Table of Contents
Summary
Pilates has become a go-to workout for many people looking to improve their core strength, flexibility, and overall body awareness. Known for its low-impact nature, Pilates is often praised for its ability to sculpt lean muscles and improve posture without placing too much strain on the body. However, one question that frequently comes up is: How many calories does Pilates actually burn?
While Pilates may not have the same immediate calorie-burning reputation as high-intensity cardio exercises like running or cycling, it still offers significant benefits for weight management. In this article, we’ll explore how the type of Pilates, the intensity of your practice, and other factors impact how many calories you burn. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner, you’ll discover how to make the most of your Pilates routine to support your fitness and calorie-burning goals.
What Is Pilates and Why Is It Effective for Fitness?
Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that focuses on strengthening muscles while improving postural alignment, flexibility, and core strength. Originally developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, it was designed to rehabilitate injured soldiers and dancers. Today, it’s a popular fitness routine that integrates slow, controlled movements with breath control.
Mat Pilates vs. Reformer Pilates
Mat Pilates is practiced on the floor using your body weight for resistance. It emphasizes core engagement and helps with muscle tone and flexibility. The simplicity of mat Pilates makes it accessible and versatile, but it can still provide a solid workout that engages every muscle group.
Reformer Pilates uses a specialized machine with springs, straps, and a sliding carriage to add resistance to the workout. The reformer offers a more intense session than mat Pilates, providing additional resistance for increased muscle toning and higher calorie burn. It’s excellent for improving strength, alignment, and balance.
Why Pilates Is Effective for Fitness
Pilates is often associated with its ability to build a strong, stable core, but its benefits extend far beyond that. It improves body awareness, muscle control, and flexibility, which are crucial for injury prevention and overall fitness. The emphasis on controlled movements helps enhance strength and endurance over time without the need for high-impact exercises, making it ideal for people at all fitness levels.
While Pilates may not burn as many calories as a high-intensity cardio workout, its long-term effects on muscle tone, posture, and flexibility make it a key component of a balanced fitness routine. When practiced consistently, Pilates can also boost your metabolic rate by building lean muscle, helping you burn more calories throughout the day.
How Many Calories Does Pilates Burn?
The number of calories burned during a Pilates session can vary greatly depending on several factors, such as the type of Pilates you’re doing, the intensity of the class, and your own body composition. While Pilates isn’t typically seen as a high-calorie burning workout like running or cycling, it still offers a substantial calorie burn while building strength and flexibility.
Average Calorie Burn in Pilates
On average, here’s how many calories you can expect to burn based on the type of Pilates:
Mat Pilates: A typical mat Pilates class burns between 175–250 calories per hour, depending on your body weight, the class intensity, and how engaged you are during the session.
Reformer Pilates: Because of the added resistance from the reformer machine, Reformer Pilates burns more calories than mat Pilates. You can expect to burn between 250–450 calories per hour in a reformer class. The increased resistance helps engage more muscles, contributing to a higher calorie expenditure.
Factors That Influence Calorie Burn
Body Weight: Heavier individuals burn more calories during any type of exercise, including Pilates, because the body requires more energy to move.
Intensity of the Session: Pilates classes range from beginner to advanced levels. A beginner class will burn fewer calories compared to an intermediate or advanced class that incorporates more challenging movements and faster transitions.
Engagement of Muscles: The more fully you engage your muscles in each movement, the more calories you’ll burn. Focusing on core engagement and proper alignment throughout the session maximizes calorie burn.
Duration: The longer the session, the more calories you’ll burn. A standard Pilates class lasts around 45 minutes to an hour, but even shorter sessions can contribute to daily calorie expenditure when practiced consistently.
While Pilates may not have the same immediate calorie-burning impact as more intense workouts, its focus on muscle strengthening and toning helps you burn calories even after the class ends, contributing to long-term fat loss and lean muscle building.
Factors That Affect Calorie Burn in Pilates
Calorie burn in Pilates isn’t one-size-fits-all. Several factors determine how many calories you burn during a Pilates session, including body composition, session intensity, and even the type of Pilates class you attend. Let’s break down the key factors that impact calorie expenditure:
1. Intensity of the Class
The intensity of your Pilates session plays a huge role in how many calories you burn. Beginner Pilates classes often focus on learning the basic movements with controlled breathing, while more advanced classes incorporate faster transitions and more challenging exercises. Advanced classes tend to burn more calories, as they involve more complex movements and deeper muscle engagement.
Beginner Class: Lower intensity with slower movements, typically burning fewer calories.
Intermediate/Advanced Class: Faster-paced, higher intensity, leading to greater calorie burn.
2. Duration of the Session
The length of your workout directly impacts the total number of calories burned. A longer Pilates session allows you to engage muscles over a more extended period, which increases the total calorie expenditure. Most standard Pilates classes last around 45 minutes to an hour, but even shorter sessions can add up over time.
