Pilates--longer, leaner muscles?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Pilates--longer, leaner muscles?
32
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 12:29pm
I have heard this so many times that Pilates will help make your muscles longer and leaner.





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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-27-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 1:04pm

Well, I don't know a lot about pilates, but I know that you can get longer muscles by doing full range of motion strength moves. Think about gymnasts. I seen a lot of kids when dh coached who changed their muscle structure because gymnastics requires you do use the full range of motion of your muscles. Maybe pilates does the same?

Paula

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 1:30pm

I always think that gymnasts and ballerinas almost have to be long and lean to be successful so the ones who are stockier get weeded out in the process.






iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 1:33pm

yes, i think that's it, it's the opposite of how people who are focused on having big bulgey muscles only focus on a small range of motion that bulks their muscles up the most.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 1:51pm
I know so many people who claim that it does, yet no one has said it did for them.





iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 2:48pm

The only person I know of that actually looks leaner is Ruth Hughes who is an AFAA provider. She teaches Pilates regularly and looks leaner, but she was very lean to start with. Go figure...she didn't need it worked for her. I find it works best with people who have dancers bodies.

I found my posture was better when I did Pilates regularly and I "felt" taller. LOL! I think if you did Pilates one on one at a Pilates studio on the reformer, you can change your body some. I still haven't seen anyone get rid of the "baby pouch" with Pilates.

I still love doing it as long as it is the "athletic" type from the books of authentic Pilates.

Grace

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 2:55pm
My old gym had a few reformers and my gym now is supposed to get one but I'm not paying $70 an hour to do it.





iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 2:56pm
yes, my pilates teacher is a former dancer, so that supports what you said about it working for people with "dancer's bodies." i think pilates has definitely changed my body - it has improved my posture which affects the way my whole body looks, and it has toned my stomach, making it appear thinner.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 3:00pm
Do you feel the same way about pilates that you do about yoga--how it should be done in a studio w/ an authentic pilates instructor vs. gym pilates?





iVillage Member
Registered: 07-22-2004
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 3:21pm

It's not physically possible to make muscles longer. That's not to say that stretching doesn't "lengthen" muscles, but it is still done within one's physical limitations. Joints only move so far; muscle length and insertion points are part of one's immutable body structure, so a muscle can never grow longer, it is always restricted by the joint's range of motion and the space between it's tendons. When muscles grow, they can only get bigger around; this is why you'll see some men with a gap between the elbow joint and their biceps, and some who's biceps blend seamlessly into the joint. They were just born that way and there's nothing that can be done to change it, although getting the muscle bigger or reducing the amount of fat covering it can change it's aesthetics. Even as a concept lengthening seems nonsensical to me - if a given joint can only be extended so many degrees, what possible use could there be for longer muscles? Where would this extra length go?

There is no science to back up the lengthening claims of the Pilates people, but it would be amusing to see them try to prove what is physically impossible.

As far as looking leaner, that's what losing bodyfat is for, and I suppose Pilates can be helpful there, although it wouldn't be my first choice.

Nick

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 02-02-2005 - 3:38pm

That's what I was thinking.






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