Melt the pounds: Pilates as a calorie killer: How to take off through movement

How many calories can you burn on average with a Pilates unit?

The calorie burn during a Pilates unit varies depending on the intensity of the exercises, the duration and your individual body weight.

• On average, you can burn around 200 to 400 calories with a 60-minute Pilates unit.
• In the case of lighter Pilates exercises, calorie burning for a person with a body weight of 55 kilograms is around 175 to 250 calories.
• A more intensive unit in the same period can take 250 to 350 calories.

For someone with a weight of 70 kilograms, the consumption increases to around 200 to 300 calories with light intensity and 300 to 400 calories for more intensive exercises. People with a higher body weight of around 85 kilograms can burn about 250 to 350 calories with a light unit and even up to 450 calories in intensive exercises.

However, these values ​​are only guidelines, since the actual calorie burning depends on other factors.

Which factors influence the calorie consumption in Pilates training?

The calorie consumption during your Pilates unit depends on various factors that affect both your physical properties and the type of training. Your body weight plays a crucial role: the more weight you have, the more energy your body needs for movements. Your muscle mass is also relevant, since more muscles not only increase energy consumption during training, but also increase the basic metabolism in peace.

The training intensity is another key factor. While gentle Pilates with a focus on breathing and mobility has a lower consumption, dynamic Pilates or training with resistance leads to higher calorie consumption. Advanced exercises also use your body and increase the output. The training period also has an impact: Longer units logically offer more opportunity to burn calories.

The form of training also makes a difference. Matte-Pilates tends to have a lower consumption compared to reformer pilates or power pilates. Through more intensive movements and devices, these require more energy.

Your individual fitness level also affects consumption: beginners often burn more calories because their body works more inefficient. With increasing fitness, the training becomes more economical – consumption decreases easily, while muscle work becomes more effective.

In addition, gender and age play a role: Because of their higher muscle mass, men usually consume more calories than women, while the basic turnover slightly decreases with age. The more intensely, longer and muscularly demanding the training is designed and the better it is tailored to individual circumstances, the higher the calorie consumption during Pilates training.

What role does nutrition play in connection with Pilates and the goal of burning calories?

Your diet is a crucial factor when it comes to burning calories with Pilates and reducing body fat. In fact, it has a greater impact on fat and weight loss than training itself.

The key to success lies in a calorie deficit – i.e. the difference between the absorbed and the energy used. While a Pilates unit burns an average of 200 to 400 calories, this effect can be quickly lifted again by a single meal or a snack.

Therefore, the diet is largely responsible for whether your body consumes more energy than it absorbs. A balanced diet not only supports fat loss, but also your performance and regeneration.

Macronutrients play a central role in this: Protein promotes muscle building and maintenance, which increases your basal metabolism in the long term. Complex carbohydrates provide the necessary energy for more intensive workouts, while healthy fats support the hormone balance and the feeling of satiety.

In addition, a well thought -out diet ensures stable energy level during training, which prevents performance collapse. After training, protein and micronutrients promote regeneration and muscle repair, which enables better results in the long term.

Pilates strengthens your body and improves your mobility – but without an adapted diet, the desired fat loss often fails. The combination of targeted training and a conscious diet is therefore the key to visible.

About the expert:

Stefanie Rahn

Stefanie Rahn is the president of the German Pilate Association and leads a large Pilates studio in Erkelenz. Stefanie writes for sports and health magazines as the author and has published several books. In her free time, Stefanie was ambitious runner and dog athlete has had several titles and successes.

How can Pilates be combined with other sports to burn more calories?

Pilates offers an ideal basis to combine it with other sports and thus increase calorie burning. Thanks to its focus on fuselage stability, flexibility and body control, it optimally supplements many training forms.

An effective combination is Pilates with cardio exercises such as running, cycling or swimming. While cardio units increase your heart rate and boost calorie consumption, Pilates ensures improved posture and stability.

Pilates also shows his strengths in connection with strength training. It activates deep muscles and improves body control, which makes lifting weights more efficient. One approach could be to carry out full-body strength training in one day and use Pilates for active regeneration the next day.

The combination with high intensity interval training (HIIT) is suitable for maximum calorie burn. One possibility would be a 20-minute HIIT workout combined with a 20-minute Pilates core training.

If you are looking for fun and coordination, you can connect Pilates with dance or aerobics. Dynamic movements benefit from the stability created by Pilates. For example, a Zumba hour could be supplemented by 15 minutes of Pilates as a cool down.

The emphasis on the core training through Pilates benefits every sport and helps to achieve your individual goals such as weight loss or increase in performance.

Does it always depend on the calories when losing weight?

Basically, the calorie balance is the decisive factor in losing weight: you decrease if you consume more calories than you consume.

This principle of energy conservation means that your body uses stored energy reserves such as fat when you supply less energy than you consume. But calories are not all – numerous additional factors affect success.

Macronutrients and the quality of the calories play a central role. 300 kcal made of chocolate act differently in the body than 300 kcal made of oatmeal with protein. Hormonal factors must not be underestimated.

Stress, lack of sleep or increased cortisol values ​​can make fat loss difficult. In addition, the feeling of satiety and eating behavior plays a role. Food with fiber, proteins and healthy fats promote saturation and prevent them.

The calorie balance forms the basis for weight changes. But factors such as nutrient quality, hormones, muscle mass and lifestyle decide how effective and healthy the process is.