{"id":290317,"date":"2026-02-14T02:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T02:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/290317\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T02:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T02:48:13","slug":"ive-tried-the-worlds-best-pilates-classes-6-takeaways-that-actually-changed-my-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/290317\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ve tried the world’s best Pilates classes \u2013 6 takeaways that actually changed my body"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favourite things to do when travelling is to try new Pilates<\/a> studios. Some of the best I\u2019ve discovered include LA\u2019s Speir Pilates, Nobu Pilates<\/a> in London, Sydney\u2019s Fluidform and Solidcore in San Francisco (not a Pilates studio by definition \u2013 but a megaformer workout<\/a> inspired by Pilates and a studio that taught me a huge amount). <\/p>\n

The tips I\u2019ve picked up from these world-class instructors have transformed the way I approach every class \u00ad\u2013 from how I breathe to how to move between exercises (potentially the most significant change I\u2019ve made, and one few people ever consider). Now, my workouts aren\u2019t just more effective for results but far more efficient, allowing me to get the most out of every \u00a3 I spend on classes. Since qualifying as an instructor<\/a>, I\u2019ve also brought these insights into my own teaching \u2013 here, I\u2019m sharing them to help you boost your results, too.<\/p>\n

1. Make use of transitions between every exercise<\/p>\n

\u201cFlow\u201d is one of the six key principles of classical Pilates and refers to moving with intention from exercise to exercise. The idea is to maintain engagement throughout the whole class, including the inbetween moments, like changing how your reformer<\/a> carriage is set up, or resetting your body between mat movements. <\/p>\n

I recall one instructor telling me the concept applies even when you\u2019re standing: don\u2019t just collapse through your body, lift through the crown of your head, pull your ribs to your hips and plug your shoulder blades into your back. Imagine using the floor as your resistance and remember that no position should feel limp or weak. I\u2019ve noticed I now use these cues even when walking \u2013 not just on the mat or reformer.<\/p>\n

2. Activate multiple muscles in every movement \u2013 not just the primary targets\"Image<\/p>\n

Activate your triceps in a glute bridge by pressing them into the mat along the sides of your body <\/p>\n

Engaging muscles beyond the one you\u2019re primarily targeting means every exercise feels more challenging and effective. For example, in a glute bridge<\/a>, I think about pressing my triceps into the mat to engage the backs of my arms, as well as my heels to engage my glutes. In a plank<\/a>, besides pulling my belly button into my spine to engage my core, I think about squeezing my glutes and zipping my inner thighs together (with my feet in a Pilates V: heels together, toes pointed outwards, fist-distance apart) to activate my glutes and inner thighs. <\/p>\n

By activating multiple muscles simultaneously, you build strength in more than one muscle group at once. It\u2019s not about making \u201cextra effort\u201d, it\u2019s about making every exercise more effective.<\/p>\n

3. Focus on control over speed \"Image<\/p>\n

Prioritise control and alignment in every exercise \u2013 in a plank, that means shoulders over elbows, neutral pelvis (not tucked or arched), belly button pulling into your spine<\/p>\n

Moving with momentum pretty much defeats the point of Pilates. One instructor once told me that strength in Pilates isn\u2019t about how heavy you can lift or hold, it\u2019s about effortless control, alignment and a calm sense of power. Unlike many workouts like HIIT<\/a> and AMRAP<\/a> sessions, the goal isn\u2019t to complete as many reps you can in any given time \u2013 in fact, doing fewer reps without rest is far more beneficial. <\/p>\n

This slow, continuous movement builds strength and endurance most effectively as it means your muscles are under constant tension, while moving slowly forces your muscles \u2013 including the smaller, stabilising ones \u2013 to stay engaged throughout the whole movement. If you move quickly, momentum takes over and most of your stabilising muscles will check out. <\/p>\n

4. Go slow on both the lifting and lowering phase of every exercise \"Image<\/p>\n

Go slow when both lifting and lowering \u2013 in every exercise<\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural to perform the lowering phase (the eccentric) of an exercise quicker than you do the lifting or pulling portion. For example, in a Pilates teaser, you\u2019re likely to lift up with control, but the fatigue from this movement can mean you lower down with speed and lose control. Similarly, with a Pilates roll-up, you may find that you roll down quicker than you roll up. <\/p>\n

Dedicating the same amount of time to both the lowering and lifting sections of an exercise means you get double the benefits from the same amount of reps than if you were to lose engagement on the lowering phase, since your muscles stay fully activated from start to finish \u2013 not just for half of the move. <\/p>\n

5. Use your breath to drive every movement <\/p>\n

Exhale on effort, inhale on release: this is a useful cue to know whether you\u2019re breathing in or out at the right moment. For example, exhale as you crunch up in an ab crunch, inhale as you release your head, neck and shoulders. Think of your breath as your engine \u2013 as the energy you need to power every move, as every exhale activates your muscles. <\/p>\n

Your breath is also key to core engagement \u2013 as you breathe out, think about pulling your belly button into your spine (not sucking in, but actively pulling inwards). If you notice your belly is doming, it\u2019s likely you\u2019re holding your breath. As for your exhale, imagine you\u2019re blowing out a candle through pursed lips. Unlike sighing out of the mouth, the use of pursed lips controls and slows your exhales, which creates intra-abdominal pressure that your body resists, which forces your deep core and pelvic floor muscles to contract. <\/p>\n

6. Don\u2019t overestimate your range of motion<\/p>\n

Lowering your legs too low in exercises like a bicycle crunch or double straight leg stretches can mean your lower back begins to arch and your core is no longer engaged. Similarly, lifting your legs too high in a side lying series can mean your hips are no longer stacked above one another (as the top hip will roll backwards) and your obliques and glutes are no longer working. <\/p>\n

The goal isn\u2019t to go as high or low as possible, but to control your range while maintaining alignment and muscle engagement. By overestimating your range of motion, your larger muscles will take over from the smaller stabilisers, like your deep core muscles, pelvic floor, glutes and small shoulder stabilisers, which reduces how effective each exercise is.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0As Women\u2019s Health UK\u2019s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine\u2019s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner\u2019s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk<\/a> and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as \u2018Fit At Any Age\u2019, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks \u2013 all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of my favourite things to do when travelling is to try new Pilates studios. Some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[137329,145970,137328,7157,147829,637,589,163,85,46,636,147828],"class_list":{"0":"post-290317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-collection-fitness-app","9":"tag-collection-i-tried-it","10":"tag-collection-pilates","11":"tag-content-type-default","12":"tag-contentid-c31438c8-5ab7-47c8-afea-516fb8935694","13":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","14":"tag-fitness","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-il","17":"tag-israel","18":"tag-locale-gb","19":"tag-shorttitle-6-pilates-tips-that-actually-changed-my-body"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}