How to Integrate Strength Training with Pilates
- David Telesco
- Apr 7
- 4 min read
Creating the Balance Your Body Needs
If you’ve fallen in love with Pilates, chances are you already understand the value of smart, intentional movement. Pilates teaches us how to move with purpose, strengthen from the inside out, and build true control over our bodies. But when you pair that intelligent movement with external resistance—through strength training—you create a body that’s not only flexible and balanced, but powerful and resilient.
The question isn’t whether you should combine Pilates with strength training. The real question is how to do it in a way that complements, rather than conflicts with, what you’re already doing in the studio.
Let’s dive into how to successfully blend both practices to support your goals and elevate your results.
Understand What Each Method Brings to the Table
Pilates and strength training are often seen as separate worlds—one focused on core control and alignment, the other on resistance and load. But at their core, they’re both tools for building strength and movement efficiency.
Pilates strengthens the deep stabilizers, improves posture and movement patterns, and develops muscular endurance through controlled, low-impact work.
Strength training focuses on building muscular power, density, and capacity by challenging the body with external resistance like weights or resistance bands.
Together, these methods cover all the bases: stability, mobility, power, and resilience.
Why Integration Matters
When you practice only one form of training, gaps can start to appear. A body that only does strength training may become tight or imbalanced. A body that only practices Pilates may lack the power needed for high-load activities or the bone-strengthening benefits of weight-bearing resistance.
Blending both helps you:
Build muscle without sacrificing flexibility.
Strengthen end-range control for better joint stability.
Reinforce the movement patterns you train in Pilates with functional load.
Improve overall endurance, posture, and injury prevention.
But this only works if you integrate them strategically—not randomly.
Practical Ways to Combine Strength Training with Pilates
Here’s how to create a smart, effective routine that supports your Pilates practice while adding the benefits of traditional strength work:
1. Alternate Training Days
One of the simplest ways to blend Pilates and strength training is to alternate your focus throughout the week. This allows your body time to recover and adapt between sessions.
Example Weekly Schedule:
Monday – Pilates (mat or equipment-based)
Tuesday – Strength training (weights or functional training)
Wednesday – Recovery or stretching
Thursday – Pilates
Friday – Strength training
Saturday – Optional: Gentle Pilates, walk, or light cardio
Sunday – Rest
This rotation allows you to get the benefits of both while minimizing burnout or overtraining.
2. Combine Both in the Same Session (Intelligently)
If you’re short on time, you can combine Pilates and strength training into a single session—but order matters.
Start with Pilates, especially if your goal is core activation, movement control, or injury prevention. Pilates prepares the body with proper alignment and engagement, which translates well into lifting or resistance work.
Then follow with strength training—whether it’s bodyweight resistance, dumbbells, or kettlebells. You’ll likely find you lift with better form and more body awareness after activating your stabilizers.
Keep sessions efficient and focused—45 to 60 minutes is plenty.
3. Let Pilates Inform Your Strength Work
This might be the most important tip: bring your Pilates principles into the weight room.Your breath control, core engagement, spinal alignment, and precision don’t stay behind in the studio. They’re just as valuable when performing a squat, a deadlift, or a push-up.
A Pilates-informed strength routine pays attention to:
Posture during loading
Breathing patterns under effort
Balanced use of both sides of the body
Controlled eccentric (lengthening) movements
When you approach strength work this way, it becomes a natural extension of your Pilates practice—not something entirely separate.
4. Target Areas That Complement Your Pilates Weak Spots
A smart integration plan takes your individual needs into account. Ask yourself:
Where do I fatigue most quickly in Pilates?
Are there movements I avoid because I feel weak or unsteady?
Do I feel more challenged in upper body or lower body control?
Let your strength training fill in the gaps:
If your upper body feels underpowered, incorporate push-ups, rows, and overhead presses.
If your lower body lacks strength, add squats, deadlifts, or lunges.
If core stamina is your challenge, integrate weighted planks, carries, or anti-rotation exercises.
The idea isn’t to replace Pilates—it’s to build more capacity so you can progress further in your practice.
Final Thoughts: The Best of Both Worlds
As a Pilates instructor, I’ve seen firsthand how much stronger, more mobile, and more resilient a body becomes when you combine these two approaches. Pilates gives you the tools to move well. Strength training gives you the durability to move more.
And when you bring them together with purpose and strategy? That’s where real transformation happens.
Want Help Integrating the Two?
At Fitness & Pilates Wellness Center, our new gym membership is designed specifically to help clients like you bring it all together. Whether you're a Pilates regular looking to build more strength, or someone who wants to train with more purpose and less pain, we have the tools, equipment, and expert guidance to help.
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Discounts on training and Pilates sessions
Support from certified trainers who understand movement patterns
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You don’t have to choose between strength and control. You can have both.
Come build your strongest, most balanced self—with us.
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