How much actual muscle gain is possible to get from pilates/yoga?

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  • MarianMarMoi
    MarianMarMoi Posts: 87 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    ...Thank you all for taking your time. Maybe I am very irritating to observe when I say I can't easily eat 100g of protein per day, I'm sorry! I do appreciate the replies :smile:

    I don't know that "irritating" is the proper word. But for your own sanity, I'd recommend that you reconcile your expectations with your efforts. A sub-optimal training routine and sub-optimal nutrition are going to yield sub-optimal results. As long as you're okay with that going in, I don't think it's anybody else's place to tell you you're wrong.

    If you're starting from zero, yoga/pilates will make you stronger, to a point. Your body will adapt to meet the demands you place upon it, so it will become strong enough to handle whatever demands yoga and pilates (or other activities of similar strength/exertion demands) places upon it. Much of that strength gain will be neuromuscular adaptation, as your central nervous system becomes more efficient at utilizing your muscles to meet those demands via fiber recruitment and rate coding. Neither yoga nor pilates are optimal (or even anywhere close) for stimulating hypertrophy (muscle growth), so the actual muscle gains, if any, will be minimal, and further minimized by inadequate protein intake, since protein is the "building blocks" of muscle cells. So there will be some results/improvements - whether they're enough results/improvements is up to you.

    Your goals need to be aligned with your training, nutrition and willingness to do what it takes to achieve them. If I wanted to be a marathon runner, it wouldn't do me any good to say I hate running and don't have the time to do it so I'm going to bicycle 5 miles three times a week. Yes, I'd become fit enough to bicycle 5 miles, but when it came time to run that marathon I'd fall flat on my face within the first two miles. So if I adjusted my expectations based upon my efforts and went forward with a realistic goal of cycling 5 miles, I'd consider it a success - but if I kept that goal of running a marathon in spite of the fact that I wasn't training properly for that goal, I'd consider it a failure.

    The expectations I have is mostly just "feeling good", getting a little more flexible and after a while: better posture, I just asked if I could expect anything muscle growth-related in the OP because I had not really considered it before. The answers have varied, but I do understand after all the replies that I won't gain much if anything, but it will make me 'stronger'. Sure it would be fun to gain some kg of muscles, but it's not something that I see as a major goal. Gaining weight would be beneficial for me since I am underweight, it would be fun if I could get that from muscles, but if that won't happen I don't mind it being from fat.

    Good luck to you moving forward, you might find that you change your mid as you go along and that's ok. A lot of us started out wanting one thing and ended up perusing other options when we found them more to our liking.

    Thank you :) I'm not expecting myself to stay one way forever, and even though I think about the future a lot, my focus is on the present and I'm trying to be realistic. I might get interested in other things as the time passes and I progress, though, some things will probably never be for me.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    heybales wrote: »
    No it doesn't.

    If you are seeing different workouts end up at the same 126.7 - something is being done wrong.

    Considering that rate of burn is probably over what you'd get for weight lifting - it's not true for yoga or pilates - it's inflated.

    What kind of weight do you need to gain?
    Do you need more fat?

    Alright, I thought it sounded a bit odd! I just entered that I'm planning on doing 30 min 6 days a week (I am tbh planning on every day, but maybe I will be too lazy once every week) in the settings for diet and fitness and it tells me I would burn 760 calories per week with that exercise... Maybe I shouldn't put anything in that spot and just add it manually every day (?), how would I know how much calories they actually burn? I'm not very knowledgable of this part of mfp, I've never used it before.

    To not be underweight anymore I would have to gain maybe 1.5 kg, but in my head 54-55 sounds like a better minimum weight. I have no idea what fat % I have, but I guess it wouldn't be bad to gain some more of that.

    Ohhhh - you are still in the goal setting area.

    That isn't MFP estimating your calorie burn from your goal of time, that is your place to also enter your goal of calories burned from that time doing workouts.

    None of those exercise goals has any bearing on math for eating level.

    Nor does it remove the need to actually log what you do. Still need to do that.

    Then on the Exercise diary, you can see how what you have done and logged stack up against your goals.

    I've found most don't even notice that feature of the Exercise diary.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Ultimately, The answer is. It depends. If you're at 0 or negative, then any yoga/pilates program will build some muscle.

