In recent years, pilates has had something of a soft image: an activity for yummy mummies or ladies who lunch. But this is changing. Many operators are making classes more challenging, with the addition of cardio and functional elements for example, which is capturing the attention of new audiences such as men and elite sports people.
Pilates is also a great prehab and rehab tool, and a perfect antidote to lifestyles that involve far too many hours of sitting around plugged into technology.
Little surprise, then, that the number of gyms offering pilates classes, as well as the number of dedicated studios, is growing – this according to James McCoy, research director at YouGov.
So where is pilates headed next? Will we see new interpretations of the activity? Will clubs start hiring more male instructors? How will new equipment shape programmes? We ask the experts for their thoughts on the most exciting innovation in pilates at the moment…