Look at any gym’s class schedule and you are sure to find at least one yoga and one Pilates class. They are the hottest forms of exercise right now. So hot that you will even find men in the classes. Whether that is because men are trying to pick up women or they are actually interested in the class is hard to tell. One thing is for sure though; most people who take Pilates or yoga are extremely passionate about it and will claim it cures everything short of cancer.

The question is, does yoga or Pilates really justify all the excitement and hype? You may be shocked to find out that I for one don’t believe yoga and Pilates are all they are cracked up to be. I know that yoga and Pilates are not the most effective weighs to lose weight and I know pilates and yoga are not the most effective ways to tone your muscles. Yoga and Pilates have a few beneficial aspects to them, but they are definitely not the only solution to all of your fitness needs.

Yoga is one of the oldest forms of exercise in the world and pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900’s. Yoga is a form of exercise that involves getting in various poses for differing lengths of time while focusing on relaxation and proper breathing. Pilates has similar origins but incorporates more exercises that are intended to work the core and tone the entire body. Both yoga and Pilates claim to greatly improve ones flexibility as well as toning and strengthing the muscles and that is one of the main attractions for a lot of people.

However, looking a little deeper into the claims made by both yoga and Pilates you may realize that they don’t quite live up to all the hype. The promise that yoga and Pilates will lead to a long and lean physique is hard to come by. There are two main reasons that explain why yoga and Pilates are not the most effective ways to lose weight and tone your muscles.

The most important concept to address when discussing the need to lose weight continuously and tone your muscles is the idea of progressive resistance. The concept of progressive resistance states that you need to systematically increase the amount of weight you lift to continuously tax your muscular system thus ensuring consistent results, ideally without the risk of plateauing. A lot of women may get scared away by the concept of lifting heavier weights because they think that will result in bulky looking muscles. Without going on to far of a tangent all I will say is that it is very hard for women to get bulky muscles and if you ignore this concept sooner or later your results will stop.

When it comes to yoga and Pilates there is no such thing as progressive resistance. The only weight you have when performing the traditional forms of yoga and Pilates is your own bodyweight. Your body will adapt to the movements with your body weight very quickly, thus plateauing very quickly. The speed at which one plateaus is dependent on various factors with exercise experience being a major factor. The only way to maintain the concepts of progressive resistance when it comes to yoga and Pilates is to progressively gain weight. That seems like it achieves the exact opposite results that most people are striving for.

The other major claim that yoga and Pilates make is that they will greatly enhance your flexibility. Well let me ask a very vague question, why do you need to be more flexible? Is it because your friend told you so or your doctor told you so? The problem is there are no quantifications for flexibility. How do you know when you are adequately flexible? Everyone should remember the sit-and-reach test from school where you had to reach as far beyond your toes as possible. That may be a good indicator of your ability to reach your toes, but what does that mean to you and me?

The idea of maintaining a flexible body is good. However, people have gotten way too carried away. My basic recommendation is that if you can perform your daily activities through a complete range of motion you are plenty flexible. There is no need to be able to put your feet behind your head or any other weird forms of contortion. Yoga and Pilates don’t seem to make any distinction between general range of motion and extreme flexibility.

There are joints in your body that serve different roles, some are meant to provide mobility while others are meant to provide stability. Any ideas what joints serve each purpose? Then how can you devote lots of time stretching when you could be causing yourself harm? One of the main issues people have is lower back pain. 80% of Americans will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives. In order to help their back pain most people try to stretch it out. Unfortunately, the lumbar spine is meant to provide stability to your entire body, meaning it isn’t supposed to be extremely flexible. A lot of back pain is caused from excessive flexibility in the lumbar spine. So it is possible that yoga and Pilates can be contributing to your lower back pain and other joint pain.

I know people will call me crazy and still claim that yoga or pilates is the best form of exercise. I am not trying to suggest that you should never do Pilates or yoga. I am trying to point out that yoga and Pilates aren’t the best forms for achieving most people’s goals. Yoga and Pilates should be just a small part of a greater exercise program.

The bulk of an exercise program should revolve around progressive resistance training and interval cardiovascular training. Each of which will dramatically improve muscle tone as well as helping you lose body fat. Use proper nutrition and potentially yoga and Pilates to supplement the results you are achieving through your standard training. Yoga is a great way to relax after a long stressful week and Pilates can be a great way to get additional core work into your program. Pilates and yoga have their role in an exercise program just don’t be led to believe that they are the solution to all your problems.

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