This question is always a hard one. What do you consider a “good” workout?
Do you need to sweat? Do you need to feel a burn? Do you need to feel awful afterward? Do you want to feel exhausted when you’re done?
Everyone has a different idea what a good workout is, but I can tell you, from me personally and from those I teach, that yes, Pilates is a good workout!
The first time I took a Pilates class, I had no idea what to expect. This was way back when, even before Mari Windsor started selling VHS tapes on TV, so I had no concept or general idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew I was way too sedentary, way too stiff, and feeling way too blah to not do something. Pilates fit into the right time slot, at the right place, when I needed it most.
And that first group mat class was…
Humbling.
My legs shook when I tried to straighten them to the sky. My abs wouldn’t stay working. When we lifted our hips off the mat, I thought my thighs were going to snap, or give out (or maybe both). But they didn’t. And when I left class that night, I felt something close to awe. What exactly did I just do, and how the heck did it make me feel so good and so bad all at the same time?!?
And then I was a little addicted.
The only two classes I missed in the 2 years I took that mat class before I took my teacher training were 1) because I had the flu, and 2) because I went to my future sister-in-law’s tropical wedding in the Dominican Republic, and I was disappointed both times!
In that group class, I desperately wanted to feel as graceful and fabulous as the instructor looked, and to be able to do EVERY exercise with some bit of competence, but mostly I wanted to get that fabulous Pilates feeling you can try to describe but always falls sadly short of hitting the mark. Kinda like trying to explain how having kids feels to someone who doesn’t have them.
Slowly I did get better at Pilates, and I kept up in class, and I felt relatively capable, but every class I took felt like it was an effort. Too be honest, it still does, just in different ways. I can feel deeper, push harder, and connect better, so it's never been "easy". It's certainly not something you can "skate" through, so if you're looking to just follow along with what it looks like, Pilates might not be for you.
Your Pilates workout challenges your body AND your brain. You work on coordination, control, connection, strength, flexibility, and fluidity in every. single. exercise.
You sweat, you shake, you swear (just me?), you grimace, you laugh, you smile, and you look forward to doing it again…but maybe not tomorrow, because you might feel that more than you thought you would!
But honestly, don’t take my word for it. Why don’t you try it, and see for yourself, then let me know if you think Pilates is a good workout?
Xo, Kimberly
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