    But there are different schools, and some are more meditative and some are more gymnastic. the more gymnastic/dynamic programs can build a good bit of strength. the more meditative will build very little.
  • vanmep
    vanmep Posts: 410 Member
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    I do Body Flow classes at the gym about 3-4 times a week. They’re a lovely combination of yoga, Pilates and tai chi. You definitely will build strength! Not in a body building kind of way of course. But the warrior poses are very strong and you will probably find your legs shaking at the beginning. The balance poses are good for ankle, leg and core strength in addition to learning balance. The sun salutations will build strength in your arms and back. I am noticeably stronger and more defined now. As well as more flexible. Good luck to you!
  • Zee_0100
    Zee_0100 Posts: 397 Member
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    Zee_0100 wrote: »
    Hello! I am not very knowledgeable about these sort of things, so I thought i could ask here :smile:

    I am a quite weak person, slightly underweight (168 cm/5'6" and 51 kg/112.4 lbs) and up until quite recently I didn't eat that well. I've gotten a hang of eating better now and I feel comfortable moving on to the next step which is yoga and pilates. They are both something I've wanted to do for years (yes, I am a slowpoke with starting things) and I'm now intending to do at least 30 min every day of one or the other.

    Can I expect any muscle gain from those two alone? I know that most people would start lifting weights when they want muscle gain, but for someone like me, would it make a difference do only do yoga and pilates? I'm not talking immediate changes, but after a year of doing them, would there be a gain?

    I'm not expecting any fast changes, but it would be nice to gain a few kg. Also, would 50-60g of protein per day be enough for me when I only do things like pilates/yoga?

    I think my end goal would be to weight at least 4 kg more than now, Is that too much to hope for?

    Finally haha finally i found someone like me. You can be my real motivator. all i see over here is people who are losing weight. Im a hard gainer and im bulking up. But what im practicing i cant recommend you that as im not certified but its helping me out, im consuming 3560 calorie p.d and its helping me in gaining 300 grams every week im 196cm /6'4ft and im 20. -Would love to know more abt you and great to see you again.

    Nice to see someone "like me"! You don't seem to have any issues with eating enough, that was what I struggled with for the longest time, and I'm happy that I'm around my 1800 goal every day now x) I guess I might have to adjust it a bit now when I start 30 min of yoga/pilates every day, but I don't think it will be by much. I know I still have my fitness thing set on maintaining, which might not be what I want.




    Btw, (this question is not specifically for you, Zee_0100), myfitnesspal seem to calculate all types of exercise that's for 30 min as burning 126.7 calories, would that be true even for pilates and yoga? I guess it doesn't matter if I end up eating back too much calories since I should gain some weight, but I'm still curious.

    Hey!
    No i feel the same i can't eat enough i get tired by chewing and get full really quick. So i eat meals into small portions and especially meals with high calories.
    I can't say anything about your yoga and Pilates as im not that experienced so im not sure about it but yea i don't think it really puts thats much effect in calorie burn and weight gain than exercise.
    Your Bmi is Definitely low so as mine that's why we both are underweight but Check your calorie intake according to your age and height then you should consume according to it. And i think 1800 is too low for gaining weight...
    I do moderate/low exercise just to avoid fatigue and some walk to digest food so i can eat again.
  • MarianMarMoi
    MarianMarMoi Posts: 87 Member
    edited January 2018
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    heybales wrote: »
    heybales wrote: »
    No it doesn't.

    If you are seeing different workouts end up at the same 126.7 - something is being done wrong.

    Considering that rate of burn is probably over what you'd get for weight lifting - it's not true for yoga or pilates - it's inflated.

    What kind of weight do you need to gain?
    Do you need more fat?

    Alright, I thought it sounded a bit odd! I just entered that I'm planning on doing 30 min 6 days a week (I am tbh planning on every day, but maybe I will be too lazy once every week) in the settings for diet and fitness and it tells me I would burn 760 calories per week with that exercise... Maybe I shouldn't put anything in that spot and just add it manually every day (?), how would I know how much calories they actually burn? I'm not very knowledgable of this part of mfp, I've never used it before.

    To not be underweight anymore I would have to gain maybe 1.5 kg, but in my head 54-55 sounds like a better minimum weight. I have no idea what fat % I have, but I guess it wouldn't be bad to gain some more of that.

    Ohhhh - you are still in the goal setting area.

    That isn't MFP estimating your calorie burn from your goal of time, that is your place to also enter your goal of calories burned from that time doing workouts.

    None of those exercise goals has any bearing on math for eating level.

    Nor does it remove the need to actually log what you do. Still need to do that.

    Then on the Exercise diary, you can see how what you have done and logged stack up against your goals.

    I've found most don't even notice that feature of the Exercise diary.

    Oh, thank you for clarifying that to me xD it would probably have taken me quite some time before I figured that out.

    Ultimately, The answer is. It depends. If you're at 0 or negative, then any yoga/pilates program will build some muscle.

