I can't speak for pilates, but I do yoga 2-3 times a week and feel like it changed my body a lot... seeing the way my body looks from doing yoga, I'm hooked. Especially when I was doing hot power yoga regularly (rather than more traditional yoga, which is cheaper in my area), I noticed I lost some body fat and started getting really toned without getting too bulky (my legs bulk up easily, but otherwise I've stayed pretty lean). I assume pilates is fairly similar in strength building and level of cardio.
I don't think that there's necessarily anything "magical" about yoga or pilates. I think the reason they make sure a difference in your body (if you put the time in to it) is just that you're getting in regular, tough workouts. You're burning a lot of calories and building muscle at the same time, and you're doing similar sets of movements each time you go, so certain muscles are really beginning to build.
If you can afford it, it's probably worth a shot, worst that can happen is you don't like it.
This is my experience with yoga too. I do traditional yoga with Iynegar and Anusara trained teachers (alignment based rather than "hot power yoga", although I get hot in class and am becoming more powerful.) My arms and legs and core are getting so much stronger, I sweat like a mother, and am loving the progression into more inversions and balances that I'm able to do now.
The scale is not moving down all that fast, but my pants are getting looser and looser.
Lots of types of yoga tone, but Bikram is the "hot yoga" method and it's more about cardiovascular endurance and flexibility, especially the latter. By heating the room to a very high temperature, your muscles relax and are extremely pliable and capable of attaining postures that aren't feasible when muscles are colder.
Personally, if you want to use yoga for toning, I'd still advocate Vinyasa over Bikram.
HI! I was excited to read this thread coz I just signed up for my first yoga class and am going to take a 1 time only Pilates class, too. The class I am taking is not offered where I live, so when I 'm on vaca, I'll take it. And it's called Demi bar Pilates. I have no idea what that means - which is why I'm going - and I will report back here in 10 days my take on the classes.
A couple of things: Whenever you fatigue a muscle, it will grow stronger. The shape of the muscle depends on your height and genetics. Typically, shorter people look bulkier than taller peeps. The look of your "tone" depends on your size and genetics as well. Generally, your muscles won't show much definition if there's too much fat over them. You have to lose the fat to show the muscle definition.
That said, everyone carries fat in their bodies differently. For me, if I were to gain 20 lbs, it would ALL be smack in the gut and my legs would still be twigs. (And that's just how my 74 year old dad is ) The opposite (weight loss) applies, too. So in order for me to have defined abs, the rest of me will be very lean. This make my arms look "ripped".
So for you, you may be a carrier of fat in your limbs. No matter how you lift, or what you lift, you may not see the definition until you lose some more fat.
Another thing I want to point out, to prove that genetics is the cause for where our fat is most on our individual bodies, is that it is wrong that fat gain in a particular area is from not moving that area. For instance, an office worker's butt is not fat because she sits all day. You can't spot-gain fat any more than you can spot-reduce it. Otherwise, everyone in a wheel chair would have huge fat legs!
We are how we are. I hope this helps so the poor dead horse doesn't have to get beat! Let yourself off the hook for things you can't change.
HI! I was excited to read this thread coz I just signed up for my first yoga class and am going to take a 1 time only Pilates class, too. The class I am taking is not offered where I live, so when I 'm on vaca, I'll take it. And it's called Demi bar Pilates. I have no idea what that means - which is why I'm going - and I will report back here in 10 days my take on the classes.
A couple of things: Whenever you fatigue a muscle, it will grow stronger. The shape of the muscle depends on your height and genetics. Typically, shorter people look bulkier than taller peeps. The look of your "tone" depends on your size and genetics as well. Generally, your muscles won't show much definition if there's too much fat over them. You have to lose the fat to show the muscle definition.
That said, everyone carries fat in their bodies differently. For me, if I were to gain 20 lbs, it would ALL be smack in the gut and my legs would still be twigs. (And that's just how my 74 year old dad is ) The opposite (weight loss) applies, too. So in order for me to have defined abs, the rest of me will be very lean. This make my arms look "ripped".
So for you, you may be a carrier of fat in your limbs. No matter how you lift, or what you lift, you may not see the definition until you lose some more fat.
