Pilates meets Functional Resistance Training
As a physiotherapist, I work closely with clients who are recovering from injuries, as well as those looking to build strength and confidence so that they can continue to do the things that bring them joy. Pilates is, and will continue to be, one of my most effective tools for designing intentional, progressive rehabilitation programs tailored to each individual.
What’s your plan?
As my time is largely split between clinical and group teaching, I often find myself reflecting on the difference in how I structure and plan these classes and the goals that I set. Ultimately, both clinical and group classes utilise the Pilates repertoire to alter and enhance motor patterns, by first building and setting the foundations of body awareness and basic movement patterns. Then we look to improve mobility, stability and muscular strength and power. My thought plan when programming both group and clinical classes include:
1. What is my theme or overarching goal of the class? (e.g. body slings, unilateral work,
2. Mobility first always - some type of active movement through range such as spinal bridges, hip flossing, shoulder rotation.
3. Warm up: to create a sense of body awareness and connection to breath. This usually looks like some time of supine core work four point kneeling core work.
Generally, this programming is done in a low-load environment, on horizontal beds with variable repetitions and sets, depending on the exercise. However, we have the knowledge and ability to use strength training principles and progressive overload to create class plans that effectively build muscle in a functional and effective way. We can do this by:
-intentional spring/resistance choice
-layering of exercises and work/rest ratio
-exercise selection (e.g. split standing row (pull) or lunge + rotation being two of my favourites!)
Purposeful Exercise Selection: Let’s Think Function
As physiotherapists or pilates instructors, our goal is to keep our clients moving, pain free and to keep them functional! I believe that there are five movement patterns for life:
Squat
Hinge (including flexion and extension of the spine)
Four-point kneeling
Rotation
Balance
These movement patterns will be practised by our clients every single day in day-to-day life. If we can build strength and resilience within these patterns, we are not only enhancing their movement capacity for everyday life, but we are also prioritising injury prevention. Personally, almost every single one of my classes sprinkles each of these five moves throughout. The challenge is, can you maintain a rhythm and flow, whilst transitioning between these?
Resistance Training and Progressive Overload
Resistance, or strength training, is a very popular training modality across many different populations – and there is a good reason for that! Load selection, or how much you are lifting/squatting/pushing/pulling, plays an important role in the outcome or how effective, the resistance training is. However, the most important component of resistance training is the principle of progressive overload. This refers to increasing either, the load, volume or intensity, within the training program.
When thinking about progressive overload, we can look to plan our classes in a similar way. Granted the concept of progressive overload generally spans across a 6-12 week program, the individual classes we are teaching can still capture the essence of this. For example, a standing lunge series facing the footbar might typically utilise a medium or light spring, and work through 3-4 variations of said lunge with no rest between layers and no change of spring.
To bias the resistance training principles within our class, I invite you to be particular with spring choice. Guiding your clients to select a spring choice that is not just generalised, but specific to their capacity. For example, I would suggest “for this exercise series, I want you to be working on a heavier spring set. Something you can work on for 12-15 repetitions, for 2-3 rounds of variations.” This not only begins to then personalise your programming but also allows the client to feel a sense of autonomy and progress within your classes.
An example of a lower-body based strength flow could look like this:
-set up on a heavy spring (depending on the body size and previous experience)
-1st set: 12x lunges
-2nd set: 10x lunge (+/- row combination)
-3rd set: 12x scooters for power (faster contraction)
Another example is to utilise tempo within your flows to increase the muscular effort. For example, set up on a medium to heavy spring for a single leg footwork flow.
Set one: 8x reps with a 1:1 tempo ratio
Set two: 8x reps with a 3:1 tempo ratio (slow concentric, fast eccentric)
Set three: 8x reps with a 1:3 tempo ratio (fast concentric, slow eccentric)
Tempo flow is a very effective tool when looking to add difficulty to a class whilst maintaining flow, as you seamlessly transition from one set to the other.
So… why do I want to prioritise strength-based Pilates programming?
As Pilates often captures a large, female audience, I would love to continue to connect and champion other instructors and professionals in the field to explore how they might be able to incorporate functional- based strength principles into classes. Within the womens health space, I work with clients across the lifespan. Within this, are peri-menopausal or menopausal women looking for a low-intensity way to move their body. We know that menopause is associated with a natural decline in estrogen, which decreases bone mass density, muscle mass, and strength. There is copious amounts of research to affirm the importance of resistance training for women, particularly in improving bone density and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Resistance training places mechanical stress on bones, stimulating bone remodelling and increasing bone mineral density.
Let’s champion clients to participate in strength training, using Pilates as a tool to lay the foundations for movement. With an emphasis on body awareness, control and coordination, I believe that Pilates and Resistance training are a perfect pair.
A hybrid way of movement.
Olivia is the founder of Live Active Physio and Pilates, an online movement platform that offers Matwork, reformer and mobility classes that capture her teaching style. There are also a variety of Hybrid strength-based programs within the app. To find out more visit www.liveactivephysio.com.au. She is also an educator with Unite Health.
References:
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Gomes-Neto, M., Durães, A. R., Conceição, L. S. R., Saquetto, M. B., Alves, I. G., Smart, N. A., & Carvalho, V. O. (2024). Some types of exercise interventions are more effective than others in people with coronary heart disease: Systematic review and network meta-analysis. Journal of Physiotherapy
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Lopez, P., Radaelli, R., Taaffe, D. R., Newton, R. U., Galvão, D. A., Trajano, G. S., ... & Pinto, R. S. (2021). Resistance training load effects on muscle hypertrophy and strength gain: systematic review and network meta-analysis. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 53(6).