Hands down (and booties up), Pilates is the best workout there is. In a Barre, Reformer or Mat class, you will literally use every single muscle you have — and the ones you never knew you had, too! All the way from your pinky toe to the crown of your head, a 50-minute class doesn’t miss a muscle. Pilates lengthens your body, wakes up your core, corrects your posture, and virtually lifts your butt. When the movements flow to some really good tunes, it even masks the burn.
lengthen and strengthen
Pilates forces you to fire up your deep intrinsic muscles like the multifidus — one of the smallest yet most powerful muscles we have that supports our spine. When you activate this muscle, you lengthen and strengthen your back so you stand taller. You are also recruiting your deepest core muscles (transverse abdominis) along with your pelvic floor muscles to help stabilize your entire body — making it a true total-body workout.
it’s the little things
Pilates focuses on our little muscles rather than our “bulkier” ones. In barre classes, we use lighter weights to tone the triceps (rather than bigger biceps), we focus on your shoulder girdle to create the sculpted look of a dancer’s back. In Reformer classes, we use resistance springs and straps to activate the backs of our legs (hamstrings) rather than the bigger front of our legs (quadriceps). Not only does this make our bodies look longer, but it prevents stiffness and painful injuries like plantar fasciitis.
the barre shake
Have your legs ever trembled uncontrollably in a barre class? I hope so. Barre classes focus on tiny repetitive movements to isolate particular muscle groups — typically the glutes and legs. Pulsing your legs up and down, inch by inch, for up to 30 reps at a time, causes your muscles to run out of its fuel reserves and go into panic mode. Your muscles start contracting and relaxing at a high rate of speed — hence the shake! But don’t worry — it’s safe and effective. You are challenging your body to reach a whole new level of fitness. Embrace the shake!
the booty lift
A barre class isolates my favorite little muscle in the world — the gluteus sulcus, a.k.a. the glute fold. This little area that attaches the hamstring to the glutes is the pièce de résistance of barre. Once you tap into this connecting muscle, voila!, you get the sculpted butt that barre is all about. You literally and figuratively lift your butt.