflect bone health, injury history and medical circumstances. The broader point is simply that one modality rarely optimises every system simultaneously.


  1. Pilates and back pain; useful, but not magic

Pilates is frequently recommended for back pain, and there is research supporting exercise-based approaches including Pilates for some people with chronic nonspecific low-back pain.

A network meta-analysis found low-quality evidence that Pilates was among several exercise modalities associated with improvements in pain and function. Resistance exercise, aerobic exercise and stabilisation/motor-control approaches also showed benefits depending on the outcome.


Again, this argues against the idea of one perfect exercise. For persistent pain, the best approach depends on the individual, the cause of symptoms and appropriate clinical assessment. Pilates can be useful. It is not a universal treatment for every back problem.


  1. Does Pilates “lengthen” muscles?

This is a phrase wellness marketing loves. Muscles can increase flexibility and tolerate greater ranges of motion. Posture and movement patterns can change. People may look or feel different as muscle tone, strength, body composition and alignment change. But the idea that Pilates literally creates uniquely “long, lean muscles” while other forms of resistance training create short, bulky ones is not a useful physiological description.


Your muscles have anatomical attachment points. Exercise can change their strength, size, architecture and functional capacity. It does not reshape the skeleton according to the aesthetic vocabulary of a studio brochure. That does not make Pilates less valuable.

It simply means we don't need pseudoscientific language to sell good movement.


  1. What about mental wellbeing?


A newer 2025 study also describes observed benefits across stress-related and psychological outcomes while noting that important behavioural questions remain unresolved. Some of the benefit may come from physical activity itself. Some may come from concentration, breathing, social connection, mastery or simply taking an hour away from a demanding day.


It is difficult to separate those mechanisms cleanly. But if Pilates is movement you genuinely look forward to, that matters. Adherence is not a trivial detail. The perfect exercise programme you hate and stop doing is not particularly perfect.


  1. So is Pilates enough if you do it three times a week?


But ask what else your week contains. Do you walk? Do you run? Do you cycle? Do you play tennis or padel? Do you dance? Do you swim? Does anything get your heart rate up for sustained periods? Are your muscles being progressively loaded?


If Pilates is part of an active life, it can fit beautifully into a comprehensive movement routine.

If Pilates is literally the only movement you perform all week and it never meaningfully challenges your cardiovascular system, adding aerobic activity would make the programme more complete.


  1. What could a balanced week look like?

There is no perfect 63° schedule.


But someone who loves Pilates might build a week like 2-3 Pilates sessions plus 2 brisk walks, runs, cycles or swims that meaningfully challenge the cardiovascular system plus

additional daily walking and general movement.


If their Pilates programme is not providing enough progressive muscular loading, 1-2 dedicated resistance-training sessions. That is not a prescription. It is an example of how different movement types can complement one another.


Someone playing tennis twice a week will have different needs. So will a runner. So will an older adult. So will someone returning from injury. The principle is diversity.


  1. You do not need to choose between “Pilates girl” and “gym girl”

This may be one of the strangest false choices created by social media. Pilates and lifting weights are not rival religions. You can do both. You can run and do Pilates. You can play tennis and lift weights. You can walk and swim. Movement modalities are tools. Different tools solve different problems. The best programme is the one that collectively helps you build cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and a body capable of doing the things you want it to do.


63° Take

But no single exercise method needs to do everything.


If your Pilates practice is challenging your muscles but not your cardiovascular system, add some cardio. If it improves mobility and control but doesn't progressively load your muscles enough for your goals, add resistance training.


If you love Pilates and it makes you move consistently? Keep doing Pilates. Then build around it. Because the goal is not to prove that one workout is “enough.” It is to build a body capable of carrying you through the life you want to live.



Sources


World Health Organization. Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour.

Fernández-Rodríguez R, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis on Pilates, physical performance, balance, strength and flexibility. Fernández-Rodríguez R, et al. Pilates Method Improves Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Oliveira LS, et al. 2024 systematic review of Pilates exercise and muscular strength, endurance and hypertrophy. Pinto JR, et al. Systematic review comparing Pilates and other exercise modalities for muscle strength. Owen PJ, et al. Network meta-analysis of exercise modalities for chronic nonspecific low-back pain. Fleming KM, et al. Meta-analysis of Pilates and mental-health outcomes.


This article provides general health and exercise information. People with medical conditions, pain, pregnancy, injury or significant mobility limitations may benefit from individual guidance from an appropriately qualified healthcare or exercise professional.

Comments

bottom of page