A space for movement, reflection, and healthy living.
May 1, 2026
Guide: How to Add Weight to Your Practice
Note: I’m getting a lot of questions lately about Pilates and strength training, especially as Pilates has become more popular. I’ll try to break it down for you! Pilates absolutely builds strength. It improves muscular endurance, control, and stability in a really effective, low-impact way. But at a certain point, especially if your goal is to build muscle or support bone density, you need more load. That means heavier resistance. More external weight. Challenging your muscles in a different way. This is something I’ve been incorporating more into my classes by popular demand, and also because it works.
If you’re looking to start adding weight, here are a few simple ways to think about it:
Start with a stable base (floor, box, or all springs on)
Gradually increase weight so the last few reps feel challenging
Keep your form and control as the priority
Use Pilates as your advantage. The body awareness you’ve built makes this easier
You’ll see more additions to the growing strength-based classes in the collection that lean more directly into building muscle.
The goal isn’t to replace Pilates. It’s to build on it.
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