Pilates is everywhere right now but there’ s a lot of myths going around as to what its benefits are compared to strength training. If you’re looking to get toned, lean, stronger and not “bulky” then you’re going to want to read on.

 

Pilates: A Brief Overview

Pilates is a low-impact movement method created in the early 1900s, built around control, posture and core stability. It was originally developed to support rehabilitation and injury prevention. The slow, precise style of training improves mobility, flexibility and body awareness, making it excellent for movement quality and joint health. However, Pilates wasn’t designed to build maximal strength or muscle through ongoing, progressive resistance.

Over time, Pilates has been marketed as a way to “get long and lean,” “tone up,” or “grow glutes.” While some early changes can occur, these outcomes don’t fully align with what Pilates is designed to deliver long term. Because it relies primarily on bodyweight and spring-based resistance, progression is limited. Once those variables are maxed out, many people reach a plateau where the stimulus is no longer sufficient to drive continued muscle or strength adaptation.

What Pilates does exceptionally well is improve how people move. It builds foundational stability, supports posture, and enhances body awareness — all valuable outcomes. But when Pilates is used in isolation, individuals often hit a ceiling that reflects the method’s limitations rather than their potential.

That’s why Pilates works best as a complement, not a complete solution. For those aiming to build noticeable muscle, increase strength, or meaningfully reshape their body over time, Pilates alone doesn’t provide the progressive overload required to create lasting change.

 

Strength Training: The Reality

Strength training is designed for one thing: progression. Unlike Pilates, it’s built on the principle of progressive overload, systematically increasing resistance over time so the body is continually challenged and adapts in measurable ways.

This ability to progress is what drives the physical outcomes many people are ultimately seeking:

• Muscle growth and definition:Real muscle development comes from loading the body with external resistance. That’s how you shape, tone, and strengthen your physique.
• Stronger bones and joints:Lifting weights increases bone density and supports long-term joint health.
• Better metabolism:More muscle means a higher resting metabolic rate, helping your body burn more energy even at rest.
• Everyday performance:Carrying, lifting, running, stairs, climbing — strength training makes real life feel easier.
• Long-term resilience:Building strength is one of the most powerful tools we have for healthy ageing and injury prevention.
  

And about that “bulky” fear?

Getting bulky doesn’t just happen from lifting weights. Noticeable size requires years of heavy training, structured nutrition, and a deliberate calorie surplus. For most people, strength training simply leads to a leaner, stronger, more athletic body — exactly what they’re chasing.

So while Pilates is great for posture and body awareness, strength training is what gives your body the stimulus it needs to get stronger, build defined muscle, and create lasting results.

 

MYTH vs REALITY

Myth: Pilates is the best way to “tone up” or lose weight.
Reality: Pilates is excellent for posture, mobility, and muscle awareness, but it doesn’t provide the progressive resistance needed to significantly change body composition. Strength training is the most effective tool for “toning” because building lean muscle increases your resting metabolism, improves fat loss potential, and creates lasting physical change.

Myth: Lifting weights will make me bulky.
Reality: Getting bulky doesn’t happen by accident. Noticeable size requires years of heavy training and a deliberate calorie surplus. For most people, strength training leads to a leaner, more defined, and athletic body — while improving strength, joint health, and overall resilience.

Myth: Pilates alone can build major strength.
Reality: Pilates builds stability and movement control, but it’s not designed to progressively overload the body in the way strength training does. True strength gains require increasing external resistance over time — something only structured weight training can consistently provide.

Myth: I need to be fit before I start strength training.
Reality: Strength training is the starting point, not the end goal. A structured program allows anyone to begin at their current level and build up safely. You don’t get fit to lift weights — you lift weights to get fit.

Myth: Light weights and high reps are best for long, lean muscles.
Reality: Muscles don’t change shape based on rep ranges. Building lean muscle comes from consistent resistance training at a variety of loads. Strength training develops definition and shape far more effectively than low-resistance exercise alone.

 

The Takeaway

Pilates is genuinely great for your body. It improves mobility, builds core stability, and teaches valuable movement control. Those benefits matter — they help you move better, feel better, and train smarter. But here’s the thing: strength training delivers those same benefits — and then goes even further.

Not only will you feel these same benefits but it also gives you the tools Pilates can’t:

• Real muscle growth and definition through progressive overload
• True strength gains that keep increasing over time
• Improved bone density and joint resilience
• Better metabolic health and fat loss potential
• Performance and everyday capability that carries into real life
• Long-term vitality and healthy ageing

This becomes especially important as we move through different life stages. Many perimenopausal and menopausal women are drawn to Pilates for its low-impact nature. But it’s also during this phase of life that progressive strength training becomes most critical. Hormonal changes increase the need for adequate loading to support bone density, muscle retention and metabolic health, outcomes that strength training delivers more effectively over time.

For the body to change, it must be challenged. Programs that are structured and progressively increase demands over time allow the body to adapt by becoming stronger, fitter, and more capable. It’s not about choosing one style of training or the other. The smartest approach is finding a balance that’s realistic and drives the results YOU are looking for.

At Fitstop, our training is designed around this principle. Movements are purposeful, progress is structured, and strength is built over time so results are not just achieved, but sustained. The aim is not to move for the sake of moving, but to use movement efficiently and intentionally to support the life you want to live.

Move more. Live more.