Can You Actually Get Strong Doing Pilates? Let’s Compare It to CrossFit

Pilates has become the new fad, as studios are popping up everywhere.

But, is all of the hype justified, or is this just another fitness trend?

Pilates is often seen as a gentle, low-impact workout, while CrossFit is known for heavy weights and high-intensity sweat sessions.

But when it comes to building real strength, where does Pilates stand and how does it compare to CrossFit?

In this post, we’ll break down what each method trains, who they’re best for, and how they can work together to get you stronger, leaner, and more resilient.

What is Pilates?

Pilates is a low-impact exercise method that focuses on core strength, flexibility, mobility, posture, and breath control. Created by Joseph Pilates, it emphasizes small, controlled movements that target the deep stabilizing muscles of the body. It specifically targets the core, glutes, hips, and shoulders.

Pilates is ideal for:

• People recovering from injury
• Beginners looking to build foundational strength
• Athletes seeking better movement control
• Anyone who wants to improve posture, stability, and overall body awareness

Whether using just a mat or equipment like the Reformer, Pilates is all about precision and control, making it an effective way to improve movement quality.

What is CrossFit and Strength Training?

CrossFit is defined as, “constantly varied functional fitness executed at high intensity“.

Some common movements include:

• Olympic lifting: clean, jerk, snatch
• Calisthenics: push-ups, pull-ups, air squats, muscle-ups
• Cardio (monostructural training): running, rowing, biking

The goal of CrossFit and strength training is to:

• Build functional strength and power
• Improve cardiovascular endurance
• Support muscle growth and metabolism
• Develop mental toughness and consistency

This training style is well-suited for:

• Those looking to get stronger and leaner
• People who enjoy fast-paced, group-based workouts
• Anyone wanting to improve their athletic performance or lose fat

How CrossFit and Pilates Differ

While both Pilates and CrossFit are forms of fitness, their goals and philosophies differ:

• Pilates aims to enhance alignment, mobility, and control, creating a strong, stable base for movement.
• CrossFit and strength training focus on building explosive power, muscle, and conditioning, pushing the body to adapt under load and intensity.

Strength and Muscle Gains

Pilates builds strength through controlled bodyweight resistance and time under tension, especially in hard-to-reach stabilizer muscles. You’ll feel the burn, build endurance, and improve posture, but it’s not designed for progressive overload or building large amounts of muscle mass.

CrossFit and strength training, however, systematically overload the body using external resistance (barbells, dumbbells, and weighted movements), which is essential for building real strength, muscle, and metabolic adaptations.

If your goal is to change your body composition or lift heavier, you’ll hit a plateau doing Pilates alone.

How Pilates and CrossFit Can Compliment Each Other

If you do Pilates 3x/week, adding 2–3 sessions of strength training or CrossFit can help you build muscle, increase metabolism, and boost total-body strength to complement your core stability and mobility gains.

If you do CrossFit or strength training 3–5x/week, even just 1–2 Pilates sessions/week can improve recovery, mobility, and core activation, helping to reduce injury risk and improve movement quality under load.

Final Thoughts: You Probably Need Both.

You don’t have to choose between sculpting long, lean muscles and building real, functional strength.

By combining Pilates with CrossFit or strength training, you create a more resilient, well-rounded body.

The training method that you enjoy and gets you results it the one that you will most likely stick with, but don’t be afraid to experiment and try other forms of fitness.