By Danika Young | LTVN Reporter/Anchor
For the past two years, I have been going to the gym and attempting to be a weightlifter. At first, I struggled trying to learn how to do it; honestly, there are still some things I don’t know.
It took me all this time to figure out that I don’t even like weightlifting.
You may have noticed women have been shifting from intense weightlifting to pilates. It’s been all over TikTok. So, I was curious. Maybe I would like pilates better than weightlifting, and it turns out that I loved it.
I have made the switch from weight training seven days a week to doing at-home pilates, and I have never felt better both mentally and physically.
I hate to admit this, but when I did weightlifting for two years, I didn’t notice a huge change in my appearance. However, after transitioning to pilates, I could see a difference. It wasn’t huge, but it was something.
The goal of pilates is not to lose weight or gain weight, and weight training can be heavily focused on this. Rather, pilates aims to increase movement and strengthen the body. From my experience, this gives you better results.
Pilates works to lengthen your muscles, unlike anything you would be doing at the gym — not to mention the positive impact on a person’s mental health regarding their appearance when making the transition.
Changing to pilates is like changing your lifestyle — fewer protein shakes, no more long hours at the gym and less pre-workout to get you going. I noticed I felt a lot better after making that change, working out when I could with less stress and pressure while getting the best results I’ve ever had.
Most people feel less back pain, less neck soreness, taller, straighter, stronger, better aligned and more flexible after converting to pilates.
As a woman, I admit to being afraid of gym training making me bulky, and sometimes it did. I still do arms in pilates, but I have noticed strength without the bulkiness.
I’m not saying to ditch the gym altogether. I go every now and then out of habit. But give pilates a try at home or in the studio — you might make the switch too.
