Your glutes, the buttock muscles, are a key piece of the "powerhouse" in Pilates. The powerhouse includes the muscles in your abs, lower back, pelvic floor, and hips, as well as your buttocks. The gluteus medius wraps around the hips and connects under the body. This helps support the lower back. Each of these muscles support one another and, even if you are targeting one area, it affects all of the others. Pilates uses your own body weight for resistance and focuses on working both the small and large muscles. Over time, core strength, flexibility and muscle tone will begin to increase. One of the most beneficial things about keeping Pilates movements slow and mindful is that you are also working smaller muscles that are often not activated. Small movements in Pilates focus on form and control, causing the smaller muscles to work harder.When done correctly, The Pilates Mat will engage your gluteus maximus and gluteus medius as well as your outer thighs, hips, quads and core. It is very important in class that you always start any movement from your buttocks and not your quads. As I have said in many of my Blog posts, if you concentrate on controlling your form, you will get the most benefit.