What’s all of the fuss about?
What’s all the fuss about? After decades as the workout of the elite, Pilates has entered the fitness mainstream about a decade ago and has been going strong ever since. What’s the fascinating story behind how Pilates started? Here’s a brief look at its history.
How it all began
Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in Monchengladbach Germany in 1883. As a child, Joe had asthma and other ailments. He turned to exercise and athletics to battle these ailments and was always studying various exercise regimens to expand his knowledge base. He became enamored by the classical Greek ideal of a man balanced in body, mind, and spirit, and he began to develop his own exercise system based on this concept.
Growing into adulthood, Joe was no longer the sickly child he had once been as he became an avid skier, diver, gymnast, and boxer.
In 1912 Joe went to England, where he worked as a self-defense instructor for detectives at Scotland Yard. At the outbreak of World War I, Joe was interned as an “enemy alien” with other German nationals. During his internment, Joe refined his ideas and trained other internees in his system of exercise. He rigged springs to hospital beds, enabling bedridden patients to exercise against resistance, an innovation that led to his later equipment designs. An influenza epidemic struck England in 1918, killing thousands of people, but not a single one of Joe’s trainees died. This, he claimed, testified to the effectiveness of his system.
After his release, Joe returned to Germany. His exercise method gained favor in the dance community, primarily through Rudolf von Laban, who created the form of dance notation most widely used today. Hanya Holm adopted many of Joe’s exercises for her modern dance curriculum, and they are still part of the “Holm Technique.” When German officials asked Joe to teach his fitness system to the army, he decided to leave Germany for good.
Pilates comes to the U.S.
In 1926, Joe emigrated to the United States. During the voyage he met Clara Zeuner, whom he later married (many people don’t know that Clara was Joe’s third wife). Joe and Clara opened a fitness studio in New York, sharing an address with the New York City Ballet.
By the early 1960s, Joe and Clara could count among their clients many New York dancers. George Balanchine studied “at Joe’s,” as he called it, and also invited Pilates to instruct his young ballerinas at the New York City Ballet.
Pilates was becoming popular outside of New York as well. As the New York Herald Tribune noted in 1964: “in dance classes around the United States, hundreds of young students limber up daily with an exercise they know as ‘a pilates’, without knowing that the word has a capital P, and a living, right-breathing namesake.”
His students begin to teach
While Joe was still alive, two of his students, Carola Trier and Bob Seed, opened their own studios. Trier, a dancer, found her way to the United States by becoming a performing contortionist after fleeing a Nazi holding camp in France. She found Joe Pilates in 1940, when a non-stage injury pre-empted her performing career. Joe Pilates assisted Trier in opening her own studio in the late 1950s. Joe and Clara remained close friends with Trier until their deaths.
Bob Seed was another story. A former hockey player turned Pilates enthusiast, Seed opened a studio across town from Joe and tried to take away some of Joe’s clients by opening very early in the morning. According to John Steel, Joe and Clara’s business manager, one day Joe visited Seed with a gun and warned Seed to get out of town. Seed went.
Joe continued to train clients at his studio until his death in 1967, at the age of 87. When he passed away, he left no will and had designated no line of succession for the Pilates work to carry on.
Nevertheless, his work would remain and eventually flourish in large part due to his protégés, referred to as the “elders.”
The elders
Clara continued to operate what was known as the Pilates Studio on Eighth Avenue in New York. Romana Kryzanowska became the director around 1970. Kryzanowska had studied with Joe and Clara in the early 1940s and then, after a 15-year hiatus spent in Peru, returned to renew her studies.
The short answer, no jargon.
Pilates is a low-impact strength and mobility method developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. It is a system, not a fad. The workout uses spring-loaded resistance (on the Reformer and Tower), your own bodyweight, and small props to build deep-core control, joint stability, and full-body strength that shows up in everything else you do.
Pilates, in one sentence.
Definition of Pilates: a controlled, precision-based movement method that trains breath, alignment, and the small stabilizing muscles alongside the big ones, using specialized equipment or a mat. The name comes from Joseph Pilates himself, a German-born movement teacher who called his method "Contrology." "Pilates" became the shorthand after his students carried the work forward in New York and Los Angeles in the mid-1900s.
What does Pilates do?
Pilates works your body from the inside out. It builds the muscles you cannot see (deep core, glute medius, mid-back, breathing muscles) that hold you up when you sit, walk, lift, and move. Regular Pilates practice improves:
- Core strength and spinal stability, the kind that protects your low back through everything from grocery bags to marathons
- Posture and alignment, the automatic kind that stops slouching without you thinking about it
- Mobility and joint range, especially through hips, shoulders, and spine
- Balance and coordination, which matters more the older you get
- Breath control, which downstream calms the nervous system
- Movement patterning that carries into running, cycling, lifting, and daily life
What Pilates does not promise: a "new body." It builds function. How you feel after six weeks is what people notice first.
