I'm a fitness writer who loves strength training. This is why I prefer this 15-minute barre routine to most of the Pilates workouts I've tried

Fitness writer Alice Porter performs a barre workout in a gym.

I've been training with dumbbells and barbells for years and I swear by strength work for building muscle and keeping me fit. I've also recently started experimenting with Pilates, a type of bodyweight workout that focuses on small, controlled movements.

While Pilates is great for targeting underused muscles and improving posture, I find it doesn’t provide a sufficient challenge to help me build full-body strength. I need to use heavy weights in order to do this.