Another thing I want to point out, to prove that genetics is the cause for where our fat is most on our individual bodies, is that it is wrong that fat gain in a particular area is from not moving that area. For instance, an office worker's butt is not fat because she sits all day. You can't spot-gain fat any more than you can spot-reduce it. Otherwise, everyone in a wheel chair would have huge fat legs!
We are how we are. I hope this helps so the poor dead horse doesn't have to get beat! Let yourself off the hook for things you can't change.
I agree with everything you say except I dont believe you cant change your shape. Just becuase your fat goes to your legs doesnt mean you cant have toned slim legs. This is where I get confused. Everyone says you need to lose the fat before you can see the muscle definition yet says you should weight lift to help burn fat. So which is it? Do you toned your muscles after you lose the fat or do you work at toning your muscles to help get rid of the fat? this is the constant thing that plagues me about lifting. I just wish someone would tell me that if I am eating relatively healthy, running and weight lifting a few times a week that the fat will get smaller and the muscles more toned!
So which is it? Do you toned your muscles after you lose the fat or do you work at toning your muscles to help get rid of the fat? !
When people say you need to lose fat before you can see tone, they don't mean you literally lose fat first and THEN start toning. It just means that both calorie/fat burning and strength training are both important.
Building muscles helps increase your metabolism, so you burn more fat. Once you have less fat sitting on top of muscles, you're able to see the muscle definition. Running and strength training is the way to go-- you're burning calories by running, while boosting metabolism AND toning muscles by lifting.
I do think that in some ways, we can't change our shape... shape meaning "proportion". My thighs are fairly bulky, even when I lose weight and am only doing exercise that builds "lean muscle". I don't think there's anything I can do healthily that will give me super-lean supermodel legs. Even at my thinnest, my stomach and arms may look great, but I'm always going to have athletic looking legs (even if I'm not doing any strength training for my legs).
ohhhhhhhhh ok! Lol I take things so literally! Im excited to start strength training. Im just fearful of building muscle but not losig fat = getting bigger!
Yea I understand. I know you cant change your "shape" as in if you are an apple, pear etc. But I dont think it means you cant have nice legs or a nice stomach..you know?
The great thing about classes is that you're motivated to work on things for reasons other than weight loss -- you want to do well in the class! This is why I've been loving flow yoga 4x a week: I can check myself against classmates, I challenge myself to try things others are trying, and I leave exhilarated, de-stressed, sore, and happy. It's never "tiring" even though it burns calories, because I'm always driven to do the next thing.
Pilates, though... I mean, you can't really mess up the form, and it's basically like any other core-focused strength training workout. Not to say it's not valuable, but it's not magical. And you can do it very easily from a video. I find personally find pilates a bit boring, and not at all relaxing/meditative like yoga or running. So I agree with everyone who says you shouldn't pay for anything without YouTubing clips first. They're definitely good exercises, but you can do them at home with a video, hand weights, and a mat or plush carpet.
Hey All! I'm back and I took both Yoga and Pilates.
First off, let me say, both instructors were at least 25% body fat - kinda high for instructors charging $20 an hour, in my (stupidly ignorant) original opinion. Ignorant opinion?Coz they both kicked my skinny stupid butt!!!!
Yoga- NOT gonna make u skinny by any means. Bennies? Stretching, baby! OMG I have NEVER stretched like that. I will be taking yoga once a week where I live starting friday. Other benny - balance, baby! Now I do bosu ball exercises every week. I couldn't hold a candle to the balance of these women. However, I am very proud to announce I did hold the bird of paradise after 3 tries.
Demi bar pilates: Hold cow, sign me up, I want to be a certified instructor! We have NOTHING like this where I live (boonies). I do lunge/squat work 5 x a week with the classes I teach. I am SO sore from 1 pilates class!!! You betcha I'm gonna incorporate these moves into my boot camp class!!\
As far as being in a class - I get it. I was SO motivated and challenged to keep up and push myself so I didn't look like the weakest one there.
I was AMAZED at the strength and endurance of our teacher.
But coming back full circle to my first statement here...If this is such a challenging course, then why was my teacher very over weight?
