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‘I'm a Pilates Instructor-These Are the 5 Moves I Give Every Client Who Wants To Lose Weight After 50'

By Alexa Mellardo Parade - Health Stories

Updated April 30, 2026 3:49 AM

Whether you're looking to boost muscle definition, burn some calories or a combination of the two, Pilates is a stellar training modality to consider. Doing exercises on the mat and the reformer can strengthen your deep core muscles while improving mobility, flexibility, functional movement and overall mind-body connection. Basically, Pilates is your golden ticket to building a lean, mean physique-and research backs this up. According to a 2021 study published in Frontiers in Physiology, Pilates can result in a significant decrease in both body weight and body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage.

How exactly does Pilates impact the scale? While it can help you build a toned body, it isn't a "calorie-crunching HIIT class-and thank goodness for that," notes Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor at OnlinePilatesClasses.com, who has taught thousands of students and trained hundreds of Pilates teachers. It's effective because it helps sculpt lean muscle, which is incredibly important as you age and we naturally start to lose that muscle mass.

"Muscle is metabolically active-it burns more than fat even when you're just sitting on the couch. Plus, when you move better, you move more in your daily life. That's the secret sauce," explains Logan.

Below, Logan shares with us five moves she gives every client who wants to lose weight after 50-i.e. someone who may have a slower metabolism and is looking to build muscle. Keep in mind that these exercises shouldn't be performed as a clunky circuit, but rather, they are a flow. Move from one exercise to the next without taking a water break or checking your phone every two minutes, Logan instructs.

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The 5 Best Pilates Moves for Weight Loss Over 50, According to an Instructor

Logan selected these moves because they fire up the entire body, challenge your heart rate via control rather than chaos, and help tweak your alignment as you work.

She says, "If you're coming to me for a ‘magic pill' to drop 20 pounds by Tuesday, you're in the wrong studio. I'm not about the scale; I'm about how you move through the world."

When clients 50+ tell Logan their goal is to "lose weight," they're also typically striving to feel capable in their own skin once again. This means they're craving a functional transformation. They want to feel firm rather than "soft" and feel confident enough to get up off the ground or carry grocery bags with ease.

"They want the ‘zip' back in their step, the ‘tone' in their arms and to stop feeling like their posture is collapsing into their lap," she tells Parade. "If we want to support a changing body, we don't need more 'grind,' we need more connection."

Here's how to actually do it.

1. The Hundred

Logan's flow begins with the hundred to get your blood pumping-she calls it "internal heat." If you aren't breathing deeply during the exercise, you're not burning.

Start seated on a yoga mat.
Roll back, bringing your chin to your chest and hovering your shoulders above the floor.
Extend your legs to a 45-degree diagonal, bringing them together and pointing your toes.
Extend your arms out in front of you.
Keep your lower belly gently drawn in as you swiftly pump your arms.
Sync your breath in a smooth rhythm, inhaling for 5 seconds and exhaling for 5 seconds. Make sure your abdomen does not protrude.
Do this 10 times (one full inhale and one full exhale counts as 1 rep).

2. Abdominals

"This is the ultimate stamina builder. It forces the core to support the limbs while they're in motion-that's where the ‘tone' happens," Logan says.

In a typical Pilates abdominal series, you'd likely perform exercises like the double-leg stretch, single-leg stretch, single straight-leg stretch, double straight-leg stretch and criss-cross-so take your pick. Here's how to do the criss-cross:

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and forming a tabletop position.
Place your hands lightly behind your head.
Lift your head, neck and shoulders, activating your core.
Extend one of your legs out straight to a 45-degree angle.
Rotate your torso, bringing your opposite elbow to meet the bent knee.
Switch sides, extending the other leg and rotating your torso toward the opposite knee.

3. Side Kicks

"Most people over 50 lose lateral stability. This shapes the hips and glutes, which are your biggest metabolic engines," Logan explains.

Begin by lying on one side with your body, forming a straight line from head to feet.
Rest your head on your bottom hand.
Position your top hand in front of you for balance.
Bring both legs slightly in front of your hips to form a 30 to 45-degree angle.
Brace your core as you lift the top leg to hip level.
Use control as you slowly kick that leg forward.
Then, sweep the leg back behind you.
Repeat on the other side after completing all prescribed reps.

4. Swan

"We spend too much time hunched. To look and feel leaner, we have to open the front body. It strengthens the back and improves the ‘long' look everyone wants," Logan notes.

Start by lying face down on a mat with your legs extended behind you, hip-distance apart.
Place your hands below your shoulders with your elbows bent and close to the sides of your body.
Press the tops of your feet into the floor to gently activate your buttocks.
Bring your shoulders down and back, maintaining a long neck like a swan.
Inhale as you begin to lift your chest.
During the lift, gently press your hands into the mat.
Take a deep breath out as you slowly lower back to the ground.

5. The Seal

"It looks fun, but it's all about control and massage. It's the perfect way to find your center and finish with a bit of joy," Logan says.

Begin seated on a mat with your knees bent and feet lifted off the ground, finding your balance right behind your sitbones.
Open your knees just a bit and bring your arms inside your legs.
Hold onto the outsides of your feet or ankles.
Maintain a tall chest and braced core as you hold this rounded position.
Take a deep breath in and roll back onto your shoulders.
Exhale as you roll forward to return to the start position.

These exercises work together by challenging the core while the rest of your body offers resistance. By dedicating just 15 to 20 minutes a day to this flow, you're reaping all the mind-body benefits Pilates has to offer.

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Sources:

Wang, Y., Chen, Z., Wu, Z., Ye, X., & Xu, X. (2021). Pilates for overweight or obesity: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Physiology, 12, 643455.
Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor at OnlinePilatesClasses.com

This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 3:25 AM.