Pilates tends to use lighter weights or body weight and higher reps to improve mobility and stability. Photo by Logan Weaver/Unsplash

Fitness

Weight Lifting or Pilates? Pros, Cons, and Misconceptions

Insights from BU students and staff on which workout is best for your specific goals

In its 2024 workout trends report, ClassPass reported that Pilates was the most booked workout worldwide in 2024, in the top spot for the second year in a row. Following close behind was weight training, said to be the fastest-growing sport among women in 2024.

But which one is better? Open your computer and you’ll be met with a plethora of information arguing in favor of one or the other, so we decided to talk to BU students and faculty for the pros, cons, and misconceptions of both workouts so you can figure out which works best for you.

And remember—no matter which workout you choose, “fitness is fitness. Movement is movement,” says Mia Heim (CGS’24, Sargent’26), a personal trainer at FitRec and president of BU Barbell. “Being active, that’s what’s most important, because that’s what the human body needs to be healthy. So any kind of movement is a great kind of movement.” 

Weight lifting

The pros

Weight lifting and strength training lead to muscle growth, but they also have benefits that include increased bone density, weight management, and a potential decrease in chronic conditions. 

Heim, who is certified in personal training, says that weight lifting has made her stronger and gives her confidence in and out of the gym. In high school, she was a swimmer. “I wasn’t in a happy place with swimming in general,” Heim says. “Once I found weight lifting, I was like, okay this feels really good. Just getting stronger felt really good. It gave me more confidence.”

Uriel Choi (Questrom’25), head of operations for BU Barbell, echoes Heim. Choi says that weight lifting gave him more confidence and that for him it’s a form of self-care. He stresses that weight training is a great way to improve bone density and prevent osteoporosis, which women tend to be more prone to than men.

“When you’re older, that’s just when your bones basically get weaker, and that can lead to a lot of negative health [effects] later in life,” Heim says. “So weight lifting helps with bone density in general.”

Other benefits include becoming stronger and putting on muscle, an increased metabolism, a healthy cardiovascular system, and mental benefits as well. 

The cons

With any good, there is often some bad. Choi and Heim list some of the issues they sometimes see in the weight-lifting community, which include a tendency to be obsessed (true of the fitness industry in general, Heim says), eating disorders, and injuries. 

Choi acknowledges that injury is another issue that can arise with weight lifting, as with other sports. But, he says, injuries can be prevented by focusing on technique. “If correct form, correct technique, and correct information are being spread about it, then there’s no reason you should be getting injured,” he says. 

A certified yoga instructor, Heim says that without taking the proper steps for stretching, warming up, and taking care of their bodies, people become much more injury-prone. “If you’re not warming up enough and stretching enough and taking care of your body in that way,” she says, “that’s when you’re more prone to injury as well, because it does beat up your body.”

The misconceptions

Heim says that getting bulky is one of the biggest misconceptions about weight lifting, especially for women. Diet is a big factor in bulkiness for weight lifters, she says.

And if people are aiming for a leaner frame, incorporating cardio or Pilates with weight lifting can help achieve that goal. 

Choi says another stereotype, specifically with men, is the perception that they are “meatheads,” implying that they are always thinking about the gym.

Helm hits back. “These people are smart,” she says. “They put together programs for themselves and routines for themselves, and they have goals they aspire to.”

Another misconception Choi and Heim say the club has tried to dispel is that weight lifting is male-dominated. Choi has been a part of BU Barbell since his freshman year and says he has seen many women join the club and become involved on the E-board.

Finally, Choi wants to dispel the notion that weight lifting is just for young people. He says weight lifting and resistance training can help people suffering from pain overcome “years worth of pain from injury.”

How do I get started?

“Stepping into the gym might seem like a small step, but it’s the biggest step you could take,” Heim says. The internet is another good resource for info about lifting, but she cautions that it should be used carefully. “There is a lot of misinformation and misconceptions around [lifting],” she says. “It might get really confusing, really overwhelming, really fast. Take it simple. Take it step by step.”

