Pilates Training Often Varies by Instructor

Question: I’m 27 and not really overweight but a bit on the flabby side. To try to firm up, I’ve recently attended Pilates classes--one at a studio and another at my gym. The moves in these classes were very different.

Isn’t there a particular form or method the instructors should be teaching?

Answer: In some workout facilities, the once-strict Pilates method has been diluted. A U.S. District Court recently declared “Pilates” to be a generic form of exercise--like kickboxing or yoga. Consequently, the name has moved into the mainstream. This means that gyms, studios and instructors are free to use the term “Pilates,” even though the instructors may not be teaching the original method developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. (The original Pilates fitness system emphasizes flexibility and strength, usually on specific machines.)

Some fitness clubs are thankful for this ruling--creating hybrids that blend Pilates with yoga, martial arts or weight training. Long-time Pilates instructors don’t approve of what they call the “watered down” method, saying the authentic exercises are lost by gyms turning Pilates into a gimmick.

To learn more about Pilates, visit the Pilates Method Alliance at www.pilatesmethodalliance.org.

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Stephanie Oakes is the fitness correspondent for Discovery Health Channel and a health/fitness consultant. Send questions by e-mail to stephoakes@aol.com. She cannot respond to every query.