Pilates has always been about building strength. Joseph Pilates had a background in self-defense and boxing and opened his “body-conditioning gym” in New York in 1926 to teach people how to achieve strength through better body control.
Elite athletes have long loved it —
David Beckham, Andy Murray and Tiger Woods are fans.
Pilates is also incorporated into the training regimens of professional rugby players — the England, Wales and New Zealand rugby union teams rely on its ability to build strength and offset injury.
Significant Gains in Strength
Studies have proved that it works. Last year a paper in the International Journal of Sports, Exercise and Training Science found that men who did a one-hour Pilates class three times a week for ten weeks experienced significant gains in strength that enabled them to improve their step-up and leg-press performance.