From learning to use your core effectively to taking a ton of pressure off your hip flexors and neck, Pilates exercises can leave you feeling more flexible, healthier, and more confident. But can Pilates change your body shape?
People have different body shapes, abdominal definitions, and body fat.
Pilates can:
It can change your body, but maybe not in the way you expect.
Here, we separate fact from fiction and provide a clear, evidence-based perspective on how Pilates affects body structure and strength.
Can Pilates change your body shape? Body recomposition happens through a combination of diet and physical activity.
Pilates is a whole-body workout that can enhance muscular coordination, flexibility, and core stability through controlled movements (1).
To better understand this concept, let’s examine the difference between body shape and body composition:
Everyone has a unique body shape with different proportions, weight distribution, and height. Factors like height or muscle shape are things you can’t control.
They are genetic.
Although genetics plays a role, you can lose or gain body fat by consuming a calorie surplus or deficit.
Studies showed that Pilates can refine body composition in sedentary adults with obesity or those who are overweight.
Regular Pilates workouts significantly decrease body mass index (BMI), body weight, and body fat percentage (2).
However, fat loss occurs when you are burning more calories than you consume.
The body converts calories into physical energy or stores them as fat.
By cutting back on excess calories, you encourage the body to tap into its reserves to generate energy, which helps burn fat (3).
Read more: BetterMe Pilates: Here’s All You Need to Know.
Pilates doesn’t “tone” the muscles in the way most people think it does.
Muscle tone can improve when you reduce your body fat percentage, which is possible by combining a balanced diet with cardiovascular exercise and strength training.
Pilates is an efficient, low-intensity workout that burns calories, strengthens your body, and improves mobility and endurance. The Pilates body shape is lean and elongated, while a gym body typically provides a bulkier and more muscular physique.
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So, can Pilates change your body shape?
Pilates, however, is not a high-impact cardio workout. Therefore, you can’t lose drastic weight by implementing a few workouts a week. The “Pilates effect” requires consistent practice and a balanced diet. If you’re curious if 10 minutes Of Pilates a day is enough, check out our earlier article.
Diets rich in antioxidants, whole foods, fiber, and phytonutrients can promote body composition and balance the gut bacteria (4).
The most significant difference in the way your body looks comes from your posture.
Bad posture can:
The question is: How does Pilates change your body?
Pilates activates muscles, stretches tendons and hamstrings, and improves your gait.
Regular Pilates can correct your posture, minor spinal deformities, improve core strength, and enhance body awareness (5).
Consistent Pilates training can:
Now that we’ve clarified whether Pilates can change your body shape, let’s talk about your face shape. Fat distribution plays a key role in your face shape.
Losing or gaining body fat can cause visible changes to your facial features.
For example, when you gain weight, excess fat accumulates in different areas of your face.
You may experience:
Pilates can’t change your genetic facial features.
But it can help you lose excess fat, which may redefine your cheeks, jawline, lower face, and chin. Pilates can cause volume loss in areas where excess fat provides support.
After significant fat loss, Reformer Pilates can give the face a sculpted look.
You may notice less fat around your chin and jaw.
The workout may reduce puffiness and enhance definition.
Combining exercise with a healthy diet can lead to small but noticeable improvements in your face.
Read more: What Is the Best Wall Pilates Challenge to Try in 2025?
It depends on your workout frequency, lifestyle, fitness level, and diet.
In most cases, people experience better flexibility, posture, and strength in 4-6 weeks of regular physical activity. You can start with 2-3 weekly Pilates workouts, then adjust the routine based on your fitness goals.
In the first 1-2 weeks, you may become more aware of your posture and overall balance. Over time, you may refine your core and flexibility, which can curb back pain and discomfort. However, to boost stamina and endurance, it takes discipline and regular repetition.
To achieve the female Pilates body, you must gradually increase the duration and intensity of your physical activity. Adding progressive overload, such as weights or resistance bands, causes muscle hypertrophy and adaptation.
