NEED TO KNOW

  • Zach Webber filmed a skit joining his wife Liz’s pilates class — but the pain was real.
  • The viral TikTok shows Zach getting hilariously humbled while Liz skips out refreshed.
  • He now has a whole new respect for Liz’s workouts — and maybe pilates, too.

Zach Webber thought he was in for a relaxing workout when he joined his wife, Liz, for pilates — what he got was a viral humbling and a whole new level of respect.

The viral TikTok video they posted — captioned “It’s 6:00 AM, time to prove to my wife that pilates is easy” — shows Zach walking confidently into class, and limping out with a new outlook. On the other hand, Liz skips out of the studio, declaring, “Such a relaxing class,” while Zach stares at her in disbelief.

“Liz had been telling me about her pilates class for months, and she kind of found a passion in it,” Zach shares exclusively with PEOPLE. “She’d been asking me to come join her. So I was like, okay, let’s do it.”

While the video was filmed like a comedy sketch, the reactions were the real deal. “I did think it was going to be easier than it was,” Zach admits. “It was surprising. It’s not easy.”

Even though the couple filmed the skit after class to be respectful of the other participants, the sweat and grimaces weren’t just for show. “Holding a lunge in a single position for over a minute or doing some of the stuff with the bands that I’d never done… Those were very real reactions,” Zach says.

Liz could barely keep a straight face watching her husband struggle. “I kept looking over at him being like, well, I told you,” she laughs. “It’s hard for me too… I just started in November. My core and everything has been tough getting it back. So looking over, I’m like, see, it’s not just me.”

Stock photo of a woman happily doing pilates.

Getty

Zach’s biggest surprise came from the reformer machine itself. “We did the reformer pilates, which was a big machine, and that stuff was complicated,” he says. “Doing stuff on that machine with moving parts and cables and the ropes and all that… It was a totally new experience.”

He adds, “There was a learning curve there for sure. I was definitely slamming the carriage and all of the beginner things that are typical.”

And while he’s done everything from yoga to weightlifting and running, Zach says nothing really prepared him for this. “It definitely works different muscles in a different way,” he says. “It’s refreshing and different.”

Liz has been consistent with her pilates practice since their second child was born. “I just had our second, who’s now eight months old. That’s when I started… and it feels so good after. I’m obsessed.”

For Zach, the experience was more than a workout — it was a relationship check-in and has given him a new perspective on his wife’s strength. “Since having our second baby, she’s really taken her fitness seriously… and knowing how difficult it is, she’s extremely impressive,” he shares. 

Having Zach join Liz’s class — grippy socks and all — meant a lot to the mom of two. “We’re both busy, so it meant a lot that he came out and did it with me,” she says. “I also feel like whenever I come home from class, I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, we did this.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh yeah,’ like he gets it now.”

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Stock photo of man doing pilates.

Yavuz Arslan/ullstein bild via Getty 

The two have been together 16 years, married for eight, and prioritize trying new things together. “We try to do new things like this together when we can get time for each other, even if it’s something as simple as going to a workout class and getting coffee after,” Zach says. “That kind of stuff’s really important to us.”

Zach hasn’t ruled out joining Liz again — even if it’s not a regular thing. “If it weren’t as far away as it is, because it is like a 20, 30 minute drive, I would probably be doing it more with her,” he said. “It’s a cool way to mix things up if you’re stuck in a workout rut.”

And for any guys still doubting pilates, Zach has one message: “Go try it with no pre-judgment and just see if you like it.”

Liz agrees. “It’s not just for the girls, too. I feel like incorporating that even once a week, a couple of times a month, is just so good… it does so many different things for you than your typical workouts.”

But if you think you’re just in for a spa day, beware. “When I walked in, I was like, this is going to be even easier than I thought it was going to be,” Zach says. “It felt so calm and peaceful… and then you start sweating like crazy and your abs are shaking and you’re like, oh wait, this isn’t serene.”