STRONG — The Perfect Blend Of Pilates And Strength Training

When most people think of strength training, they pictures dumbbells, barbells and cable machines at the gym. But what if we told you there’s a low-impact, highly effective way to build strength, improve muscle tone, and enhance muscular endurance without setting foot in a weight room?

Obviously, we’re talking about Pilates! In particular, our STRONG classes.

Pilates is known for its ability to improve flexibility, posture, and core strength, but it’s also a fantastic option for building muscle strength. Pilates classes at Momentum aim to improve functional strength, enhance athletic performance, and increase overall muscle tone by applying the fundamentals of strength training to Pilates principles.

This means we take a few of the key principles from the strength training world and blend then with the most important components of the Pilates world to create the perfect workout. (In our opinion, of course. You’ll have to try it for yourself to decide!)

The Principles behind STRONG:
1. Progressive Overload

At the core of any strength training program is the principle of progressive overload. This means gradually increasing the amount of stress placed on your muscles over time. Muscles grow and become stronger only when they are challenged to perform more than they’re used to.

Oftentimes, Pilates studios suggest the same springs for a particular exercise every time — “Footwork happens on RRR for 20 reps.” “Supine Arms happens on RB for 10 reps.” But that’s not how we get stronger. We need to continuously adjust the load and the repetitions as we get stronger to keep up with the progress we have made.

In STRONG we encourage heavier springs, adding dumbbells and other weighted items when appropriate, and often doing more than one set per exercise to increase overall volume. This adds new stresses our muscles need to adapt so they can continue to get stronger each class.

2. Proper Form/Technique

Ask anyone who regularly practices Pilates and they’ll be able to tell you about a time the instructor moved their foot one inch to the left, or lift their hips just a little higher, and the whole exercise became immeasurably harder. This is one principle where Pilates tends to reign king — but we want this to be true in strength training, too. Our vision is that you’ll take what you learn in your Pilates classes and apply them to every type of workout you try!

Proper form is crucial for effective and safe strength training. In STRONG, we use the reformer and the equipment for feedback about our alignment, as a reminder to engage the whole body even when working one isolated muscle group, and to add challenges that standard weight rooms don’t offer. The instructor acts as a second set of eyes helping you approach each exercise with proper technique resulting in a better sense of body awareness and control.

3. Functional Movements

There are lots of fun moves that feel good, look pretty, and create a good burn — and don’t worry, we’ll do plenty of those — but the main goal in STRONG is to get stronger at the moves that come up in our ever day lives. SQUATS, PUSHES, PULLS, HINGES, and ROTATIONS do everything from get us out of bed in the morning, to help us pick stuff up off the floor, to allow us to reach back to grab the seatbelt buckle before we take a drive. Our focus is on getting your body familiar and extremely capable at all of these movements so you’re less likely to experience injuries when doing them in your day to day life.

4. Curiosity

This one doesn’t technically stem from strength training or Pilates per se, but to us it is the coolest part about taking a challenging class like STRONG. We get curious about what else we can do! It’s designed to make you surprise yourself, and then maybe even compete with yourself to get better every time. Each session builds on the one before (another type of progressive overload) so you not only see yourself improve week to week, but you can start to set goals and get CURIOUS about what else you’re capable of!

So whether you’re a fitness enthusiast looking to switch up your routine or a beginner seeking a comprehensive workout program, STRONG offers a balanced approach to total-body strength training that caters to all fitness levels.

Check out the schedule for a list of class offering or email us to set up your first session.