    But there are different schools, and some are more meditative and some are more gymnastic. the more gymnastic/dynamic programs can build a good bit of strength. the more meditative will build very little.

    Thank you for your reply, I am still not sure which type I'm going for, but I feel like it will probably be a more active one. :)

    vanmep wrote: »
    I do Body Flow classes at the gym about 3-4 times a week. They’re a lovely combination of yoga, Pilates and tai chi. You definitely will build strength! Not in a body building kind of way of course. But the warrior poses are very strong and you will probably find your legs shaking at the beginning. The balance poses are good for ankle, leg and core strength in addition to learning balance. The sun salutations will build strength in your arms and back. I am noticeably stronger and more defined now. As well as more flexible. Good luck to you!

    Thank you! That sounds interesting. Google images first showed me a lot of people dangling in the air, but then I saw that it added "yoga" to the name, haha, I'm pleased to see that you don't need to do that! (even though that does look quite fun too). I found some classes on youtube and I think I will give it a go.

    Zee_0100 wrote: »
    Zee_0100 wrote: »
    Hello! I am not very knowledgeable about these sort of things, so I thought i could ask here :smile:

    I am a quite weak person, slightly underweight (168 cm/5'6" and 51 kg/112.4 lbs) and up until quite recently I didn't eat that well. I've gotten a hang of eating better now and I feel comfortable moving on to the next step which is yoga and pilates. They are both something I've wanted to do for years (yes, I am a slowpoke with starting things) and I'm now intending to do at least 30 min every day of one or the other.

    Can I expect any muscle gain from those two alone? I know that most people would start lifting weights when they want muscle gain, but for someone like me, would it make a difference do only do yoga and pilates? I'm not talking immediate changes, but after a year of doing them, would there be a gain?

    I'm not expecting any fast changes, but it would be nice to gain a few kg. Also, would 50-60g of protein per day be enough for me when I only do things like pilates/yoga?

    I think my end goal would be to weight at least 4 kg more than now, Is that too much to hope for?

    Finally haha finally i found someone like me. You can be my real motivator. all i see over here is people who are losing weight. Im a hard gainer and im bulking up. But what im practicing i cant recommend you that as im not certified but its helping me out, im consuming 3560 calorie p.d and its helping me in gaining 300 grams every week im 196cm /6'4ft and im 20. -Would love to know more abt you and great to see you again.

    Nice to see someone "like me"! You don't seem to have any issues with eating enough, that was what I struggled with for the longest time, and I'm happy that I'm around my 1800 goal every day now x) I guess I might have to adjust it a bit now when I start 30 min of yoga/pilates every day, but I don't think it will be by much. I know I still have my fitness thing set on maintaining, which might not be what I want.




    Btw, (this question is not specifically for you, Zee_0100), myfitnesspal seem to calculate all types of exercise that's for 30 min as burning 126.7 calories, would that be true even for pilates and yoga? I guess it doesn't matter if I end up eating back too much calories since I should gain some weight, but I'm still curious.

    Hey!
    No i feel the same i can't eat enough i get tired by chewing and get full really quick. So i eat meals into small portions and especially meals with high calories.
    I can't say anything about your yoga and Pilates as im not that experienced so im not sure about it but yea i don't think it really puts thats much effect in calorie burn and weight gain than exercise.
    Your Bmi is Definitely low so as mine that's why we both are underweight but Check your calorie intake according to your age and height then you should consume according to it. And i think 1800 is too low for gaining weight...
    I do moderate/low exercise just to avoid fatigue and some walk to digest food so i can eat again.

    You still manage to eat quite a lot more than me though :) I get you about dividing it into many small meals, that's what I've done lately. I'm hoping my body will adjust fast so that I don't have to do that, I don't like walking around feeling full all the time.
    I will try to consume a bit more than 1800, but the lowest gain-setting on mfp was 0.25 lbs per week, which raised my daily intake to 2100, and I don't think I'm ready to eat that much, I'm already very full after getting to 1800, but I will keep that as the target and try not to be too disappointed if I'm 100 or 200 calories below, as long as it's over 1800 I should be gaining some, right? At least if 1800 is what maintenance is for me.
  • andfivesixseveneight
    Options
    @MarianMarMoi
    Considering you say you are weak now, just doing body weight exercises such as yoga or Pilates should be adequate for you to see results.
    I’m also vegan and practice yoga. Performing warrior poses, sun salutations, and balances I have absolutely firmed my muscles and added strength. Not bulk, but strength. I encourage you to try it, especially since it appeals to you.
    It sounds like you are being mindful in your choices as a vegan on a budget. Are there any Indian grocers in your area? They sell quite inexpensive high protein vegan foods.
    Also as you increase your strength and activity, you may very well discover an increase in appetite, which makes it easier to consume more grams of protein daily.
    Best wishes in your endeavors. Add me as a friend if you would like to share support and motivation.
  • loftus4827
    loftus4827 Posts: 56 Member
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    You can definitely get stronger by doing yoga. Maybe try a corepower yoga class or one of the ones that focuses on building strength. I powerlift and do yoga and they both have served me well.
  • Zee_0100
    Zee_0100 Posts: 397 Member
    Options
    heybales wrote: »
    heybales wrote: »
    No it doesn't.

