Branching out beyond the adorable-yet-small-thinking tiny tots with their eyes all aglow crowd, Santa Claus made a pit stop at the YMCA this year. In an effort to reach an older and more lucrative crowd, while coal was not on the agenda – although I’m sure the resourceful and charitable Y folk would have found some use for it that would not have ended in pollution (new class! Functional fitness by pitching coal!) – lots of good fitness girls and boys were rewarded with exercise toys galore. A full line of TRXs were hung by the chimney with care and visions of kettlebells danced in the air. (And that, friends, is the closest to poetry I will ever get. I hope you enjoyed it.)
New fitness gadgets! Be still my heart. As you will recall, the versatile TRX is my number one recommendation for people looking for a home or traveling strength training system and kettlebells are one of the best workouts combining strength training and cardio that I’ve ever tried. So I was very excited to see that the fitness director was offering free classes throughout the month of February in not only the TRX and kettlebells but also something else I’ve long fantasized about: the Pilates Reformer. I promptly signed up all the Gym Buddies and myself for the Reformer and the kettlebells classes. (Seeing as my TRX Great Fitness Experiment was so recent, I didn’t do that class.) I was specifically interested in pitting these two classes back to back – on the same day, even – as I get so many questions on this website about the opposing training methodologies that underlie each type of training.
Kettlebells
First up was kettlebells. My number one complaint about my Great Fitness Kettlebell Experiment last September was that I never got any live instruction with the little iron wonders and while they have similar properties to a dumbbell, they are not used in the same way a dumbbell is. Hours of reading and Go Fit! videos and online tutorials by the KB Queen notwithstanding, I still felt like I would have used them better with a little in-person help. Enter my free lesson.
It started off well with Gym Buddy Allison and I forgetting that I had signed us up for the class. Thankfully Krista was on the ball and reminded us by shooting emphatic looks at us through the studio windows until we clued in. We made it in at the last second. Warm-ups were light floor aerobics, entertaining mostly because Allison forgot she wasn’t in Hip Hop Hustle and did a very cool dip in the middle of her grapevine left. Which would’ve looked cool if she weren’t the only one dipping. And if we’d had Turbo Jennie’s disco ball going. As it was, we just giggled a lot.
The class itself was a 30-minute butt-kicker. I knew the power of kettlebells to get the heart rate pumping but it was even better having someone else kick my butt rather than me yelling random instructions at the Gym Buddies. I completely pitted out my shirt in the first 10 minutes. The rest was just sweaty gravy. In addition to the KB swings, lunges and presses that we were used to, we got to try out a few new moves, my favorite being the one where you hold the handle and rotate the ‘bell around your head. I believe the move was called an “around the world” and not only was it a great shoulder burn but it was also good for my ego. (My head being the world. Get it??) My only complaint with the class was that the instructors didn’t do much to teach proper kettlebell form resulting in one Gym Buddy with bad back pain, a common first-time kettlebell complaint. Although the teacher later told me that in the paid classes, emphasizing and correcting proper form would be a priority.
The underlying principle of kettlebells, as I understand it, is twofold: a) whatever you do, keep moving and b) lift heavy. Other proponents of the lift-heavy and don’t-rest-between-sets crowd include my fave The Monkey Bar Gym, my love-to-hate CrossFit and traditional body builders everywhere. They promise a lean, cut, muscular look sculpted in a short but intense workout. You remember CrossFit chick right?
Pilates Reformer
On the complete other end of the fitness spectrum is the Pilates Reformer. The underlying principles of Pilates include breathing, centering, concentration, control, precision and flowing movement. Less explicitly stated is the reliance on higher reps and lower weight with resistance provided primarily by the person’s body weight and the Reformer machine. Proponents of this school of thought include the ubiquitous Tracey Anderson (trainer of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow and author of last year’s Ballerina Fitness Experiment). Anderson recommends never lifting any weight more than 3 pounds, doing lots of dance cardio and the Pilates Reformer at least twice a week.
Being leery of celebrity trainer types, I was excited to see what our Y Pilates Reformer instructor would have to say on the subject. Long, lean & toned – the quintessential Pilates bod – she made a good argument in favor of Pilates without even saying a word. When I asked her what her personal workout routine looked like she answered that, like Anderson, she advocates at least two days a week on the Reformer all though she did accede that for some of us that might be cost prohibitive. In addition she does a couple of mat Pilates classes and occasionally mixes it up with Free Motion machines (strength machines that focus on weight training without limiting your range of motion like traditional weight machines do) and some cardio on the elliptical.
