Pilates vs. Strength Training - Do You Need Both?
- Dana Jeffkins
- Oct 27
- 3 min read
Many women come to Movement Synergy wondering if they should just do Pilates or if they need to add strength training too. The truth is both have incredible benefits, and together they form the most balanced approach to women’s health and strength.
Whether your goal is to feel stronger, support your posture, or move without pain, understanding how these two styles work together can help you train smarter, not harder.
The Role of Pilates: Connection, Control, and Core
At its heart, Pilates is about control, precision, and awareness. It’s not just stretching or gentle movement, t’s intelligent, functional strength training using your body weight, resistance, and breath.
Pilates helps you:
Strengthen deep stabilising muscles (core, hips, and back)
Improve posture and alignment
Increase flexibility and body awareness
Reconnect to breath and balance your nervous system
In other words, Pilates builds the foundation for every other kind of movement. It teaches your body to move efficiently, a skill that carries over to daily life and heavier training alike.
The Role of Strength Training: Power, Progress, and Bone Health
Strength training — using weights, bands, or resistance — is essential for maintaining muscle mass, joint integrity, and bone density as we age.
For women especially, lifting weights offers unique benefits:
Boosts metabolism and energy
Supports hormonal balance and bone health
Reduces injury risk by strengthening connective tissues
Builds physical and mental resilience
It’s not about “bulking up” it’s about building capability, confidence, and independence.
At Movement Synergy, strength work is designed for real women’s bodies, focusing on form, stability, and gradual progression rather than exhaustion or competition.
Why You Need Both
Think of Pilates as your foundation and strength training as your power.
Pilates teaches you how to move well — activating the right muscles, controlling your alignment, and connecting with your breath. Strength training helps you move more — lifting heavier, increasing endurance, and supporting your overall vitality.
Together, they create synergy:
Pilates refines your form so you get more out of every lift.
Strength training improves your capacity so you can progress further in Pilates.
Both enhance posture, stability, and everyday confidence.
This combination is also ideal for women recovering from injury, postpartum, or managing perimenopausal changes.
The Mind–Body Connection in Both
Both practices teach awareness, something often missing in traditional fitness.When you move with focus and intention, your results multiply. You notice how your body feels, when it needs rest, and how to adjust your movement accordingly.
You begin to realise that true strength isn’t just physical, it’s the mindset that says, “I can move, grow, and adapt.”
How to Combine Pilates and Strength Training
You don’t need to choose between them. A balanced routine might look like:
2 x Pilates sessions per week (focused on mobility, core, and alignment)
2 x strength sessions per week (focused on progressive overload and power)
1 x rest or recovery day (walking, stretching, breathwork)
This mix supports your body holistically — strong, stable, and stress-resilient.
The Takeaway
Pilates and strength training aren’t opposites, they’re partners! Together, they help you feel grounded and strong, connected and capable, graceful and powerful.
That’s the beauty of finding your synergy.
Ready to experience the best of both worlds? Join our Seven Hills studio for Pilates and strength-based movement designed to help you reconnect, rebuild, and thrive. ✨ Find your synergy today!
What is your favourite way to move? Are you Team Pilates or Team Strength? Or can be see the benefit of both?
Pilates, Strength or Both?
- Pilates
- Strength
- Both!
Comments