What a Pilates class actually looks like
Most classes at The Studio Pilates use the Reformer, a sliding carriage on springs that adds or subtracts resistance depending on how you set it up. A typical group class runs 50 minutes and moves through a full flow: footwork, arm work, core work, back extension, and a short stretch. Sample Pilates exercises you will meet on day one:
- Footwork, seated on the carriage, pressing through spring resistance
- The Hundred, a breath-plus-core warm-up that is a Pilates signature
- Feet in straps, moving the legs through controlled hip mobility patterns
- Kneeling arm work, using the pulley system for shoulder integration
- Short spine or roll-up, spine articulation to close the class
Some classes also include the Tower (a wall-mounted spring unit), the Cadillac (a table with a full spring canopy used in private work), or the Chair for balance and single-leg strength. Mat Pilates uses no equipment beyond your bodyweight and props like a magic circle or a small ball.
Pilates for beginners, honestly
You do not need to be flexible, fit, or "already in shape" to start Pilates. Beginner Pilates classes are designed for people who have never touched a Reformer, and the equipment does a lot of the teaching for you (springs give tactile feedback, straps give you a place to send your feet). If it is your first time, look for:
- A Level 1 class or an Intro Pilates session, ideally in a tiny group (three to six people) so the instructor can actually see you
- An instructor with real training hours (600 or more for a full comprehensive certification is the industry standard)
- Grippy socks, a water bottle, and comfortable clothes you can move in
- An arrival buffer of about 10 minutes on day one so someone can walk you around the equipment
At The Studio Pilates, our beginner intro is two classes for $45, capped at three people per instructor. It is the calmest way to learn Pilates without feeling lost in a full-sized class. Start here.
Pilates in Atlanta, without the pretense
We run two Pilates studios in Atlanta: one in Emory Village and one in West Midtown. Both are full Pilates studios, not "Pilates-inspired" cardio. Reformer, Tower, Cadillac, Chair, ladder barrel, mat. Every instructor on our team is certified through a comprehensive program (600 hours or more), and several hold the NPCT (Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher) credential, the Pilates industry's independent gold-standard exam. Atlanta Pilates certification at that level is relatively rare, which is why we lean hard on properly trained teachers rather than 90-hour weekend crash courses.
A note on "hot Pilates" in Atlanta: we do not heat our rooms. Traditional Pilates was never meant to be hot, and the workout is already plenty. If cardio-in-a-hot-room is what you are after, that is a different offering. If you want the actual method, you are in the right place.
Pilates training vs. a one-off class
The difference between "doing a Pilates class" and "Pilates training" is consistency. Pilates is a method, which means the benefits build over weeks, not days. Most people notice something in three or four classes (breath, awareness, less back tightness). The bigger shifts (a stronger core, better posture, more usable strength) show up around week six. That is why our memberships are structured around 8x per month or unlimited access, not one drop-in and done.
Common questions about Pilates
Is Pilates a good workout?
Yes. Pilates trains muscles most workouts skip (deep core, pelvic floor, mid-back, breathing muscles), which is why it complements running, lifting, cycling, and everything else you already do. It is not a replacement for cardio, but it is the most efficient strength and mobility work most people can add to a week.
Is Pilates like yoga?
No. Both are mind-body practices, but Pilates is a strength method built around spring-loaded resistance and precision movement. Yoga is a movement and breath practice rooted in a different tradition. Many people do both, and the two complement each other well.
How often should I do Pilates?
Two to three times a week is where most people start noticing real change. Joseph Pilates himself said, "In 10 sessions you feel the difference, in 20 you see the difference, in 30 you have a whole new body." He meant function, not aesthetics.
Do I need to be flexible to try Pilates?
No. Pilates builds flexibility. If you are tight, that is the point of entry, not a reason to skip. The Reformer supports you in ranges you cannot get to on your own yet.
What is the difference between mat Pilates and Reformer Pilates?
Mat Pilates uses your bodyweight only. Reformer Pilates uses a spring-loaded carriage that can add resistance to make things harder or assist you to make things reachable. Most beginners find the Reformer more accessible because the springs give tactile feedback and support.
Is Pilates safe if I have back pain or a previous injury?
Often Pilates is one of the best things you can do, but it depends. Our instructors are trained to modify for common issues (disc, SI joint, shoulder, knee). For anything acute or post-surgical, we recommend starting with private sessions so we can build a plan for you.
Learn Pilates in Atlanta.
Two classes, $45.
Two classes to start, tiny group, no experience needed.
Start HereCommon questions about Pilates
Six questions our front-desk team hears every week from people who are new to Pilates.
What's the difference between Reformer Pilates and Mat Pilates?
Do I need to be flexible to start Pilates?
How is Pilates different from yoga?
Is Pilates a good workout for total beginners?
How often should I do Pilates to see results?
What should I wear to my first Pilates class?
Got a question we haven't answered? Reach out — we're happy to help.
