{"id":434942,"date":"2025-12-09T05:54:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T05:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/434942\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T05:54:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T05:54:16","slug":"the-uncomfortable-rise-of-the-pilates-prince","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/434942\/","title":{"rendered":"The uncomfortable rise of the Pilates prince"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until a few weeks ago, I thought it was just me. My own private irritation simmered away as men began infiltrating my reformer Pilates classes quicker than Japanese knotweed in suburban gardens. At first, it was just the odd one – unobtrusive enough. But then, like whack-a-moles in moisture-wicking shorts, they began popping up everywhere: eager beavers vibrating with loud enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Research shows I\u2019m not imagining that my sessions are more brimming with blokes than before. The latest data from fitness tracking app Strava revealed a 15% rise in male participation in Pilates during 2024, while research by luxury gym chain Equinox traces the shift back to 2019. What\u2019s for certain, however, is that the presence of men has become particularly noticeable as this year draws to a close. <\/p>\n

Indeed, what was once a predominantly female space has become the latest male wellness frontier – with the likes of David Beckham, Ed Sheeran, Hugh Grant and LeBron James all partaking with perks like core strength, increased flexibility and injury prevention in mind. When Harry Styles\u2019 go-to London studio shared a video of the star working his obliques with a wooden pole, the internet went into meltdown.<\/p>\n

And yet, alongside this influx of Pilates princes (WH\u2019s twist on the social media-crowned \u2018Pilates princess\u2019), comes a growing tension that doesn\u2019t have anything to do with the springs of a reformer. For many women, the energy shift is not only unmistakable but uneasy too. While it had felt like a step in the right direction when we started lifting heavy, there\u2019s a creeping sense that a space built on quiet strength is being disrupted by the same dynamics that still dominate the weights area. <\/p>\n

Feeling tension<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps you\u2019ve noticed it in your Pilates classes too: the grunting that borders on performative, the talking over female instructors, the side-eyeing, the not-quite-listening. The moment that became the tipping point for me took place back in August. Said man worked up quite the sweat and proceeded to pour a bottle of water over his head, before shaking his hair like he\u2019d been cast in a Herbal Essences advert of yore. In slow motion, droplets of his exertion went flying (almost beautifully and tragically) directly onto me.<\/p>\n

Incandescent with the ick, I retell the story to friends and receive a deluge of identical accounts. Some recall classes where men turned up with no grip socks and tried to argue they could do the class barefooted – even though it\u2019s contrary to the clearly stated rules upon booking. Sara*, a 39-year-old from London, shares how a fellow woman became so fed up with two men talking that – in a tone worthy of Miss Trunchbull – she snapped: \u2018Do you mind?!\u2019 The men collapsed into silence, while female faces gave her small, grateful nods in solidarity.<\/p>\n

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‘Men often walk in asking for the hardest spring, which is so antithetical to what the practice is’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Another, Natalie*, explains how – since starting to do reformer classes twice a week two years ago – she has witnessed the class demographic move away from being an inadvertently female-only sanctuary in real time. That includes her male friend, who also started joining sessions. \u2018My first thought was good for him, it probably takes a lot for a bloke to show up to a class full of women – and it might even feel intimidating,\u2019 says the 37-year-old from London. <\/p>\n

But, Natalie confides, even though it may be a dear pal of hers, the vibe of the room clearly shifts. \u2018A lot of the women have come from years of yoga,\u2019 continues Natalie. \u2018They understand the idea of tuning into their own practice rather than competing with the person next to them, and there\u2019s a respect for the technique and the patience the practice demands.\u2019 As for the men? \u2018They tend to walk in asking for the \u201chardest spring\u201d which is so antithetical to what the practice is supposed to be,\u2019 she muses. \u2018It\u2019s jarring.\u2019<\/p>\n

Push back<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like me, Natalie has also observed the silent choreography women perform when a man enters class: the subtle sidestep to reformers farther away. \u2018My studio has launched women-only classes,\u2019 she reveals, something she assumes is in response to the growing number of men taking up the reformer. However, she feels torn about shunning men\u2019s inclusion, adding: \u2018I\u2019ve encouraged my male friend to keep coming because it\u2019s a great workout, but I\u2019d hate for him to show up and for the other women to quietly resent him for it.\u2019<\/p>\n

It’s a dichotomy that\u2019s reverberating online too. TikTok and Instagram are full of women venting about men who disrupt and show disrespect in their classes, or who make them feel self-conscious. One content creator, named Riley, went viral after sharing in a viral clip that her \u2018day is automatically ruined\u2019 if there is a man in her Pilates class. Meanwhile, Reddit threads see anonymous women opine the demise of a \u2018safe space\u2019 to train. <\/p>\n

\"pilates<\/p>\n

Andrea Donetti\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Studios are taking note. In the US, boutique reformer spots in cities like Los Angeles and New York have begun expanding their female-only sessions on the class timetable in response to growing demand. Similarly, in the UK, Priv\u00e9 Pilates and Studio Soma in London, as well as Kuwa Pilates in Leeds and Pure Reformer Pilates in Crosby are following suit with classes specifically for women. A trend that echoes the recent surge in female-only gyms.<\/p>\n

It also feels indicative that many studios have been re-clarifying general class etiquette guidelines that seem to have slipped at the same time as more men have tugged on their grippy socks – because, I think we can all agree, the onus shouldn\u2019t just be on women like the one in Sara\u2019s class to restore order. That includes basic things like no filming during sessions, careful use of equipment and maintaining a calm, non-disruptive atmosphere. <\/p>\n