The workout was quiet and relaxed compared to the Kettlebell class we had just completed and yet my muscles, especially my core, still quaked with each exertion. Rather than motion, there was a lot of emphasis on control and synchronizing the movements with our breathing. My favorite move was a sliding plank that hit everything from my core to my butt to my shoulders. We only had to do six reps and I grateful for that as I was quite sure I could not have eked out even one more. It doesn’t help that the Reformer even looks like a medieval torture device.
After the workout, I hit the teacher with the question I’d been waiting all day to ask – one that I get from you guys with some frequency – “Do you think that Pilates and yoga on their own are enough strength training?” Her answer? “Yes.” While she didn’t specifically speak against traditional weight lifting, like Anderson does, she did say that she has gotten great results for herself and her clients with just Pilates. It made me think Experiment Time! (Anyone have a free Reformer they want to lend me for a month?? I’ll take really good care of it and promise to never ever hang my clothing on it or make jokes about the Bowflex in its presence!)
The False Dichotomy
Despite the title of my post, I do believe there is room in a person’s training regimen for both kettlebells and Pilates if they so wish. I thoroughly enjoyed both classes and would do either one again in a heartbeat (especially when my money from Nigeria comes through!) However, it seems to me that people tend to gravitate towards one methodology over the other. Some people just seem to enjoy lifting hard and heavy while others really like slower and lighter. For myself, if left to my own devices, I would do yoga all day every day and nothing else. Sadly, my genetics do not seem to agree with my idea of a yoga body. And let’s be honest, I’m way too ADD to stick with one thing.
So what is it for you? Do you prefer the kettlebell way of working out or the Pilates method? Or do you consider yourself a jack of all fitness trades? Do you think Pilates/yoga is enough when it comes to strength training? Anyone else want Gwyneth Paltrow to just shut up already about how “normal” and “average” she is and just admit she’s got rockstar genes and piles of cash and she likes it?
I love the pictures, great blog.
I thought the kettlebells was a decent workout (no body pump though) but the reformer gave me very sore inner and outer thighs. Since they are the worst of my many problem areas, I preferred the reformer. Somehow with all the workouts I do, I can’t seem to work those 2 problem areas properly. Any ideas since the reformer 2x a week is so not happening?
Anybody tell you that the TRX was the product placement of the night on The Biggest Loser?
You are ahead of the times, my friend!
Well, being a Pilates teacher, I guess you can figure which side I tend to favor. But I also think it’s a personal preference.
The thing about Pilates is that it was developed as a way to not only develop strength, but also to rehabilitate. It also works the deeper muscles, ones that a lot of traditional workouts don’t reach. Speaking from my own experience, doing mat and Reformer consistently for 2 1/2 years has made me stronger than I’ve ever been.
I do think you can get a great pilates workout on the mat, especially with added props. (I often use light weights in my mat classes.) In fact, I often find mat more difficult than reformer, because the reformer can add assistance to some exercises.
But I ABSOLUTELY DISAGREE with Tracey Anderson that women shouldn’t should lift higher than 3 pounds!!!!! Utterly ridiculous!!!!! Next thing she’ll be saying that we shouldn’t vote, fer cryin’ out loud!!!
Exercise sustainability in some people comes down to personal preference, but physiologically, neither method alone can offer complete fitness. There are many qualities of physical fitness that require a combination of methods — from maximum gross motor ability to fine motor acuity, to high metabolic capacity to mental clarity under brutal physical duress, etc. It is a shame when someone like a Tracey Anderson spouts elitist claim for a single method that involves not lifting more than 3 pounds.
And it’s why I enjoy reading TGFE blog — it covers many exercise modalities. Thanks for a great blog!
Personally, I prefer a couch, a good book, and a nice bottle of Pinot Nior, vintage ’97, Nappa Valley or there about.
I looooove to do a private session of pilates on the reformer.
I tried one YEARS AGO and havent since.
Im smitten with the K’Bells.
I’d love to try a class on the reformer, but I don’t think it will ever take away my love for heavy pieces of iron. I’d still love to try the kettlebells, and sadly Santa did not bring me a TRX (oh, I’m saving up spare pennies from my stipend!) for Christmas.
Oh, and by heavy bits of iron, I mean way more than 3 lbs.
Although I’m more of the kettlebell/weight-lifting type, I think it only makes sense to be a jack of all trades. Fitness isn’t one single thing; it’s a multitude of attributes that people define differently. It’s strength, endurance, speed, stability, etc. And people need and want different things at different times in their life.