Regular Pilates can cause hypertrophy in the abdominal muscles.
It can reinforce the abdominal wall muscles and correct any muscle imbalances caused by bad posture. These results require consistent practice with an emphasis on progressive overload, a balanced diet, and healthy lifestyle choices (6).
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Pilates is an efficient workout for burning calories and improving balance and posture.
However, it’s doubtful that you’ll see drastic changes in body weight after just 20 minutes of Pilates a day.
For optimal Pilates results, perform regular Pilates for about 30 minutes a day.
Combine physical activity with a nutritious diet. Then, diversify your workouts with cardiovascular activity. Cardio provides a quick calorie burn and adds some progressive overload. Tailor your routine based on your body shape or fitness goals.
If you don’t know how to personalize your workout and nutrition, the BetterMe app can help by allowing you to:
It’s here to help you reach your nutrition goals and keep the weight off! For more details about Pilates at home challenge, take a look at our prior publication.
While Pilates may not be the fastest workout for losing weight, it is an effective tool for slimming the body. The key is to combine it with a few strategies that can boost blood flow, stimulate the digestive system, and engage different muscle groups.
The tips below can maximize your Pilates routine for quicker results:
Power Pilates or Reformer Pilates involves more intense, dynamic movements that burn more calories and support weight loss. These controlled movements add resistance to your exercise and target various muscle groups.
Aim for 2-4 sessions of Pilates per week. The higher the frequency, the easier it is to burn off excess pounds. Consistent workouts can stimulate your digestive tract and help you achieve maximum results.
Since Pilates is a low-intensity workout, you can pair it with some high-calorie-burning activity.
Cardio training, such as swimming, brisk walking, or jogging, targets different muscle groups and increases your energy expenditure.
Diversify your workouts by engaging different muscle groups.
For example, add planks, Pilates push-ups, single-leg stretches, and leg lifts to your daily routine. Mix and match different exercises to add variety and keep you entertained.
You may feel discouraged or overwhelmed the second you start exercising.
At first, you may not notice many changes, which can add more to your stress.
But if you keep track of your progress, you can see that even the tiniest changes yield results.
It takes time to lose weight or shape the body. Combining Pilates with effective stress management, quality sleep, and mindful eating can help you stay on track.
So, log your small achievements and work consistently to obtain long-term results.
Pilates uses controlled movements to melt calories, boost core strength, and improve posture and mobility. Eliminating the excess fat can help reshape and contour the body. This fat loss process requires a combination of regular physical activity and healthy dietary changes. You may notice improved posture and balance within the first 2 weeks of Pilates. However, to lose weight, build strength, and improve flexibility, you need regular practice, which can take anywhere from 2-12 weeks, depending on your lifestyle, fitness level, and eating habits. People with a sedentary lifestyle may notice changes sooner. There isn’t a perfect time of day to do Pilates. What’s important is that you show up and pick a routine that suits you. For example, if you’re a morning person who can get up early, you can start your day with Pilates. But if you’re more energetic at night, then a nighttime fitness routine might suit you better. A Pilates workout for beginners can burn about 4 calories per minute. Intermediate workouts require more effort and complex movements that can burn anywhere from 6 to 7.5 calories per minute. That means you can burn 240-450 calories every hour with Pilates.Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pilates sculpt the body?
Can Pilates change your body in 2 weeks?
Is it better to do Pilates in the morning or at night?
How many calories does Pilates burn?
Many people start their Pilates transformation hoping to see a drastic difference in body shape. But that is not the case. You can’t change every aspect of your body shape, like muscle shape or height. But you can burn calories, sculpt certain areas, and slim down.
To achieve the desired result, combine regular Pilates with a balanced diet. Diversify your workouts with cardio exercises and practice healthy lifestyle changes.
Over time and with consistent effort, you can notice positive outcomes.
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