Is Pilates strength training? And swimming, rowing, yoga…

Strength training is any activity in which muscles work against a resistance high enough to fatigue them within a limited number of repetitions, and in which that resistance can be increased over time. The WHO calls this muscle-strengthening activity and recommends it at moderate or greater intensity, for all major muscle groups, on two or more days a week ^[1].

The ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) position stand on resistance training expresses resistance as a repetition maximum (RM): the heaviest load that can be lifted a given number of times. Beginners are advised to use an 8–12 RM load, and experienced lifters build maximal strength with an emphasis on heavy loads of 1–6 RM. Training for local muscular endurance uses 40–60% of the one-rep max for more than 15 repetitions ^[2]. A one-rep max calculator estimates that maximum from a submaximal set.

The second condition is progression. ACSM states that progressive protocols are needed to keep stimulating adaptation, and advises adding 2–10% load once the target number of repetitions can be exceeded by one or two ^[2]. The WHO describes aerobic activity, by contrast, as rhythmic movement of the large muscles sustained over a period of time, with walking, running, swimming and cycling as examples ^[1].

Weight training and progressed bodyweight training count as strength training. Pilates, yoga, CrossFit, HYROX and circuit training count partly, and swimming, rowing, cycling, running and stair climbing are endurance activities. The table applies the two conditions, sufficient resistance and progression, to each activity. How a complete program is put together is covered in the strength training guide.

Pilates is partly strength training. The muscles work against bodyweight or spring resistance, which can improve strength in older adults, but the resistance cannot be raised far enough to build maximal strength the way progressive weight training does.

A meta-analysis of 39 studies in adults aged 60 and over found a moderate effect of Pilates on strength compared with no exercise or usual activity (effect size 0.63), with moderate certainty of evidence ^[3]. A later meta-analysis of 24 randomised trials with 1,190 participants was more cautious: against control groups the effect on strength was not significant and the evidence was of low quality, and against other forms of exercise there was no difference (SMD 0.01). Its authors concluded that Pilates cannot yet be recommended as a means of improving strength in older adults ^[4].

Both reviews only included people over 60, so they say little about younger, trained adults. For maximal strength, ACSM places the emphasis on heavy loads in the 1–6 RM range ^[2], which bodyweight exercises on a mat cannot provide.

Yes. Reformer Pilates is closer to strength training because the springs make the resistance adjustable, while mat Pilates relies on bodyweight and leverage alone. On a reformer, a heavier spring setting increases the load in exercises such as footwork, a pushing movement similar to a leg press, so a basic form of progression is possible.

Mat Pilates makes exercises harder through longer levers, a slower tempo and less support. Most mat exercises use a load well below the maximum, with many repetitions or long holds, which matches the ACSM description of local muscular endurance training ^[2]. The large muscles of the legs and back receive relatively little resistance on the mat.

In both forms, a session is built around control, posture and mobility, with steadily heavier loads playing a minor role. Pilates therefore combines well with two weekly sessions that use heavier loads, for example from a selection of strength workouts.

No. Swimming is an endurance activity: the WHO uses it as an example of aerobic activity, alongside walking, running and cycling ^[1]. Water resistance increases with speed, but a swim session consists of hundreds of strokes in a row, so the force per stroke stays far below what the muscles can produce in a single maximal effort.

Swimming also puts little load on the skeleton, because the water supports body weight. A meta-analysis of 14 studies in young adults aged 18–30 found that swimmers had a bone mineral density similar to non-athletic controls at the whole body, femoral neck and lumbar spine, and lower values than athletes in high-impact sports ^[5]. The WHO lists jumping, running and lifting weights as bone-strengthening activities ^[1].

Swimming trains the heart and lungs and suits people for whom impact is uncomfortable. For muscle mass, strength and bone, it works best alongside strength training rather than in its place.

No. Rowing is largely endurance work, even though each stroke uses the legs, back and arms. It fits the WHO description of aerobic activity: large muscles moving rhythmically over a sustained period ^[1]. A session on the water or on a rowing machine consists of hundreds of strokes, and a resistance that can be repeated that often lies far below the 8–12 RM loads that ACSM recommends for beginners in strength training ^[2].

A meta-analysis of 21 studies found that aerobic training does not produce the same muscle growth as resistance training: growth of the whole thigh muscle favoured resistance training with an effect size of 0.66 ^[6]. The studies measured the knee extensors, and the authors expected a similar pattern in other muscle groups.

