I ran into an old friend, an avid cyclist, rock climber and personal strength trainer. To the average person, he looks like a world-class athlete. You know the form, rock hard abs, legs and arms many drool over, not to mention the energy and heart of a child at eternal play. He knew I had a Pilates studio and thought it would be a great idea for me to allow him to bring his kettle-bells into my studio to “help my students build muscle.”
“Oh, well, isn’t the purpose of Pilates & Yoga to build muscle and bone density?” he asked in response to my very quick but courteous response, “No, we don’t do kettle-bells in Pilates studios.”
As a former gym rat, strength and conditioning trainer, I understood his mis-understanding of the purpose and benefits of a Pilates workout. I told my friend, the purpose of any Pilates workout, whether on the apparatus or plain old mat, is to develop the body’s core strength – the powerhouse – through focus on the breath and mindful movements of the body; that building muscle and bone density are benefits of a consistent Pilates practice, and not the purpose of the method.
The Good Three Reasons
I knew from his age, movements and posture that he suffered quite a few falls off the bike, run-ins with other cyclists and over work and exertion on more than a few joints 
(shoulder, hip, ankles). In other words, while he looked like he was “strong as a bull” he did not move with the ease of a gazelle nor could he “float like a butterfly” and was surely using a lot of hot showers to ease the aches and pains of his daily life. I gave him these three reasons to ditch the kettle-bells.
1) Practice Pilates because it makes you think.
While thinking is required to use kettle-bells, dumbbells and any handheld weighted resistance, momentum quickly comes into play with most people as form, fatigue and conscious thought go by the wayside.
Pilates facilitates a feeling of physical and mental wellness and helps develop an overall inner awareness of the body. Pilates requires that you think, engage, breathe and then move. Consciousness and focus are key to Pilates with an emphasis on the quality of the movement rather than quantity of the repetitions.
2) Practice Pilates because it will change your movements and your posture.
Pilates creates tone, strength, muscle fiber and bone density by training one to a)make internal, isometric muscle contractions, while b) externally resisting the movement of the body to/away from a stable position. Each exercise is performed with conscious effort, focused control and breath while encouraging the flow and ease of each movement from one to the next.
It’s the compounding of these aspects that makes Pilates such a unique method of strengthening the core as it also re-aligns the body along its center. It is the repeated practice that brings about the change in the movement of the body.
3) Practice Pilates because it will change your physical workouts into artistry.
Strength and length are the goal of a Pilates workout. Muscle is used and developed without creating bulk; simply tone, length and openness are achieved.
As a result, it is beneficial for dancers, actors and athletes and exceeding helpful in both prevention and rehabilitation of injuries (sometimes caused by improper use of kettle-bells, dumbbells and weights.) Void of compression on the joints and ligaments, Pilates practitioners feel lifted, lighter, free and open after a workout session. Surely we all want to practice an exercise regimen that brings sustainable balance and energy. We all want to practice a physical workout that lifts opens and frees the body rather than depleting and exhausting it. The practice of Pilates is transformative and thus, pure artistry.
Practice Pilates because it will change you. Get Started & Sign Up for a class!
Gina Jackson, is a classically trained Pilates Teacher and has been teaching along the Gold Coast of Hudson and Bergen County, NJ for the past fifteen+ years.
Certified by Power Pilates of New York, Gina has trained with Master Teachers Bob Liekens, Susan Moran and Brett Howard; loved workshop training with Cary Regan and Blossom Leilani-Crawford and has particularly enjoyed listening to the personal stories as told by Pilates Elders, Kathy Grant and Lolita San Miguel.
An active teacher and blogger, Gina manages a private personal training business supporting a myriad of clients, teaching all to honor their health, strength and life with the principles of Pilates at its core.