When people think of Reformer Pilates, a certain image often comes to mind; the reality is far more diverse.
This Men’s Health Week, we’re celebrating the men who have always been part of the Pilates community and encouraging more men to discover a movement practice designed to support strength, mobility, longevity, and overall wellbeing. While Pilates is often perceived as being predominantly female, it was never created for one gender. In fact, its origins tell a very different story.
The History of Pilates: Built on Strength, Not Stereotypes
Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates, a German physical trainer who dedicated his life to understanding how the body moves and performs.
During the early 20th century, he developed a method focused on strength, control, mobility, posture, and rehabilitation. His work was used to help injured soldiers regain movement and later gained popularity among athletes, performers, and individuals looking to build a stronger, more balanced body.
The Reformer itself was born from this pursuit of functional movement, using springs and resistance to challenge the body in ways that build both strength and control. More than 100 years later, those principles remain unchanged. Pilates was never designed exclusively for women. It was designed for people who wanted to move better, feel stronger, and support their bodies for life.
The Evolution of Reformer Pilates
The growing number of male athletes embracing Pilates is helping challenge outdated perceptions of who Pilates is for.
Reformer Pilates continues to move from niche to mainstream, with 85% of Pilates studios now offering Reformer-based classes, a clear sign of how central it has become to modern fitness.
Your Reformer ambassador Max Gawn is one example. As one of the AFL’s most recognised athletes, he understands that performance isn’t built on strength alone. Mobility, recovery, control, balance, and body awareness all play an important role in staying at the top of your game.
That’s where Pilates comes in. By strengthening stabilising muscles, improving movement quality, and supporting recovery, Reformer Pilates complements traditional athletic training and helps athletes move more efficiently both on and off the field. While not everyone is an elite athlete, everyone can benefit from moving better.
Men’s Health Is About More Than Performance
Men’s Health Week is an opportunity to broaden the conversation around wellbeing. While physical fitness is important, so too are mobility, recovery, mental wellbeing, and longevity.
Australian men are 1.5 times more likely than women to develop cardiovascular disease, and are diagnosed at an earlier age, making regular movement not just a lifestyle choice, but a long-term health investment.
Reformer Pilates as an accessible modality supports this investment.
Pilates offers a space to focus on all of these areas at once. Through mindful movement and intentional exercise, it encourages a deeper connection to the body while supporting strength, flexibility, balance, and resilience.
Lower back pain is one of the leading causes of disability in Australian men, and clinical research shows that Pilates-based exercise is among the most effective interventions for both preventing and managing it.
For many men, it’s not just a workout; it’s an investment in how they want to feel for years to come.
Representation Matters
As the Pilates industry continues to grow, so does the opportunity to ensure more people feel represented within it.
That starts by recognising the men who are already part of our studios and communities. They’re instructors, athletes, business owners, fathers and partners. They show up to move, to challenge themselves, to recover, and to invest in their health. This Men’s Health Week, we want those men to feel seen.
For any man who has ever wondered whether Pilates is for him, the answer is simple: it always has been.
A Movement Practice for Everyone
At its heart, Pilates is about helping people build strength, move with confidence, and create a healthier relationship with their bodies.
Those benefits aren’t defined by age, experience, or gender, they’re universal. More than a century after Joseph Pilates developed his method, the mission remains the same: to help people move better so they can live better.
This Men’s Health Week, we’re celebrating the men who are already part of that story and inviting others to discover that they can be part of it too. This version keeps Joseph Pilates and the origins of the method central to the narrative, which makes the argument that “Pilates has always been for men too” feel grounded in history rather than just a modern-day shift.