Celebrating the Men of Authentic Pilates: Strength, Dedication, and Community
This September, our Couples’ Pilates Date Nights were filled with laughter, effort, and plenty of sweat. A reminder of just how much fun movement can be when shared with someone you care about. But beyond the laughter, these nights highlighted something even more meaningful: the growth of the men’s community at Authentic Pilates.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the men who have been part of our studio for a number of years and months, as well as, the new men who are discovering Pilates for the first time. Your dedication, consistency, and curiosity inspire everyone in the studio.
Many of the men attending Couples’ Night were experiencing Pilates for the first time, and their reactions reflected both surprise and respect for the Method.
Keith shared:
“It’s much more intense and specific than what I expected. Much more about endurance than I thought. I’ve heard of people doing Pilates and thought, ‘That’s not really a workout; you’re not throwing weights around or doing HIIT workout.’ But this was just as intense as those types of workouts I’ve done before.”
James shared:
“I thought it was going to be easy… I completely underestimated it. I realized there are a lot of weaknesses in my body I need to tap into, and I’m going to take that into my workouts and help my clients with it.”
It’s clear that men are increasingly recognizing what Pilates has to offer beyond the misconception that Pilates is primarily only about increasing “core strength and flexibility.” Around the globe, athletes from football players to boxers and golfers are incorporating Pilates into their training for its unique benefits in full for body conditioning, endurance, and injury prevention. Our growing male studio community is part of this exciting movement.
During the evening, couples also gained insight to Jospeh Pilates; his history, who he was as a mover and athlete, as well as, his life’s journey to creating Contrology. It was exciting for me to teach and have them experience exercises Joe designed specifically for men, and how these movements demand refined strength, powerful connections, and coordination. Watching them tackle these exercises with focus and determination was inspiring.
Many of the men who attended have already returned for more Authentic Pilates, and it’s been wonderful to see them continue to grow, explore this work, and challenge themselves. The concept that Pilates is a way for men to build strength, endurance, and a resilient conditioned body is starting become a much more normalized understanding, and the old myth amongst the male population that Pilates is just “a bunch of stretching that women do” is being dispelled. With this informed insight, we grow a healthier and stronger community as a whole.
To all the men of Authentic Pilates…Thank you for your open minds, dedication, energy, and for showing how powerful, challenging, and rewarding this Method can be.