There’s a lot of great information out there and a lot of great programs – a person can learn a lot just from websites and DVDs. But I think you have to take advice with a grain of salt when it’s a commercial product: the people selling the programs have to make them look different from the competition, which often means claiming that the other methods are wrong/dangerous/ineffective.
Picking up heavy tings and putting them back down is fine. Overall fitness activities, action oriented workouts are more fun, and in my opinion, better for us.
I’ve been gravitating toward lifting heavy things, but I know that I need to do some pilates/yoga so I can stay flexible.
While I tend to favour heavy weights (ideally compound movements, like what is done with kettlebells), I’ve found that incorporating pilates-type workouts a couple of times a week helps development stability in my joints and has reduced my sports injuries.
I’ve never had the opportunity to try the Pilates Reformer, though I would love to some day (not sure whether there even are any in my neck of the woods), but I do think that some forms of yoga give you enough of a strength workout so that you would not need to do weights. That being said, I tend to bounce back and forth – whatever takes my fancy, on any given day.
I love it all, baby. I just got this great DVD “Classical Pilates Technique” and Pilates is so badarse. But I love lifting heavy too.
I say do it all, try it all, mix it up. Whee!
I’ve never tried Pilates, but I’m sure that even if I did, I’d continue to do my regular weight training.
My gym is low on toys. These days there seems to be only one stability ball! I wish we had a bosu, or TRX, or kettlebells…
I used to take a mat pilates class and I liked it but lately I have been into doing yoga along with my regular spring intervals + lifting. I really like yogadownloads.com – it’s been a great intro to yoga.
I don’t think it is either/or, but both/and. I tried going just the reformer and cardio (Turbo/HHH) for about 6 weeks … and, at the end of that time, my pants were a bit tighter, so I’ve added back in BodyPump and weights … I do think that reformer work is worth it, though, and mat Pilates and yoga, too … just for the focus and concentration, and of course, functional strength …
Where does BodyPump fit in?
It’s the main workout I do for strength, and even though I am pretty sure it falls into the high rep/low weight category, I usually do it to exhaustion (form starts suffering by the end) and it has gotten me noticeable muscle definition. I have a medium build and put muscle on at an average to slightly-above-average-rate.
Any thoughts on bodypump-only?
And holy crap, I just looked up the cost of pilates classes! do you have to do the reformer to get the pilates body?
I gravitate towards lifting heavy things as well. I really hate yoga but I do it because of the benefits I see after doing it. I guess I should try pilates before having an opinion…I’ve just been always a traditional cardio and free weights/machines gal because I used to be afraid of the cool machines before, and now my gym is so bare bones that I don’t have classes or cool stuff. Some day…
I love kettlebells and same as you have never had a class. Just learning from the internet, so my moves are few- but, I can’t wait to do a full k-bell program.
As for Pilates, I love as well- but only when the instructor can make it hard enough for YOU. At my Y, it was mostly an old lady thing and I felt like it was more “exercise” than any form of strength training. Yes, I think Pilates could totally replace weight training if you could spend $100 a week on personal training sessions.
I definitely subscribe to the ADD fitness model. Anything that is working for my body, mind, and soul is the way to go. That could be yoga, running, biking, Pilates, P90X, etc. I would never want to choose just one approach. A great workout could be experiencing a floating-above-my-body state of bliss, or almost throwing up because I’m so exhausted from old-school calisthenics. Without both – I don’t think that I’d enjoy either. Hope that made some sense.
Jack of all trades! Or rather, I get bored easily and need to switch things up for me to keep going 🙂
Every form of exercise has its pros and cons, so I think its good to do a mix. Your kettlebells and pilates classes sound like fun!
LOL body builders? Love them!
So, were the kettleballs easier to control this time around? I’m scared to try them after reading about all the bruised wrists.
OK, chiming back in here: Pilates, especially at a studio, is CRAZY expensive! But that’s because it’s usually one-on one, and they really tailor it to the individual. Chances are you’ll not only work on the reformer, but on the mat, the chair, barrel, tower, etc. as well. (But it’s still prohibitively expensive for most of us.) As for reformer classes at a gym, they can be hit or miss. Some instructors will really challenge you, while others will teach to the least experienced members. But there are 800 exercises that can be done on the reformer, and if you add a jumpboard (like my instructor did yesterday), you can even get a cardio workout. And the more advanced you are, the more advanced the exercises get.
