What is Pilates? Everything You Need To Know

glamour.com:

is . But you may be wondering, what is Pilates, exactly? And what should I expect before signing up for my first class?We get it, starting a new workout routine can be intimidating, but we're here to help.

We consulted multiple experts—instructors, studio owners, and masters of all different types of the discipline—to answer all of your burning questions.

You'll be a pro on the Reformer, the Tower, or the mat in no time.Simply put: Pilates is a low-impact yet high-intensity workout that uses a variety of apparatuses in order to create tension in the muscles and get results.One of the hallmarks of the discipline, which was by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century as a form of physical rehabilitation, is that it is effective without putting stress on the joints of the body, like high-impact sports such as running sometimes do.“There's no impact on your body, ” , an instructor who owns her own studio, , in Manhattan, tells Glamour. “It's slow, it's controlled, it's an intelligent form of exercise.

You have to think about what you do before you do it. It's very much about the mind/body connection and your breath work. So as much as it's challenging, it's also super calming and just feels good.”Many Pilates instructors and adherents tout this ability to get toned and fit without risking injury as one of their favorite parts of the workout.