31/12/2025
The "long and lean" claim? A complete myth.
Muscles don't lengthen through training; they grow in cross-sectional size when exposed to sufficient tension. What appears "longer" is simply better posture and reduced body fat, revealing definition (Haun et al., 2019).
If your goal is shaping, especially building glutes, legs, or shoulders, you need load and progression. The research shows that targeted resistance work, such as single-leg Romanian deadlifts and squats performed near muscular failure, produces significantly greater gluteal hypertrophy than body-weight or low-load training, such as Pilates (Barbalho et al., 2020).
Pilates activates and stabilises; strength training sculpts and strengthens. However, you can incorporate activation and stability exercises into your structured resistance training workout. This gives you the best bang for your buck.
Combined intelligently, they create physiques that move efficiently, perform powerfully, and look athletic, without chasing fitness myths and spending more time in your week doing separate workouts.
More at https://www.creightonpt.com/pilates