Can larger people do Pilates?

We hear in the media celebrities doing Pilates and most of these celebrities are slim.  Can larger people do Pilates?  And if so, how are they accommodated, if at all?

Pilates for Larger People

Pilates is perfect for any body type. Why? Pilates is low impact. Pilates can be modified to suit any fitness level, experience and needs. Regardless of size, for anyone who hasn’t been active in a while and even those that are active, it can be challenging to engage muscles, especially the deeper smaller muscles. Learning to engage „core‟ muscles that are deep and closest to the skeleton is something anyone who does Pilates is continuing to work on. 

Pilates can have a positive effect on quality of life, mood and self-confidence. Why? So many of the fundamentals of Pilates naturally affect us positively. Just improving one’s posture helps increase self-confidence and self-esteem. The focus on breathing helps oxygenate the blood and in turn the muscles, relaxing the muscles. 

Pilates is not specifically designed for weight loss but it is a natural byproduct. Pilates burns approximately 4-7 kilocalories per minute. Pilates won’t lead to significant weight loss but weight reduction does occur from Pilates and in particular a slimmer and trimmer appearance results. The principle of control in Pilates is geared to working on controlling the body’s movements and transitions between exercises. Controlling movements forcing the stabilizing muscles to work together. This also requires mental focus to learn to engage these stabilizing muscles and then having them cooperate together. 

Gaining the confidence to control your body and muscles will result in a realization that it is possible to control other aspects of life. This heightened body awareness and new ability to listen to your body will help guide people towards better health choices which will slowly result in the desired weight loss. Pilates can be viewed as a gateway to a more active lifestyle and in general a more enjoyable, energy efficient lifestyle. 

The more common benefits of Pilates include increased posture, balance, stability, flexibility and respiration. The ease of aches and pains, stress reduction and an increase in performing daily activities more effectively and efficiently. For many larger, heavier people there is a lack of muscle support around the knees, hips and back. Pilates is perfect for strengthening muscles in these areas in a slow and gradual manner. The low impact nature of Pilates makes working these areas and in particular the knees easy. There is quite a bit of work on the reformer that may be done lying down those target muscles in the legs, strengthening the knees. 

The emphasis on core strength and stability in Pilates will only help the hips and pelvic region. Work with feet in the straps on the reformer, which again is low impact as is done lying down, is very good for stretching in and around the hips. One of the unique things about Pilates is the variety of exercises and the modifications of those exercises. This allows for all body types, skill levels, experiences, and physical abilities etc. to gain positively from Pilates. Pilates instructors should not be viewed solely as a fitness trainer but more as someone with a different view on movement so that one day when you eventually walk out of the studio, all the elements learned in your Pilates sessions come together and you move through your day with greater control, stability, precision, ease and confidence without thinking too much about it!