45-minute session: Burns fewer calories but is still effective for strength and flexibility.
60-minute session: Allows for more complex sequences, potentially leading to higher calorie burn.
3. Body Composition and Weight
Your body weight and composition affect how many calories you burn during any physical activity, including Pilates. Individuals with higher body weight typically burn more calories because their bodies require more energy to perform movements. Additionally, those with higher muscle mass may experience an increased calorie burn due to the energy required to maintain muscle activity.
4. Type of Pilates: Mat vs. Reformer
As discussed earlier, the type of Pilates you practice also influences calorie burn. Reformer Pilates typically burns more calories due to the added resistance of the machine, which engages more muscles than mat Pilates. Additionally, some reformer workouts can be modified with added weights or resistance bands, further increasing calorie burn.
Mat Pilates: Lower calorie burn due to bodyweight resistance.
Reformer Pilates: Higher calorie burn due to added resistance from springs and straps.
5. Muscle Engagement and Focus
In Pilates, the more you engage your muscles, particularly the core, the more calories you burn. Pilates is about controlled movement, so focusing on engaging your core, arms, and legs in every pose will increase calorie expenditure. The more intentional you are with your movements, the more energy (and therefore calories) your body uses.
By understanding these factors, you can tailor your Pilates sessions to suit your fitness and calorie-burning goals. Increasing intensity, practicing regularly, and incorporating resistance can all contribute to a more effective Pilates workout.
Pilates vs. Other Workouts for Calorie Burn
While Pilates offers numerous benefits for strength, flexibility, and core stability, it’s often compared to other popular exercises when it comes to burning calories. Here's how Pilates stacks up against other common fitness routines in terms of calorie expenditure:
1. Pilates vs. Yoga
Yoga and Pilates are often compared due to their focus on flexibility, breathwork, and mind-body connection. However, when it comes to calorie burning, Pilates typically edges out yoga, especially in classes that focus on core strength and reformer work.
Yoga: A gentle Hatha yoga session can burn 150-250 calories per hour, depending on intensity and the poses practiced. However, more dynamic forms like Vinyasa or Power Yoga can burn 300-500 calories per hour.
Pilates: A standard mat Pilates session burns between 175-250 calories per hour, while more intense reformer Pilates can burn up to 450 calories.
2. Pilates vs. Running
When it comes to high-calorie burning exercises, running is one of the most efficient options. The intensity and cardiovascular demand of running make it a top choice for those seeking to burn a large number of calories quickly.
Running: A moderate-paced run (5 mph) burns between 450-600 calories per hour, depending on the runner’s weight and pace. Sprinting or interval running can burn even more calories.
Pilates: Pilates is lower in terms of immediate calorie burn, but its long-term benefits for strength and posture complement running, as it helps prevent injury and improves overall muscle balance.
3. Pilates vs. Weight Training
Both Pilates and weight training focus on building strength, but weight training tends to burn more calories due to the intensity of lifting heavy weights and engaging multiple large muscle groups.
Weight Training: Lifting weights burns about 200-400 calories per hour depending on the workout intensity and muscle groups targeted. Heavy, compound movements like squats and deadlifts burn more calories.
Pilates: While lower in calorie burn, Pilates promotes lean muscle development, which can raise your resting metabolic rate, helping you burn more calories throughout the day.
4. Pilates vs. HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
HIIT workouts are known for their ability to torch calories quickly due to alternating bursts of high-intensity exercises with short rest periods. HIIT is considered one of the most effective workouts for calorie burn and fat loss.
HIIT: A typical HIIT session can burn between 500-700 calories per hour, making it one of the most efficient forms of exercise for calorie expenditure. The afterburn effect (increased calorie burn post-exercise) is also a significant benefit of HIIT.
Pilates: While Pilates doesn’t have the same calorie burn as HIIT, it provides a great way to strengthen and tone muscles, which can complement HIIT by improving overall muscle control and balance.
How to Maximize Calorie Burn in Pilates
If you're looking to increase the number of calories burned during a Pilates session, there are several strategies to help you get the most out of your workout. While Pilates is not traditionally seen as a high-calorie burner, the right approach can significantly increase your energy expenditure and improve your overall fitness.
1. Increase Intensity
One of the easiest ways to boost calorie burn in Pilates is to increase the intensity of your workout. This can be done by moving from beginner to intermediate or advanced classes, where the poses and transitions are more challenging. Opt for classes that incorporate faster transitions between exercises and engage a wider variety of muscle groups.
Try Intermediate or Advanced Classes: These classes include more dynamic movements, greater core engagement, and faster-paced sequences, which all lead to more calories burned.
Add Power Moves: Incorporating power Pilates or dynamic movements (like plyometric Pilates) can elevate your heart rate, further increasing calorie burn.
