Pilates vs weight training: what the head-to-head trials measured, and what they didn't

Pilates is a system of controlled exercises done on a mat or on a machine, with a lot of work for the trunk. Weight training moves a load, a dumbbell, a barbell, a machine or a band, for sets and reps. The evidence that compares them directly is thin: two small randomized trials, one in 49 women aged 60 to 80 and one in 18 women aged 45 or over, so every head-to-head result here is a result in those women, not in everyone. This page covers the two randomized trials that compared them directly, a large review that ranked them for balance, what none of them tested, and how to do both in a week.

Pilates vs weight training at a glance

Where Pilates came out ahead

• Hip extension strength against doing nothing. In Carrasco-Poyatos 2019, 60 physically independent women aged 60 to 80 were randomized to Pilates, resistance training or no new exercise; 49 finished. The two programs ran twice a week, an hour a session, for 18 weeks. On hip extension strength held still, only the Pilates group was statistically better than the no-exercise group.¹
• A little more balance in a small trial. In Oh 2026, 18 physically inactive women aged 45 or over with body fat of 30% or more were randomized to Pilates circuits or weight circuits, three sessions a week for 8 weeks, at matched effort. Both improved on a reaching balance test; the Pilates group gained about 11.5% and 11.1% on the right and left, against about 9.2% and 8.0%, with significant interaction effects in some directions.² The authors called it exploratory and asked for larger trials.²
• Dynamic balance in a large review. Wang 2026 pooled 423 randomized trials of adults aged 60 and over, without recruiting for any disease. Among 19 kinds of exercise, Pilates had the largest estimate for dynamic balance. The authors wrote that these estimates do not establish superiority.³

Where weight training came out ahead

• Strength through a movement. In Carrasco-Poyatos 2019, every hip isokinetic measurement, strength measured while the leg moved at a set speed, improved in the resistance-training group.¹ The authors concluded that resistance training had the greater effect on trunk and hip isokinetic strength, and Pilates on isometric hip and trunk extension, though the head-to-head comparison found no significant difference between the two.¹
• Reactive balance in the review. In Wang 2026, conventional resistance training was one of three kinds of exercise with a tentative signal for reactive balance, catching yourself after a push or a slip.³

Within each group of Carrasco-Poyatos 2019, both Pilates and resistance training improved dynamic balance and isometric trunk and hip extension strength, and the authors found moderate effects of both on a timed up-and-go walk.¹ Put plainly: a draw, with each side ahead on some tests.

What these studies didn't test

• Who was studied. Both head-to-head trials studied women only: one over 60, one over 45 with a body-fat entry criterion. No trial found for this page compared the two in men or in adults under 45.
• What was measured. Trunk and hip strength on a dynamometer and balance tests. Neither trial measured muscle size, or strength in lifts like the squat or the deadlift, so this page can't say which builds more muscle.
• Body weight and body fat. This page doesn't cover them; the trials here are used for strength and balance only.
• Size. 49 and 18 women. Small trials can miss real differences, and Carrasco-Poyatos' authors asked for larger, longer ones.¹

How to do both in a week

As a practical guide, not a finding:

Two sessions of each fits the twice-a-week schedule both programs in Carrasco-Poyatos 2019 used.¹ If you're new to the weights, how to start lifting weights has the first four weeks, and the core workout covers what lifting does and doesn't train in the trunk. If you have pain, an injury or a medical condition, stop and ask a doctor or a physical therapist.

Common questions

Is Pilates strength training?

In Carrasco-Poyatos 2019, in women aged 60 to 80, it trained strength: the Pilates group improved isometric hip and trunk extension strength and was the only program to beat the no-exercise group on hip extension.¹ It isn't the same as lifting a load for sets and reps, and the trials didn't compare muscle size.

Pilates or weight training for women?

The only head-to-head trials found for this page studied women, and neither found one clearly better: Pilates gained more on a reaching balance test in the smaller trial, and the larger trial's authors credited weight training with more isokinetic strength and Pilates with more isometric strength.^1,2 Strength training for women covers the lifting side.

Which is better for toning or weight loss?

"Toning" isn't something these studies measured, and this page doesn't cover body weight or body fat. What they measured was strength and balance, where it was close.

Can I do Pilates and weight training on the same day?

No trial found for this page tested the order. As a practical guide: lift first if you do both, so the heavier work gets you fresh, or split them across days as in the table above.

If you'd rather have the week planned

Pilates or weights is a smaller decision than fitting either one around the rest of your week. Coaching is the version where your workouts live in Trainerize, built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one. Coaching for women explains how that works, and here's how to apply. Otherwise: keep your Pilates days and add two full-body lifting sessions this week.