The Effects of an 8-Week Pilates Circuit Exercise on Muscle Function, Cardiopulmonary fitness, and Upper Trunk Alignment in Middle-Aged Obese Women

This study investigated the effects of an eight-week Pilates circuit exercise group(PCG) and a weight circuit exercise group(WCG) on muscle function, cardiopulmonary fitness, and upper trunk alignment in middle-aged women with obesity. Eighteen participants (age 45-60yr; body-fat≥30%) were randomly assigned to either PCG(n=9) or WCG(n=9). Both groups trained three times per week for 45 min per session. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included muscle endurance(push-up, curl-up), maximal strength(1-RM chest and leg press), resting heart rate, one-minute heart-rate recovery(HRR1), VO2max, cervical tilt, thoracic tilt, and posterior shoulder tilt. WCG showed significantly increasing in chest-press and leg-press maximal strength than PCG (p<.05) and showed a significant improvement in HRR1(p<.05). In contrast, PCG was more increase in push-up and curl-up test and exhibited significantly improvement in cervical, thoracic, and posterior-shoulder tilt compared with WCG (p < .05). These findings indicate that weight circuits exercise are more effective for enhancing maximal strength and autonomic recovery, whereas Pilates circuits exercise provide greater benefits for trunk stability, muscular endurance, and postural correction. Therefore periodic or combined prescriptions of the two exercise program are recommended to achieve health improvements in middle-aged women with obesity.