But I do think it’s a good idea to mix up the workouts.
i like mixing it up. i’d take more yoga classes at the gym (free!), but i hate going to the gym when it’s ridiculously crowded (parking, for one, is impossible) and classes are typically only during ridiculously crowded time. boo.
still, i’d like to try out some of this fun equipment that your y has – do they have guest passes? can i come visit you in march when i’m in the twin cities? 😉
i love pilates, but im not a big fan of the reformer. so i guess i will forvere be a novice.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I like to do everything. Thankfully the college I work for offers “wellness” classes on the cheap, so I’m signed up for yoga, pilates, and step aerobics, but I still love my weight training and regular cardio too! There are so many things I’d love to do, but not enough exercising hours in the day. Personally, I feel SO much stronger when I incorporate pilates and yoga into my routine. I stopped doing it for awhile and when I went back I noticed a BIG difference.
I am not experienced in any of these excercise techniques, but I do wish Gwyneth would shut up already! LOL 🙂
Jack of all trades. AKA “too short an attention span to stick with anything more than once or twice a week,” LOL.
That said, I LOVE my Pilates reformer. (Oh, yeah. MY REFORMER. Which is in storage now, and I would TOTALLY ship it to you for a month Charlotte, but it would be way too expensive.) I can’t wait to buy a 2-bd house so I can have my reformer back.
When my back was REALLY bad – when I couldn’t even walk for exercise without piles of pain – Reformer Pilates was the ONE thing I could do. I did it every day for an hour, and within about a month, my back was FINE. It was fantastic.
I also like the heavy weights now. But I couldn’t do them if I didn’t do the Pilates as well. For me, Pilates is my rock, and if I don’t do it for a while (even mat exercises help), my back STILL starts hurting.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pilates. I’ve been doing the Reformer twice a week for 3 years and I have: grown an extra inch taller; have amazing ballerina like posture and better abs. I also never lift more than 3 lbs. unless it is my own body weight (like doing The Plank) which is a lot of what Pilates works with.
I can’t wait to find out what happens after a month!
Okay Charlotte, here’s another mystery for you…..how can the super slim stars a la Audrey Hepburn and others have such shiny, seemingly healthy hair?!?! Many underweight people (ahem, myself included) have a disgusting scraggly puft on top of their heads. While I used to be upset with my body, I did secretly pride myself on my rather lustrous mane. In the process of growing happy with my body that kept growing tinier, and getting some EDishness in the process, my hair got as non-existent as my boobs, bum, good attitude, body weight, body fat % and so forth. Any experience with hair problems and undereating?
It’s funny because I love yoga – it has totally transformed my body, but I would love to try Kettlebells. My gym offers both reformer Pilates classes and kettlebell classes, both at a hefty price. If I had my pick, I’d probably go with the kettlebells.
That being said, I do think yoga is enough for strength training. Chaturanga after Chaturanga, some side planks, a few Warrior poses thrown in the mix – nothing has helped me build more strength, and I’m loving my newly sculpted shoulders!
I’ve never done pilates, but yoga was usually fun. I’m a big fan of heavy lifting though, so KB’s are much more fun for me (and I’m pretty sure I’ve got some rockin’ abs under my current insulation layer).
Madonna is definitly lifting more than 3lb weights to look like her current, rather scary, self. I’d really like Ms. Andersen to name ONE chore that she does daily that requires moving less than 3 lbs.
Love your blog and this post was so perfect because I am visiting my mom and she just got a reformer (from Craigslist! lol) and we are going to give it a go tonight. I have never been a big fan of pilates or yoga although do yoga in small doses for the stretch-benefit. I am a more heavy-lifting/HIIT girl. However, I have a friend who cycles and does yoga and has muscles like Madonna (no lifting) so who knows? I do think that no more then 3 lbs. thing is complete BS though.
The poster that said the reformer made her grow an inch in 3 years has my attention though lol
I think doing a combination of both would be ideal. I happen to love both forms of strength training for different reasons.
I have just begun using a kettlebell dvd called ‘The kettlebell Goddess Workout’. It isn’t your typical workout dvd – you just follow along as the ladies do reps – not a lot of creativity thrown it. While it isn’t the most exciting workout dvd, it has helped me grasp the kettlebell technique. There are a few different workouts to choose from as well as a tutorial which shows you the different kettlebell moves.
I started out using ‘TransFirm Your Trouble Zones’ by The Firm, but the workout was REALLY fast and I focused more on keeping up than my technique with the kettlebell. Anyone who is experienced with the kettlebell would probably get a lot from this workout though.