2. Incorporate Weights or Resistance Bands
Adding light weights or resistance bands to your Pilates routine can increase the resistance of each movement, making your muscles work harder and burn more calories. Resistance bands, for example, are a great addition to exercises like leg circles or clamshells, as they create additional tension that forces your muscles to engage more deeply.
Add Small Hand Weights: Use 1-2 lb weights for arm movements to increase muscle engagement.
Use Resistance Bands: Incorporate bands to add extra resistance during leg lifts, hip bridges, or core exercises.
3. Combine Pilates with Cardio
To maximize calorie burn, consider combining your Pilates practice with cardiovascular exercise. Many people alternate between Pilates and cardio sessions, but you can also integrate short bursts of cardio, like jumping jacks or high knees, in between Pilates sequences to keep your heart rate elevated.
Try Pilates Circuits: Combine short intervals of cardio exercises with your Pilates practice to increase heart rate and calorie burn.
Cardio Pilates: Look for classes that include high-intensity exercises alongside traditional Pilates movements.
4. Stay Consistent
The more you practice Pilates, the better your body becomes at engaging the right muscles, which can lead to greater calorie expenditure. Consistent practice also helps build lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism and allows you to burn more calories throughout the day—even when you're not working out.
Aim for 3-4 Sessions per Week: Regular practice will improve your strength and calorie burn over time.
Track Your Progress: Use a fitness tracker to monitor your heart rate and calories burned during your Pilates sessions.
5. Focus on Proper Form
Maximizing your calorie burn during Pilates isn't just about the number of repetitions or intensity level—it's also about performing each move with proper form. Engaging your core fully, breathing correctly, and ensuring you're executing each movement properly will activate more muscles and increase energy expenditure.
Engage Your Core: Make sure you're fully engaging your abdominal muscles in each movement to maximize results.
Control Your Movements: Focus on slow, controlled movements rather than rushing through the routine, ensuring maximum muscle engagement.
By increasing intensity, incorporating resistance, and combining Pilates with cardio, you can turn Pilates into a more calorie-burning workout while still enjoying the benefits of improved flexibility, posture, and strength.
Additional Benefits of Pilates Beyond Calorie Burn
While Pilates can help with calorie burning, its benefits extend far beyond just that. The true value of Pilates lies in how it improves overall body functionality, promotes mindfulness, and enhances both physical and mental health. Here are some of the key benefits you can expect from a consistent Pilates practice:
1. Core Strength and Stability
One of the most well-known benefits of Pilates is its ability to strengthen the core. The focus on controlled, precise movements helps develop deep core muscles, including the transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, and obliques. This core strength improves posture, balance, and overall stability, reducing the risk of injury in both daily life and other workouts.
2. Improved Flexibility and Mobility
Pilates emphasizes dynamic stretches that help increase flexibility in the muscles and range of motion in the joints. This is especially beneficial for reducing stiffness, improving mobility, and helping the body move more freely. Over time, Pilates can enhance your flexibility in areas like the hips, spine, and shoulders.
3. Better Posture
Pilates teaches body awareness and alignment, which can significantly improve posture. Through mindful movement and controlled breathing, Pilates strengthens the muscles that support proper posture, such as the core and back muscles. Many practitioners notice better posture in both sitting and standing, reducing issues like slouching and back pain.
4. Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Due to its focus on low-impact, controlled movements, Pilates is often used as part of rehabilitation programs for those recovering from injuries. It strengthens muscles without placing stress on the joints, making it an excellent option for those dealing with injuries or chronic pain. Additionally, by improving flexibility, balance, and muscle coordination, Pilates helps reduce the risk of future injuries.
5. Mind-Body Connection
Pilates promotes mindfulness by requiring concentration and control over every movement. This focus on precision encourages a strong mind-body connection, which can enhance mental clarity and reduce stress. The controlled breathing techniques used in Pilates also help practitioners stay centred and relaxed, making it as mentally refreshing as it is physically beneficial.
6. Enhances Performance in Other Activities
Pilates complements many other physical activities by enhancing strength, flexibility, and stability. Whether you’re a runner, swimmer, cyclist, or weightlifter, Pilates can help improve overall muscle control and core strength, which translates to better performance in your primary workouts. It can also aid in quicker recovery after intense exercise.
Pilates for More Than Just Calorie Burn
While Pilates may not burn as many calories as some high-intensity workouts, its true power lies in its long-term benefits. By building core strength, improving flexibility, and enhancing posture, Pilates helps you create a balanced, functional body that supports overall well-being. It’s not just about the calories burned during each session—it’s about how Pilates can improve muscle tone, prevent injury, and enhance performance in everyday life and other physical activities.
Whether you’re looking to increase calorie burn through higher-intensity Pilates or simply seeking to build strength and stability, Pilates is an excellent addition to any fitness routine. By focusing on proper form, adding resistance, and staying consistent, you can maximize your results and enjoy a healthier, more balanced body over time.
Comments