Why more men are taking up pilates

From professional athletes to executives, men are flocking to these classes around Australia. This is why.

Pilates may conjure up images of fit women in active wear — but a rising number of men are turning to classes in droves.

Professional athletes are also increasingly spruiking the benefits of the workout with one studio holding sessions for the St George Illawarra Dragons players last year, and Port Adelaide star Zak Butters and Carlton running machine Sam Walsh among the AFL’s pilates fans.

Paul Alamoti from the Penrith Panthers at Pilates Insync before he left for Vegas.

Pilates Association Australia president Robyn Rix said 20 to 25 per cent of clients in her studio were male.

“They tend to be older men … and their wives convinced them to come,” she said.

She said men came along to help with back pain, improve flexibility, or because injuries prevented them from other forms of exercise.

“I think men feel a bit intimidated about coming into a space where it’s so female dominated, so I think that’s the reason why women bringing their husbands works, because they feel comfortable,” Ms Rix said.

Dawn Muller, the managing director of Silberback Studios in Melbourne’s southwest, agreed husbands were increasingly coming with their wives.

“One of the things I’ve noticed is a lot of husbands are coming along with their wives, or guys coming with their girlfriends and they do it together,” she said.

Helen Stamatakos, who regularly sees elite athletes at her studio pilates Insync in Sydney, trained Dragons players last year, with some continuing on this year.

“The reason why they do pilates is not only for a strong core but it aids in their power generation and balance,” she said.

Power vice-captain Butters, who is recovering from a knee injury, said he found it helped him condition his body.

Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga, Jaydn Su’A and Hame Sele from the Dragons at Pilates Insync in April last year.

He consistently started doing pilates about two or three years ago around when he became a co-investor at The Pilates Project in Bali.

“As a professional athlete it’s another good way to condition your body and recover because it targets different areas to a typical gym session,” he said.

“Pilates is pretty common at the club for a few boys and there’s a few reformer machines at the club as well.”

Reformer machines include a sliding carriage that users can lay on, with adjustable springs to control resistance.

Blues superstar Walsh also posts online about his love of reformer pilates, writing: “recovery and game day prep has never been easier”.

Fluidform founder Kirsten King said there was a much more concentrated focus on pre-season pre-hab techniques to “bulletproof” the bodies of athletes.

She said she had a reputation for “pre-habbing” and rehabilitating the bodies of some of Australia’s leading sporting teams including NRL and AFL teams, Cricket Australia and athletes.

“The movements we teach provide athletes with a new sense of balance and control to perform physical movements more efficiently and better conserve energy,” she said.

Rick Wight, 59, started going to classes around the start of 2024 after his adult daughters suggested it, and now attends up to five times a week.

The Melbourne resident, who leads Australian United Retailers, wanted to improve his flexibility and posture and strengthen his muscles.

Darren Anstee, Tony Dow and Rick Wight love doing pilates at Upstate studio in Ascot Vale. Picture: Jason Edwards

“I was initially a bit sceptical but I must admit it’s achieved everything I set out for it to do,” Mr Wight said.

“When I initially went I was probably the only male in the class, what I’ve started to see in the last few months, it’s still heavily dominated by women but I’m seeing more and more men in the classes.”

He goes to Upstate studio in Ascot Vale where he predominantly does reformer, but also classes incorporating boxing with pilates.

Darren Anstee, Tony Dow and Rick Wight at Upstate studio Ascot Vale. Picture: Jason Edwards

Project manager Darren Anstee also attends the studio, for hot mat classes on average seven times a week.

He started pilates about eight years ago, and now does it almost exclusively, along with a little running and hiking.

“I used to do CrossFit but I was getting lots of injuries,” he said.

Mr Anstee said he was the fittest he had ever been.

“It’s not as easy as you think,” he said.

CorePlus founder Amy King said the number of males in its studios was increasing every day.

“Many men turn to pilates to enhance their mobility, flexibility, and core strength,” Ms King said.

“We also see members of our male community using it to support other activities like football, running, golf, cycling, and boxing, among others.”

CorePlus, which has studios around Australia, has seen an almost 20 per cent increase in male members since September 2023.

Fluidform founder Kirsten King. Picture: Supplied

Musculoskeletal, sports and exercise physiotherapist Paul Dardagan, whose business delivers physiotherapy and pilates in Sydney, said more men were turning to pilates.

He said men with sporting injuries and also older males, like executives who needed to improve their health, were easily able to slot into it.

“I think there were quite a few misconceptions from the male cohort about what pilates is,” he said.

“I think once men realise there’s a significant component of strength, control and agility they can see how that links in with their own journeys of health and wellbeing.”

Mr Dardagan said it suited older men as they could exercise in a safe and controlled environment.

Originally published as Why more men are taking up pilates