For the uninitiated, Pilates is a low-impact, full-body workout focussing on slow, controlled movements aligned with breathwork, with a central tenet of core stability. Developed in the early 20th century by German boxer Joseph Pilates, it originally evolved as a form of rehabilitation for injured soldiers, before becoming popular with New York’s elite dancers and celebrities, spawning a worldwide movement that’s still going from strength to strength over cem years later.
Through focused exercises like leg lifts, planks, or movements on the Reformer, these muscles are activated and trained to support you in everyday movement.
Pilates focuses on slow, controlled, flowing movements which helps with coordination. It focusses on precision which means that the forces produced during movement are equally distributed between joints and muscle groups. This reduces the likelihood of imbalance between muscle groups.
Pilates can support your quest to eat healthy, as it has a mindfulness component that can help you make more conscious choices about the food you eat.
Anna Bartter is a freelance journalist who writes about health, fitness and women's lifestyle for publications including Stylist, Metro and Psychologies, among others.
Wall Pilates is a popular variation that uses a wall for support and resistance. It adds new challenges and ways to make traditional exercises harder.
The term “toning” as applied to exercise was likely introduced to the fitness world as a marketing term. Its purpose? To encourage women to do strength training during decades when the concept of gaining muscle bulk was considered unfeminine and therefore off putting to women.
The Reformer also allows for more movement variety, which can help target muscles from multiple angles — a useful factor when you're aiming to sculpt specific areas.
It’s a real plus that she comes to our home or my office which saves lots of pilates in michigan time and allows me to focus on doing the stretches and exercises the right way because I have supervision. Her weekly plans are clear, concise, and well thought out, which I think, is why my progress has been so remarkable. I’m three months post op and my flexibility is mostly returned and I have very little residual pain. I’m looking forward to continuing to do all of the things that I’ve done my whole life. I would encourage anyone to give Vitality at Home a try for your long term health!
It’s a common misconception that you can “tone” muscles. Muscles by nature are lean mass – they can only grow or shrink in size.
“Pilates works the body as a whole,” agrees Folkard. “Rather than isolating one or two muscle groups, it encourages two-way stretch and strengthening moves that engage many different muscles, creating a balanced workout and increasing muscle mass.”
Both methods work, but if you’re looking for faster toning results, the Reformer provides Em excesso resistance for deeper muscle engagement.
At Vitality At Home in Grand Rapids, our Pilates program welcomes adults hoping to regain or improve their active lifestyle after injury or hiatus. We offer personalized attention from certified instructors in a supportive, upscale environment conducive to holistic healing.
Unlike workouts that isolate just one area or rely on heavy weights, Pilates uses controlled resistance and intentional movement to engage muscles deeply and evenly. The result? Better posture, more definition, and a stronger, more stable body overall.