| Fitness on social media is like the Wild West and frequently calls to mind “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. Lately, my social feeds have been taken over by ads for “Wall Pilates”. These videos typically feature extremely lean and fit AI-generated women in barely-there sports bras and booty shorts demonstrating extremely suggestive poses. Ass out, knees splayed, and some sort of gyration happening. Most of the exercises shown in these ads aren’t even Pilates and an overwhelming number of these posts proclaim Let’s not even talk about the lack of legitimate functional anatomical movements in these ads.  It’s no secret that online marketing for health and fitness is frequently dominated by quick-fix trends and overnight results. “Wall Pilates”, with its visually striking and frequently impractical poses and promises of body changing weight loss, is just another marketing trend that successfully draws in countless hopefuls. The comments on these ads are overflowing with excitement, anticipation, and enthusiasm as folks ask if these programs can help with their knee pain, back pain, hip pain. With their weight loss and their spare tires. With their mental health. Other commentors, most likely paid bots, proclaim their amazing results with losing inches, pounds, sizes and disappearing pain. At the same time, the wisdom being shared by actual Personal Trainers, Pilates Instructors, and Physical Therapists offering functional, anatomically sound advice goes largely unnoticed. Why is it that Weight Loss dominates and drives the Fitness World?When I was teaching Pilates as part of a work wellness program, an older lady attended every week without fail. After every class, she told me how amazing she felt. Before every class, she told me how much stronger she was, how she was moving better, had better balance, was standing taller, was noticing when she wasn’t engaging her muscles during other activities and could then turn them on. At the end of the 15 week program, she told me that while she had LOVED her Pilates classes, she wouldn’t be continuing because she had looked up the average calorie burn per class, and Pilates just wasn’t worth it. She only did things that burned calories. I was devastated. This was someone who had not only experienced but noticed major changes in her body due to her weekly Pilates practice. She was stronger, more mobile, moving better, breathing better, having less pain, enjoying better posture, and felt amazing after every class. But her ONLY metric for fitness was weight loss. Unfortunately, that’s the norm in the fitness world. There are a ton of really amazing benefits to Pilates, and exercise in general, that folks miss out on because their only metric is weight loss. Ask any personal trainer, fitness professional, nutritionist or health professional and they’ll tell you that weight loss is 80% diet. What you eat, how you eat, when you eat, how much you eat. Not to mention hormones, stress, sleep patterns, health issues, allergies. Even things like where you live, the type of job you have, your race, your culture; all contribute to weight loss. Weight loss is a much more complicated conversation that requires a deeper understanding of your body and your habits than social media and marketing would have you believe. Here’s My Unpopular Stance: There are so many reasons to do Pilates that aren’t weight loss motivated. Pilates gives us the opportunity to do so much more than just lose weight. To my emphasize my point, here are 30 non-weight loss reasons to do Pilates. |
30 Non-Weight Loss Reasons to do Pilates
- A strong and stable core, including abdominal, back, and pelvic floor muscles
- Promotes better breathing patterns
- Improved flexibility and range of motion
- Reduced stiffness in joints and muscles
- Promotes ease of movement in all directions
- Builds lean muscle mass, promoting a toned and sculpted physique
- Promotes better posture and postural awareness during normal activities
- Improved body awareness
- Offers an effective low impact exercise option
- Helps maintain joint health and functional mobility
- Develops balance and coordination
- Reduces the risk of falls and enhances overall stability
- Builds endurance and stamina through controlled and precise movements
- Strengthens muscles around joints, reducing the risk of injuries (this is especially important for hypermobility and EDS)
- Complements other forms of exercise, contributing to improved performance in various sports and physical activities
- Fosters a deep mind-body connection
- Promotes awareness and presence in the moment
- Relieves stress and tension through controlled breathing and mindful movements
- Enhances focus and concentration
- Releases endorphins, promoting a positive mood and reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Supports the down regulation of the nervous system
- Is a form of somatic movement and can help participants process thoughts, emotions and feelings somatically
- Serves as an active meditation practice
- Supports rehabilitation from injuries and muscle imbalances
- Offers a safe and effective exercise option for pre- and postnatal women, addressing core strength, pelvic floor health and stability
- Offers a safe and effective exercise option post-surgery
- Contributes to overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being
- Develops fine motor skills
- Provides a sense of community and belonging
- Offers a fun and mentally engaging way to exercise
Based on this giant list of benefits that aren’t weight loss related, it’s time to redefine our metrics for fitness.
Instead of the entire scale, weight loss should only be a single metric in a long list of equally valuable metrics. Quality of life should rank higher on the list, along with strength, functional mobility, and holistic well-being.
Instead of falling prey to the allure of online crazes that offer a magical solution to lose 7 pounds in 7 days, let’s stop and consider the real, tangible non-weight loss related benefits that Pilates, and exercise in general, has to offer.
Take care friends.
-Rubecca
p.s. As always, I LOVE to hear your thoughts on these posts. Feel free to reply to email or bring up this topic in your next session. 🙂
And just so we’re clear, if you’ve done Pilates, you know instructors can take anything, even a wall, and turn it into a prop. So “Wall Pilates” is a thing. It’s just not the thing we see on these ads.