Fitness, Weight Loss & Muscles With Pilates For Men

Pilates is a system of exercises that Joseph Pilates developed in Germany in the 1920s. The comprehensive system is based on a method Joseph Pilates referred to as "Contrology." Pilates has become increasingly popular as a method of exercise, and men who practice Pilates regularly should find it beneficial at improving some aspects of physical fitness.

Weight Loss

Intermediate Pilates is about as effective at producing weight loss in men as a brisk walk. At the 2005 American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition, researcher Michele Olson, Ph.D, reported on the results of a study investigating the effectiveness of beginner, intermediate and advanced Pilates workouts. Olson and her team of researchers found that 30 minutes of intermediate Pilates burned 180 calories, with men burning more calories on average than women.

Fitness

Pilates is effective at improving flexibility in areas such as the hips, back and hamstrings, but may have little effect on body composition in men. In a 2004 study, researchers at the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Iowa Health Care found participants who engaged in Pilates training for up to six months had improved flexibility in fingertip-to-floor exercises, but no significant change in weight or lean body mass.

Muscle Strength

Engaging in a 60-minute Pilates training session at least two times a week may improve muscular endurance. Subjects who participated in a 12-week 2010 study, sponsored by the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Gustavus Adolphus College, saw increases in abdominal and upper-body muscular endurance. The training sessions the participants engaged in were basic mat exercises, meaning that men can can see improvements in endurance without performing advanced Pilates moves.

Health

Basic Pilates workouts may have little effect on men's cardiovascular health. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in association with the American Council on Exercise, found subjects who engaged in a beginning Pilates session exercised to 54 percent of their maximal heart rates, on average. Advanced Pilates participants exercised to 62 percent of their maximal heart rates. To improve cardiovascular fitness, however, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercising to 64 to 94 percent of your maximal heart rate.