Finding community at the gym is another important way to gather information about lifting that cannot be found on the internet. Choi says that this step could be as simple as going to the gym with one other person. 

If you’re interested in learning more about weight lifting, Heim and Choi recommend the BU Barbell Club. The group is focused on creating community at BU and at FitRec, and it hosts workshops for beginners, with the more advanced lifters showing the basics of lifting, including techniques, injury prevention, and how to progress.

Pilates

Pilates is another form of exercise, but it’s on a different level than weight lifting. Although both forms of exercise use resistance training, they do it in different ways. Pilates tends to use lighter weights or body weight and higher reps to improve mobility and stability, versus weight lifting, which tends to lean towards higher weight with lower reps. 

Pilates can be practiced using a yoga mat or a reformer machine, making it either a group or an individualized workout option. 

The pros

Liz Roncka (Sargent’95,’97), manager of Pilates and assistant coordinator of dance at BU, says that you should decide the form of exercise you want to do based on how you want to meet your goals. 

Pilates offers stability, core strength, muscle-building, girdle stability, hip stability, and lower back stability. She says Pilates is a great way to focus on alignment and stabilization, with lower weight training versus heavy lifting. 

“Pilates is something that would strengthen you in a larger range of motion, on your stability muscles,” Roncka says. She also reports that clients have an increased awareness of what is good alignment and stability when they practice Pilates. Usually this is followed by progress in core, pelvis, shoulder, and joint stability, and it helps with lower back pain and joint pain, since the movements are closely linked to rehabilitation movements. 

Pilates can also help develop a body-mind connection, she says, and since you’re really focusing on your movement, feeling what you’re doing, and bringing awareness into your body, you are strengthening your mind-body connection. 

The cons

The most important step before starting Pilates is outlining specific goals and then figuring out how to achieve them, Roncka says. For those who want to lose weight, instead of Pilates, an increase in cardio might be the better option, and Pilates shouldn’t be your only form of fitness. “It’s a wonderful thing,” she says, “but it only focuses on certain aspects.”

The misconceptions

Pilates will lengthen your muscles, you often hear. To this, Roncka says, “What is that? What does that mean?”

She says that while Pilates might work muscles through a larger range of motion than a weight machine, lengthening muscles is not the main goal or result of Pilates. “The better way to think about Pilates is something that would strengthen you in a larger range of motion on your stability muscles,” she says. 

How do I get started?

Try out a Pilates class at FitRec.

Don’t forget the proper nutrition

With any exercise, nutrition is a vital aspect to fueling your body and building muscle. 

Energy is needed for any workout or physical activity, and the best way to obtain that energy is through food. Grace Soroko (Sargent’26), a member of the BU Nutrition and Dietetics Club (BUNDC), says fueling yourself prevents the wrong kind of workouts and allows you to perform workouts “accurately and safely.” Additionally, it’s key to incorporate protein into your diet after working out to ensure recovery. 

Soroko says carbohydrates are a source of quick energy while fats provide long-term energy. Fellow BUNDC member Lukas Shan (Sargent’26) says that between carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, intake can vary depending on the type of exercise.

Shan and Soroko warn against relying on the internet for nutritional advice and information since misinformation often spreads. “You might have someone who’s not a qualified professional to speak about nutrition,” Shan says. “Because it happens to be a positive, good story, people are attracted to that, and they may end up adopting certain things that they did just because the person said they should.” And what’s more, nutrition tends to get generalized on social media and the advice doesn’t take people’s differences—like allergies and intolerances—into account. “Everyone’s biology is slightly different,” Shan says. “They have their own kind of unique things about how their body works.” 

At the end of the day, we are the ones who know our bodies best, Soroko says. Therefore, it’s important to listen to your body’s needs and fuel accordingly. 

Questions? Check out the BU Sargent Choice Nutrition Center, which offers each student three free appointments. The center also hosts workshops catered specifically to nutrition and exercise, and students can take PDP classes on the subject as well.