Calories Burned During Pilates

Difficulty

• Pilates can meet the needs of just about anyone as it can has three levels of difficulty. For the less physically fit person, it has a beginner's level which will burn around 276 calories per hour for a person weighing 165 pounds. According to Medicinenet.com, the intermediate level burns 390 calories per hour and the advanced routine burns 480 calories per hour.

Types of Exercises

• Each level of difficulty contains different exercises. Exercises such as the roll-over, jackknife and boomerang are more difficult to perform; therefore, they burn more calories. The easier exercises such as the hundred, leg circles and seated twist burn fewer calories on average.

Comparison

• There are many different ways to burn calories and lose weight. Pilates is not at the top of the list for calories burned; however, according to Nutristrategy.com, it has proven to be an effective way to lose weight. Compare Pilates' 276-480 calories burned with activities such as walking at a moderate pace, which burns 246 calories/hour; running a 10-minute mile, which burns 704 calories/hour; and general aerobics, which burns 422 calories/hour. All of these figures are for a person who weighs 155 pounds.

Core Training

• Pilates is a great way to strengthen and flatten your core. Through Pilates, it is easy to focus on the different muscle groups in the abdomen such as the external obliques and rectus abdominis muscle, leading to more effective strengthening for the core muscles than the standard crunch.

Shape

• If the main goal of your exercise program is to lose weight, there are more productive methods than Pilates. Pilates is very effective in shaping and toning the body without significant changes in weight. You will lose some weight, but it might not satisfy you if you're looking to cut down on body weight significantly.