Everything You Need To Know About Pilates, And How To Look Cute Doing It

Pilates is making a comeback for today’s it girls — here’s everything you need to know about the contemporary variation, and how to look cute doing it

- Amanda Leo

With Instagram-worthy studios and a fresh perspective, Pilates is back with a bang. In particular, reformer Pilates — it’s a low impact but intensive workout that uses smaller, targeted movements to work the deep muscles that are often neglected in our day-to-day, while correcting posture and balance.

Interest in Pilates has no doubt grown because of the stress we’ve faced from the pandemic, resulting in the growing appetite for more mind-body connection in fitness. With its emphasis on breathing and alignment, Pilates is increasingly becoming an option that people turn to for a holistic approach — over the past year, Pilates was reported to be the fourth most popular workout on ClassPass and fitness booking platform Mindbody.

And while it was once a form of exercise associated with injury recovery or a more mature clientele, Korean tastemakers like Blackpink’s Jennie and Taeyeon from Girls’ Generation have helped to popularise the concept of reformer Pilates among a younger demographic (those in their mid-20s to 30s) with their Instagram snaps.

Julie Jang, co-founder of Off Duty Pilates, explains that the “body trend for K-pop idols is long and lean with toned muscles”, so Pilates is popular because it does not typically use heavy weights, builds muscle while retaining a slender look and helps them to recover from their hectic schedules.

“Pilates became popular in Korea because of media exposure. Many celebrities in Korea show themselves doing Pilates when they are off-duty on various TV programmes and via their social media and that creates more interest in it,” says Jang, adding that though there are many Pilates studios in Korea, classes tend to be more expensive and cater to women with more spending power.