Whilst Pilates isn’t so good at building muscle bulk or power, what it is great at is utilising your postural muscles. These are deep muscles that tend to be closer to the skeleton that hold us up against gravity and provide stability around the joints whilst we are moving.
Through focused exercises like leg lifts, planks, or movements on the Reformer, these muscles are activated and trained to support you in everyday movement.
Visible muscle tone comes from both building lean muscle and reducing body fat. Pilates alone may not be the most efficient path to fat loss, but it prepares the body for higher-intensity exercise and supports better movement patterns. For optimal toning, Pilates works best alongside cardiovascular exercise and dietary changes.
Without reducing overall body fat, it’s difficult to achieve a truly toned appearance, even with strong muscles.
Pilates is often overlooked and dismissed as a stretching routine, yet it’s one of the most effective ways to build long lean muscles.
Strength training exercises help build muscle mass, while reducing overall body fat through a combination of a healthy diet and cardio exercises, can make muscles appear more toned.
In choosing exercise, activities that increase your heart rate and get you out of breath are more effective at helping weight loss.
While traditional Pilates doesn’t use heavy weights, it incorporates resistance—especially with equipment like the Reformer—and focuses on eccentric muscle contractions (lengthening under tension), both of which can strengthen muscles.
She's always on a quest pilates muskegon to find a variety of fun and functional workouts that give you the most bang for your workout buck and she's passionate about championing movement for everyone's mental and physical wellbeing.
Don’t be put off by it’s cool aesthetic. One of the things we love most about Pilates is that, while it is super on trend, right now, there’s a practice for everyone.
Pilates is known for building core strength—but what that really means goes beyond just crunches or six-pack muscles. Pilates trains the deeper core muscles that wrap around your midsection like a built-in corset.
Nutrition: Your diet plays a big role in muscle definition. Eating enough protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs supports muscle repair and fat loss, revealing toned muscles faster.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about Pilates and how it fits into this equation.
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.