r/fitpregnancy • u/blueberrybabe22 • 2d ago

Pilates vs. Yoga to Supplement Weight Training

Hi! I just found out I was pregnant.

I lift about two to three days a week and plan to continue doing into my pregnancy (if I feel well enough). I also do some light cardio every day.

In addition to this, I’d like to build more core strength and flexibility for pregnancy specifically, but I can’t decide if Pilates or yoga is a better fit.

Does anyone have information to share on the benefits of these exercises from their own experience? I know I could ask Chat GPT this, but I guess I was excited to hear about other people’s experiences first as I plan my own path forward.

Thanks!!

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u/woodworkinghalp 2d ago

I personally feel like yoga is THE perfect complement to heavy weight training.

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u/obstinatemleb 2d ago

Completely agree

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u/blueberrybabe22 2d ago

Thank you! A specific style? How many times a week-ish?

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u/woodworkinghalp 1d ago

I personally love easy going ones like Hatha, since I get my hard workouts elsewhere. I’m no yoga pro but just 2x a week made a massive difference to my mobility etc.

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u/blueberrybabe22 1d ago

Thank you!

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u/Able_Bag_5177 2d ago

I stayed active throughout my entire pregnancy and am now 8 weeks pp. First question I’d ask is what type of yoga/pilates? Being on a reformer machine was fine in the beginning but as you get bigger your center of gravity can shift and you can become a fall risk. For yoga, most avoid hot, and certain twist positions. I’d recommend choosing what you are most familiar with and what you can realistically keep up with as your body changes!

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u/blueberrybabe22 2d ago

Okay, thank you!

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u/GoobySmoo99 2d ago

Reformer Pilates was wonderful for me. I absolutely love it. I did yoga too but switched to reformer when I had trouble with pelvic pain.

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u/blueberrybabe22 1d ago

Cool, about how many times a week did you go to Pilates?

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u/GoobySmoo99 5h ago

I was going several times per week, sometimes two classes per day (one more advanced, one focused on stretching.) It served the dual purpose of keeping me in shape and from getting nauseous too, so I went as much as I could. Now that it’s summer I’ve switched over to swimming and water aerobics so I can exercise with my kids but I’ll go back to Pilates in the fall. 

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u/_misst 2d ago

Try them both - the best is the one you will stick with.

Personally I love reformer pilates only since my PP journey (and I do wish I would have started during my pregnancy). I was an exclusive heavy lifter and lifted all through my pregnancy, but then started reformer pilates 3 weeks PP given I had to wait some time after my c section to return to lifting. Now 1 year PP I have stuck with hybrid reformer pilates that includes strength training and cardio but not as much focus at all on heavy lifting, because I simply do not have the time (or childcare) or energy (thanks to no sleep) to train properly lifting heavy and having adequate rest time etc.

Personally I found yoga kinda boring and a little uncomfortable but not really a workout per se. I like that pilates feels more dynamic. Whatever you prefer honestly, both will have good effects on your core strength and flexibility.

I know it's lazy but I did input the sources for a good old Chat GPT summary on some available evidence:

Prenatal and postnatal yoga and Pilates both appear to be safe and beneficial when appropriately modified. Yoga may offer stronger benefits for stress, anxiety, mood and labour coping, while Pilates may be particularly useful for strength, posture, pelvic control and lumbopelvic symptoms. However, neither should replace individualised pelvic floor or abdominal rehabilitation where symptoms such as incontinence, pelvic heaviness, pain or significant diastasis recti are present.

The latter is definitely an important focus - note many national physical activity guidelines now specifically advise pelvic floor exercises. I'll paste the evidence here if you're interested but really I think the emphasis is whichever you prefer will be the best.

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u/blueberrybabe22 1d ago

Omg not “lazy” at all!! Super more in-depth and helpful answer than I was expecting. I also find Pilates more dynamic than yoga personally and have a lot of fun with it…maybe that’s what I’ll go with to start.

Thank you - you rock!

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u/QuarterFeeling2184 2d ago

Pilates wins over yoga everytime, training the core with subtle continuous movements and challenges positoins. Yoga does not do as much from an adaptations standpoint you are looking for. Yoga is to relax, pilates is to work.

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u/blueberrybabe22 1d ago

Great. How many days of Pilates a week did you find helpful / are finding helpful during pregnancy?

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u/QuarterFeeling2184 1d ago

I am doing 3 days of strength training, couples days of running mixing 1-2x pilates.