    If you are seeing different workouts end up at the same 126.7 - something is being done wrong.

    Considering that rate of burn is probably over what you'd get for weight lifting - it's not true for yoga or pilates - it's inflated.

    What kind of weight do you need to gain?
    Do you need more fat?

    Alright, I thought it sounded a bit odd! I just entered that I'm planning on doing 30 min 6 days a week (I am tbh planning on every day, but maybe I will be too lazy once every week) in the settings for diet and fitness and it tells me I would burn 760 calories per week with that exercise... Maybe I shouldn't put anything in that spot and just add it manually every day (?), how would I know how much calories they actually burn? I'm not very knowledgable of this part of mfp, I've never used it before.

    To not be underweight anymore I would have to gain maybe 1.5 kg, but in my head 54-55 sounds like a better minimum weight. I have no idea what fat % I have, but I guess it wouldn't be bad to gain some more of that.

    Ohhhh - you are still in the goal setting area.

    That isn't MFP estimating your calorie burn from your goal of time, that is your place to also enter your goal of calories burned from that time doing workouts.

    None of those exercise goals has any bearing on math for eating level.

    Nor does it remove the need to actually log what you do. Still need to do that.

    Then on the Exercise diary, you can see how what you have done and logged stack up against your goals.

    I've found most don't even notice that feature of the Exercise diary.

    Oh, thank you for clarifying that to me xD it would probably have taken me quite some time before I figured that out.

    Ultimately, The answer is. It depends. If you're at 0 or negative, then any yoga/pilates program will build some muscle.

    But there are different schools, and some are more meditative and some are more gymnastic. the more gymnastic/dynamic programs can build a good bit of strength. the more meditative will build very little.

    Thank you for your reply, I am still not sure which type I'm going for, but I feel like it will probably be a more active one. :)

    vanmep wrote: »
    I do Body Flow classes at the gym about 3-4 times a week. They’re a lovely combination of yoga, Pilates and tai chi. You definitely will build strength! Not in a body building kind of way of course. But the warrior poses are very strong and you will probably find your legs shaking at the beginning. The balance poses are good for ankle, leg and core strength in addition to learning balance. The sun salutations will build strength in your arms and back. I am noticeably stronger and more defined now. As well as more flexible. Good luck to you!

    Thank you! That sounds interesting. Google images first showed me a lot of people dangling in the air, but then I saw that it added "yoga" to the name, haha, I'm pleased to see that you don't need to do that! (even though that does look quite fun too). I found some classes on youtube and I think I will give it a go.

    Zee_0100 wrote: »
    Zee_0100 wrote: »
    Hello! I am not very knowledgeable about these sort of things, so I thought i could ask here :smile:

    I am a quite weak person, slightly underweight (168 cm/5'6" and 51 kg/112.4 lbs) and up until quite recently I didn't eat that well. I've gotten a hang of eating better now and I feel comfortable moving on to the next step which is yoga and pilates. They are both something I've wanted to do for years (yes, I am a slowpoke with starting things) and I'm now intending to do at least 30 min every day of one or the other.

    Can I expect any muscle gain from those two alone? I know that most people would start lifting weights when they want muscle gain, but for someone like me, would it make a difference do only do yoga and pilates? I'm not talking immediate changes, but after a year of doing them, would there be a gain?

    I'm not expecting any fast changes, but it would be nice to gain a few kg. Also, would 50-60g of protein per day be enough for me when I only do things like pilates/yoga?

    I think my end goal would be to weight at least 4 kg more than now, Is that too much to hope for?

    Finally haha finally i found someone like me. You can be my real motivator. all i see over here is people who are losing weight. Im a hard gainer and im bulking up. But what im practicing i cant recommend you that as im not certified but its helping me out, im consuming 3560 calorie p.d and its helping me in gaining 300 grams every week im 196cm /6'4ft and im 20. -Would love to know more abt you and great to see you again.

