Once every three years or so, I try yoga, again. Just as egg-hater really would love to want to eat an omelette, I would really love to want to do yoga. But despite having nearly a dozen friends who swear by its benefits, I'm immune to its charms. I like pilates, instead.

And as you might have noticed, there's a major war brewing between pilates-lovers and yoga lovers. Just kidding! Neither of those two groups of people is much on wars. But you've probably run into a yoga-obsessed friend, or a pilates proselytizer who've tried to convince you to see their side.

Both are great for you (though pilates is clearly less hippie-dippy), but is one necessarily better than the other?

It all depends on what you're going for. In a small study last year, it was shown that pilates can greatly improve your abdominal muscle strength by as much as 20 percent. But it may not do much for the rest of the body. The study found that it didn't do much to reduce body fat or increase muscle.

Yoga, on the other hand, was found to strengthen larger portions of the body. Though the benefits varied, of course, with the type of yoga done.

So the upshot: If you want core strength and not much else, go for pilates. If you're looking for more of an all over body strengthening practice (and chanting, lots of chanting) go for yoga. [Source]