A higher damper setting on a rowing machine makes each stroke feel heavier, but the session still consists of many submaximal repetitions. Rowing combines well with exercises such as deadlifts, squats and bent-over rows, in which the load can be raised in small steps.

Yoga is partly strength training. Poses such as plank, chaturanga and chair pose make the muscles hold body weight, and in older adults that improves strength. A meta-analysis of 12 studies in older adults found moderately positive effects of yoga on muscle strength, balance, mobility and lower-body flexibility, but no significant effect on cardiorespiratory endurance ^[7].

The strength measures in those studies were mainly functional tests, such as the number of chair stands or arm curls in 30 seconds. Such tests reflect everyday function in older people. They say little about maximal strength or muscle mass in younger adults.

Yoga offers few ways to raise the resistance beyond harder poses and longer holds, and it contains almost no pulling movements for the upper back and biceps. Next to two strength sessions a week, yoga adds mobility and balance work that strength training covers only in part.

No. Cycling, running and everyday stair climbing are aerobic activities: the WHO uses walking, running, swimming and cycling as its examples of aerobic exercise ^[1]. They load the leg muscles continuously for minutes to hours, which places them at the endurance end of the resistance spectrum.

The meta-analysis that compared aerobic with resistance training found less muscle growth after aerobic training, both for the whole muscle and for individual type I and type II muscle fibres ^[6]. Cycling uphill or at a high spinning resistance increases the effort per pedal stroke, but a ride still consists of thousands of repetitions.

Running has one advantage over cycling and swimming: the WHO counts it, together with jumping and lifting weights, as a bone-strengthening activity ^[1]. Stair climbing becomes strength training when the step is high and extra weight is added, as in step-ups with dumbbells, because the load can then be increased in small increments.

Partly. These formats combine strength exercises with conditioning, and the share of strength training depends on the load. A meta-analysis of high-intensity functional training, the category that includes CrossFit-style workouts, found improvements in strength (SMD 0.60) and endurance capacity (SMD 0.42) compared with no exercise. It found no studies that compared this type of training with conventional resistance training ^[8].

CrossFit sessions often include barbell lifts such as squats, deadlifts and cleans, which meet both conditions when the weight is heavy enough. The timed conditioning part, with many repetitions at lighter loads, is endurance work.

HYROX is mainly a running race: 8 km of running split by eight workout stations, including sleds, a farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls at fixed weights per division. A HYROX training plan therefore combines running with separate strength sessions.

Circuit training counts as strength training when each station uses a load that fatigues the muscles within a limited number of repetitions. Circuits with light weights and high repetition counts fall in the range ACSM describes as local muscular endurance training, more than 15 repetitions at 40–60% of the one-rep max ^[2].

Yes, as long as the exercises keep getting harder. Bodyweight is a resistance like any other; its limitation is that it does not increase by itself. Calisthenics counts as strength training when progression comes from harder variations, a longer range of motion, a slower tempo or added weight such as a weighted vest.

In a randomised trial with 23 moderately trained men, four weeks of progressive push-up training, moving to harder push-up variations, increased the bench press one-rep max, as did four weeks of bench press training. Muscle thickness did not change measurably in either group over that short period ^[9].

Legs are the hardest part to load with bodyweight alone. Once a regular squat can be done for well over 15 repetitions, it mainly trains muscular endurance ^[2]. Single-leg variations such as Bulgarian split squats and pistol squats raise the resistance again. More options are listed under strength exercises.

Keep the activity and add two strength sessions per week that train all major muscle groups. That matches the WHO recommendation of muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week next to 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity. For adults aged 65 and over, the WHO advises varied activity with balance and strength training on three or more days a week ^[1].

Combining endurance and strength work does not cancel out the gains. A meta-analysis of 43 studies found that adding aerobic training to strength training did not reduce muscle growth or maximal strength, although explosive strength improved less, mainly when both were done in the same session. With at least three hours between the sessions, that difference was not significant ^[10].

A practical week consists of two full-body strength sessions, for example on Monday and Thursday, with Pilates, swimming or running on the other days. How often each muscle needs training for growth is covered under training frequency.

The first steps are described in how to start strength training. People with a medical condition and women who are pregnant should discuss a new training plan with a doctor or physiotherapist.