    Nice to see someone "like me"! You don't seem to have any issues with eating enough, that was what I struggled with for the longest time, and I'm happy that I'm around my 1800 goal every day now x) I guess I might have to adjust it a bit now when I start 30 min of yoga/pilates every day, but I don't think it will be by much. I know I still have my fitness thing set on maintaining, which might not be what I want.




    Btw, (this question is not specifically for you, Zee_0100), myfitnesspal seem to calculate all types of exercise that's for 30 min as burning 126.7 calories, would that be true even for pilates and yoga? I guess it doesn't matter if I end up eating back too much calories since I should gain some weight, but I'm still curious.

    Hey!
    No i feel the same i can't eat enough i get tired by chewing and get full really quick. So i eat meals into small portions and especially meals with high calories.
    I can't say anything about your yoga and Pilates as im not that experienced so im not sure about it but yea i don't think it really puts thats much effect in calorie burn and weight gain than exercise.
    Your Bmi is Definitely low so as mine that's why we both are underweight but Check your calorie intake according to your age and height then you should consume according to it. And i think 1800 is too low for gaining weight...
    I do moderate/low exercise just to avoid fatigue and some walk to digest food so i can eat again.

    You still manage to eat quite a lot more than me though :) I get you about dividing it into many small meals, that's what I've done lately. I'm hoping my body will adjust fast so that I don't have to do that, I don't like walking around feeling full all the time.
    I will try to consume a bit more than 1800, but the lowest gain-setting on mfp was 0.25 lbs per week, which raised my daily intake to 2100, and I don't think I'm ready to eat that much, I'm already very full after getting to 1800, but I will keep that as the target and try not to be too disappointed if I'm 100 or 200 calories below, as long as it's over 1800 I should be gaining some, right? At least if 1800 is what maintenance is for me.

    I can completely understand what You are going through coz i go through the same and I've push my self really hard for this and now you see im able to consume so much even i miss many meals in a day because they are so many and im too lazy to cook or get it. Make sure that your routine is good its so that you'll be able to consume more trust me I've experiment this before and it works 2100 is way much more effective than 1800 because there are so many things you dont add in your calorie burn like waking throughout your whole day or daily work on your feet. So that's why after who sum up whatever is left that's what helps you to gain. Id lf there is nothing it will remain constant and start this whole process slowly no need to take your time. Dont over eat slowly slowly start increasing your diet the way you do with weights.. sometimes its with our genetics and age factor as well. Like if your parents are slim then definitely you get it in your jeans ans youll face difficulty in it.
  • Zee_0100
    Zee_0100 Posts: 397 Member
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    loftus4827 wrote: »
    You can definitely get stronger by doing yoga. Maybe try a corepower yoga class or one of the ones that focuses on building strength. I powerlift and do yoga and they both have served me well.

    Wow is that you in profile pic? You are so strong and got really big muscles would you train me?
  • MarianMarMoi
    MarianMarMoi Posts: 87 Member
    edited January 2018
    Options
    Thank you all for your answers, I really hope I will experience a big difference, even if it doesn't show up on the scale :) I will take a peek on the different types of yoga and probably, at home, try them all out. If I find any cheap classes I will see if I can attend at least once.

    I have no indian grocery stores nearby, there is only one city on this island and it's quite small.
    Bean pasta was a lot cheaper in the store than it said it was online, almost half the price! That made me really happy tbh, I bought a few packages :joy:

    I bought like 20 small lunch boxes that I intend to use for freezing food. I am terribly lazy with cooking, so I thought, if I make 10 portions of whatever I cook, I can freeze it down and I'll have food for the entire week, that way I would only ever have to fix with breakfast and "snacks" and the lunch/supper would only be a once a week thing to fix. Might be a bit ridiculous to do that with things like pasta, but cooking 10 portions at 10 different times mean I will have to dish that pot 10 times as well, so yeah, I prefer doing it once per week x)

    The activity level you set seems to affect maintenance intake, so how much I normally walk should be included in that number.


    I see that I got it wrong in my other post btw, it's set to 0.25 kg weightgain per week, not lbs.
    I do think my body has to get used to the increased volume of food, the snacks that I ate before I would literally only have to eat about 400-500g of and it would give me the calories I needed (not that great for the macros, but I didn't really care back then). I hope my body adjusts fast, but atm it does feel like it might take time due to how extremely full it makes me feel.
    For that reason I won't be able to eat 2100 anytime soon. Getting to 1800 is still a struggle, even though it's not a very hard one, I just feel very full. If I didn't know the calories, I would probably never eat that much due to how full it makes me feel, so using mfp for that logging function has been good for me.