New reign?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The thing is, while the emerging era of the Pilates prince may feel like a new phenomenon – an encroachment upon our lovely little female-only pocket – it hasn\u2019t always been this way. Indeed, the practice was developed by Joseph Pilates, a German-born boxer and gymnast. He began forming his ideas about physical conditioning before the First World War, but when conflict broke out – and while interned in a camp on the Isle of Man, he spent the time in confinement refining his exercise system.<\/p>\n

\u2018It began as a rehabilitative conditioning method that was shaped by war,\u2019 explains Nikki Flemming, a Pilates instructor from studio Yours Hot Pilates<\/a>. \u2018Joseph\u2019s method began by combining movement, breath and body control, and he experimented with attaching springs to hospital beds, which later inspired the reformer and another piece of equipment called the cadillac.\u2019<\/p>\n

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‘Pilates was never designed with a gender focus or to be female-oriented – it\u2019s for everybody’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The reason it became synonymous with women was due to a Pilates studio that Joseph opened with his wife Clara in New York City in 1926 after he was released. \u2018Their clients were mostly dancers – in amongst boxers and circus performers – and there became an association of it being graceful and ballet-like,\u2019 explains Flemming. In recent decades, the practice has been marketed as \u2018toning\u2019 and \u2018slimming\u2019 with women in mind.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pilates was never designed with a gender focus or to be female-oriented – it\u2019s for everybody,\u2019 insists Flemming. And yet, this is where the complexity sits, because women aren\u2019t angry that men are doing Pilates. In fact, many are actively encouraging it, knowing that it could cure their back pain, fix their hamstrings and prevent gym-floor injuries. Lord knows when my 43-year-old husband limps in every week from 11-aside football, I drop hints about Pilates that are about as subtle as a giraffe\u2019s erection.<\/p>\n

Balancing out<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, while the male resurgence is – technically – a return to Pilates’ gender-neutral roots, I\u2019m fairly certain Joseph wasn\u2019t slinging straps mid-class or insisting on the heaviest springs to assert dominance. There are men out there who are also peeved with other blokes\u2019 behaviour too. The aforementioned Reddit threads are woven through with men writing \u2018just don’t be that weird creepy guy and you’ll be fine\u2019 or \u2018remember to wear shorts with tights underneath\u2019. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s likewise Matt, a 48-year-old from London, who began Pilates at home during the pandemic and fell hard for the practice. \u2018I am definitely aware that I am in a predominantly female space,\u2019 he says. \u2018But I adjust my behaviour accordingly.\u2019 In fact, he is the dream: self-aware, respectful and careful not to disrupt the existing equilibrium. He lengthens his intercostals quietly. He rotates his thoracic spine without fanfare. He does not treat the straps like battle ropes. <\/p>\n

Matt too, though, has met the enemy. \u2018There have been a few helmets over the years,\u2019 he admits. \u2018The most recent was a 65-plus guy behaving as though it was a private session. Aside from the fact he was wearing top-to-toe linen he swore constantly as he struggled with different positions and kept slinging the straps on the floor.\u2019<\/p>\n

In many ways, it seems that reformer classes are reflecting the same gender dynamics seen outside the studio door, suggests Naomi Magnus, psychotherapist and founder at North London Therapy Practice<\/a>. ‘Girls are often socialised from childhood to be considerate, quiet and accommodating, whereas boys are more frequently encouraged to assert themselves, take risks and take up space without apology,’ she explains. ‘These differences, that are ingrained very early, will inevitably show up in shared environments in adulthood.’<\/p>\n

Indeed, continues Magnus, when men enter a typically female-led space without adapting to its existing etiquette, these contrasting behaviours will become stark. ‘Many women feel so irritated because these classes have long been somewhere to breathe, focus and strengthen away from external pressures,’ she notes. ‘When men disrupt this sanctuary, it can feel like an intrusion into one of the few environments where women haven\u2019t had to shrink themselves or compensate for someone else\u2019s behaviour.’ <\/p>\n

Social media, to be fair, probably hasn\u2019t helped. \u2018There was a big trend of filming groups of men in Pilates classes – especially football and rugby players – showing them with their legs shaking or struggling through exercises,\u2019 notes Flemming. \u2018While it\u2019s light-hearted and nice to have a laugh, that focus takes away from how beneficial Pilates is for men and how much we need to emphasise technique and form.\u2019<\/p>\n

So, let me finish with some house rules any budding Pilates princes. You don\u2019t slam the carriage. You don\u2019t talk during the teaser. You absolutely don\u2019t treat the reformer like a CrossFit rig, and you don\u2019t sigh theatrically when your hip flexors are tight (everyone\u2019s hip flexors are likely tight). Above all, respect the peaceful kingdom of the Pilates princesses here before you.
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Perdita Nouril is the Beauty Editor for Women\u2019s Health UK. She has worked in the beauty industry for 15 years since graduating from the University of Nottingham. Adept at exploring the colossal world of beauty, she loves to scratch beneath the surface to debunk the myths, decode the science and challenge traditional notions of beauty. You can always find her preaching sermons on the power of a red lip, extolling the virtues of a decent serum and championing the very best female beauty founders. \u00a0
\u00a0You can find Perdita on Instagram on @perditanouril<\/a><\/p>\n