I think I reached podcast Nirvana this week. NGL interviewed Michelle Obama and New Heights talked to one of my Duke basketball favorites, Jason Tatum. But it reached the Holy Grail when Mel Robbins invited 2 of my favorite midlife professionals Dr. Stacey Sims and Dr. Vonda Wright. I have accumulated many extra steps because I had to listen. If you are not familiar with Vonda Wright, she is an orthopedic surgeon but more importantly, she is a champion for women’ health, primarily into midlife and our older years. 

I listened excitedly as she told the audience that movement is medicine, we can age not only gracefully but also as bad a** strong women. We should put an end to the anti-aging narrative and start to embrace the fact that if we play our cards right we can actually be in better shape as we get older. She was preaching to the choir but I still got fired up. We don’t have to be weak and frail as we move into our 50s, 60s and beyond. 

She and Mel started to talk about all the different types of exercises that we can choose and at that point I became furious.

Dr. Wright, I love you, but I’m calling you out on one thing - Pilates.

Before I continue, if you are not familiar with my professional practice, I am a women’s health physical therapist with 25 years experience. I am a certified strength and conditioning coach, a certified Pilates instructor and a certified pelvic health specialist. I have dedicated most of my career to all things women’s health. I spend most of my week busy in the clinic TREATING PATIENTS and learning their real road blocks and limitations while at the same time educating and advocating for women. I work with hundreds of women who want to become active or stay active as they age. Many have pain or other medical problems, don’t know where to start, or feel overwhelmed by the information overload. They see and hear “lift heavy” and run the other way because let’s face it - it’s intimidating! I wholeheartedly agree that muscles matter. As we reach midlife, cardio should no longer be queen and we should embrace lifting heavy stuff.

That brings me back to Pilates, a method of exercise that has existed since the early 20th century, and has evolved over time. Dr. Wright, have you ever done Pilates?  I’m not talking about the mat class at your local YMCA or the Peloton videos (no shade - but mat Pilates is only one small part of a much bigger system). I mean Pilates in a studio, on specially designed apparatus such as a reformer or a Pilates chair. Traditional Pilates may not involve big weights and bars, but it does incorporate body weight resistance with springs. In Pilates, you can do planks while moving your body back and forth on a sliding carriage, you can use heavy springs to lift overhead, or perform leg lifts and other exercises on your side. These are just a few of the examples of ways you can do resistance training in Pilates (and not use the “pretty pastel colored light weights” Dr. Wright references). One of my favorites is a lunge / step up exercise on the Pilates chair called “going up.” It utilizes heavy springs to apply a load as you lift your body up onto a platform and slowly lower yourself down, both front and side versions You can use the same springs as resistance on your arms to do more plank work (both single and double arm), inversions and more. The possibilities for these weight bearing plus resistance exercises are endless. To discount Pilates as merely a way to strengthen the core and improve flexibility does a disservice to both the method itself and the many women who I encounter each week that are accomplishing these amazing feats of strength. 

Which brings me to my next point. How can Pilates facilitate cardiovascular training? We know interval training is a great way to improve cardiovascular fitness. In fact, Dr. Wright on this podcast described a method where women can perform high intensity, low duration repetitive “sprints” for 30 seconds at a time. She stated this was a better way to improve cardiovascular fitness than other traditional HIIT type classes which sometimes don’’t push women enough. To this assertion, I present the Pilates jump board. 30-60 second intervals of “jumping” against spring resistance on a Pilates reformer, repeated over a 50 minute class, combined with recovery and traditional Pilates exercises. This exercise brings impact, resistance, and high intensity cardio without the stress and strain of running upright. 

I am by no means discounting any of the exercises suggested in the podcast, merely offering another perspective. Many of the women I work with every day have joint pain, back pain or other limitations that prevent them from lifting heavy or doing high impact in standing. They want to start somewhere. Even trusting a fitness professional who doesn’t understand her unique needs, she gives up easily or becomes overwhelmed and quits. Here’s the thing - we need to move. We need to load our spine and our joints. We need to feel good about exercise. Maybe that last sentence needs to be #1 - WOMEN NEED TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT EXERCISE! I see women thriving every day because they have tried Pilates and found all of these things. They move, they load their bones and muscles and they feel good! My job is to meet women where they are at and give them positive movement experiences so that they can make this a lifelong habit.

Dr. Wright, thank you for your work. Thank you for bringing awareness to the issue of strength training for women in midlife and beyond. I respect your work, I quote it to my students and to my clients. I’d love for you to try Pilates, THIS Pilates. I’d love for you to reconsider your words. Do the deep dive. Take time to really understand women in midlife, their challenges and limitations and let’s all work together to keep these women active, strong and thriving.