This goes back to my very most basic theory: It's what you eat.
So, to complete my critique, DO try pilates (yoga, too if you're not flexible like I am, I'm sure we'd improve) but know, like ANY current gimic - it's simple math - what goes in must be burned out, otherwise the energy is stored as fat.
But coming back full circle to my first statement here...If this is such a challenging course, then why was my teacher very over weight?
Actually, 25% body fat is not technically overweight. It's in the "acceptable" range. We think of yoga and Pilates instructors as being these willowy dancer types, but they're not always. Both practices, as you learned, require a lot of strength, and often those who are fit but not stick-thin have a great deal of talent with strength-based exercises. Those classes sound AWESOME, though!
I LOVE Pilates. I have done it sporadically for several years at home with videos but started taking a class in December once a week. As for the statement that you can't really mess up the form, I completely disagree. Form is the most important part of pilates, it is how you isolate the muscle you are working on. Having an instructor has made all the difference for me.
Since starting the class my arms are soooo much more toned than at any point in my life. My sister, who is tiny, has not lost weight, but seen a significant improvement in toning especially her stomach. I still have weight to lose but I know that when I do there are some pretty sexy looking muscles waiting for me
I swear by Pilates and credit it for having reshaped my body in the past year. A year ago, I weighed 325 lb. Today I weighed in at 313 lb. Not a big weight loss for a year of changing my diet and exercising five days a week. (I'm blaming that on PCOS). However, I have dropped two sizes in that time, and I attribute it all to the Pilates.
I work with a certified personal trainer who has been working with people for 25 years. I go to mat Pilates at least three times a week, and sometimes one or two more times when I have private sessions with my trainer. And I don't do much else. Everyone notices how much leaner I look. And my sons are completely impressed with my abs. Underneath the layers of fat, I have rock hard abs. My legs are stronger, my arms are stronger, my shoulders a more defined. But my muscles do not look bigger.
According to my trainer, weight lifting produces larger muscles because in the process, muscles are torn down and then heal, creating more, bulkier tissue. Pilates doesn't tear down the muscle. It compacts the muscle fibers. The muscles are still worked, they just get denser, and the whole body benefits from a wider range of movement through tendons and ligaments. With Pilates, you can work your muscles everyday. That's not recommended with weight training.
I'm about to add cardio to my workouts because I do want to burn more calories and lose more stored fat. Pilates didn't do that for me.
If you've tried Pilates and didn't see any results or thought it was too easy, you were not doing it right. Pilates is NOT easy to do, no matter what size you are. Even for those who have been doing Pilates for a long time. Which is why they're still doing it. No one masters Pilates and then moves on to something else to find a bigger challenge. You are in charge of the intensity of your workout, and you really need a good instructor to help you find that for yourself. I know Marines who can blow through 100 pushups without breaking a sweat whose muscles are really trembling toward the end of doing 10 proper Pilates pushups.
Actually, 25% body fat is not technically overweight. It's in the "acceptable" range. We think of yoga and Pilates instructors as being these willowy dancer types, but they're not always. Both practices, as you learned, require a lot of strength, and often those who are fit but not stick-thin have a great deal of talent with strength-based exercises. Those classes sound AWESOME, though!
Yes. I agree. I would then have to adjust my visual assessment and say she was maybe around 35-40% bf.
I guess my point I'd like to emphasize is, if you're doing pilates to gain strength, this instructor was a clear example of her success. If you're doing Pilates to lose fat, you're gonna have to watch the intake of calories like any other lifestyle change plan coz otherwise, you'll just become a stronger "heavier person".
If I had to give up all other work outs, and only keep one, I would keep pilates. I have been doing mat pilates 2x per week for about 10 months now and my core is STRONG. My abs are pretty defined (under the fat - lol), and I am way more flexible. I sweat like crazy during my classes and it is hard work, but when it's over, I feel so relaxed and calm. It's the perfect work out if you ask me. Builds strength, increases flexibility, tones, and conditions.
) The opposite (weight loss) applies, too. So in order for me to have defined abs, the rest of me will be very lean. This make my arms look "ripped". 
