We’ve become so accustomed to measuring exercise by how hard we sweat and exhausted we feel, that we’ve started to confuse fatigue with effectiveness. We have begun to believe that if it doesn’t burn, it doesn’t count. That if we aren’t pushing harder, moving faster or feeling the next-day soreness, we must be wasting our time.
But what if we questioned that value system?
Working harder until it hurts doesn’t necessarily mean you’re working better. Feeling less challenged doesn’t mean you’re making less progress.
Fitness Pilates borrows some of the movements of traditional Pilates and combines them with weights, cardio, high-intensity sequences and non-traditional choreography. The aim is often to keep the heart rate up, muscles burning and bodies moving continuously.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve cardiovascular fitness or build strength. But trying to achieve everything in a 45–60 minute class comes with a trade-off.
Cardiovascular training requires its own sustained demand at an appropriate intensity. Strength training requires sufficient load, progressive overload and adequate recovery to stimulate meaningful muscular adaptation.
My question to you is; Does your Fitness Pilates class honestly improve your cardiovascular system and muscular strength if it’s also trying to achieve what Pilates was designed to do?
Pilates has a unique purpose, focus and method, and when we try to do everything at once, what are we sacrificing?
Traditional Pilates is about developing a more intelligent, capable and responsive body to meet the demands of everyday life, sport and hobbies. Pilates aims to reverse the effects of modern life on our biomechanics, helping us overcome the postural and movement issues (and pain) we all experience in one way or another. It does this by improving spinal mobility, breath, control, coordination and balance. We explore movement in multiple planes, challenge stability, refine alignment and develop a deep mind-body connection that extends far beyond the studio.
Pilates sits beautifully alongside strength training, cardiovascular exercise and athletic pursuits because it encourages us to pay attention on a deep level to how we move, our imbalances, how to organise our bodies better and how to use breath, when lifting weights, running, swimming or playing sport.
And make no mistake, traditional Pilates can be incredibly challenging!
But the challenge has an ebb and flow. Some movements demand enormous concentration and effort, the muscles shake, and it feels impossible to complete ten reps. Other movements provide the space to integrate what we’ve learned or explore a different quality of movement. Not every moment needs to be harder than the one before it. Sometimes, a movement that challenged you last week feels surprisingly easy today.
This isn’t a waste of time. This is progress!
You no longer need to think so hard about every component because your body is learning to do it with ‘unconscious competence’. Your nervous system and muscular ability are now efficient at responding to the demands of the movement.
The real measure of a Pilates practice isn’t how exhausted you feel when you leave the studio but how you move out in the world. Ask yourself:
Can you articulate your spine with greater ease?
Can you comfortably stand tall and effortlessly bend forward, back and to the side?
Can you find stability without unnecessary tension?
Do you efficiently use your breath in complex movements?
Can you hold a challenging position that once felt impossible?
Are your neck and shoulders less tight? Has that lower back pain disappeared? Are your knees and hips bending with control and ease?
At the end of the day, if you love Pilates, it doesn’t matter what that Pilates looks like. What matters is that it inspires you to keep coming back and helps your body feel more capable rather than causing pain.
Be clear on your goals, find a studio that aligns with them, and choose the practice that meets you where you are.