What Is Pilates?

Pilates is an exercise program developed by Joseph Pilates while interned in a prison camp during World War I as an aid to not only his own health and well being, but for his fellow prisoners as well. Later, Joe added the resistance of metal springs in his rehabilitation regimens for hospitalized patients. He then used these springs in the design of...you guessed it- the first Pilates machine. These machines are now used world wide in conjunction with the more popular floor exercises.

Joe's system was first widely used by the professional dancing community. It was clear to them what a valuable find this was, in that it seriously improved, not only their flexibility, but their torso strength. Rediscovered in the 1980s, it has become one of the most popular exercise programs on the face of the planet.