“Men shouldn’t be allowed in Pilates classes…”

Men in Pilates: Breaking down barriers and misconceptions

Maybe you haven’t heard, but some of the most prominent male athletes in the world have taken up Pilates. The growing list includes; LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt, Novak Djokavic and Conor McGregor.

The benefits are undeniable and it’s quite fascinating to note that when Joseph Pilates developed his methodology one hundred years ago, many of the people he worked with were male athletes and soldiers.

It’s only been in recent times that the concept of Pilates has become popularized as a “woman’s workout.” With the misconception being that it’s not challenging enough or doesn’t provide enough progressive overload to be effective for strength training.

Men are being targeted by gyms and influencers for strength or HIIT training – with a barrier still in place around low impact movement being too easy and not offering optimal results.

Why men still hesitate

The reality is, low impact mobility and stability styles of classes like Yoga or Pilates are low-key working to improve and advance any other style of exercise of choice. This is because it targets small, underused muscle groups and has an emphasis on the core being the powerhouse of the body.

The marketing problem

Marketing of Pilates and yoga has become progressively more dominated and aimed toward women – with soft pastel aesthetics, language and imagery. This can create a hesitancy amongst men for fear being the only bloke in the room or being labelled a pervert.

This aspect of the conversation is one that is quite underdiscussed.

Here are some areas of tension that are rarely discussed:

– Men who attend general Pilates classes are often under-represented in ratio to women and many are concerned they will be labelled as only being there to harass or hit on the women there.

– Some women have argued that Pilates is “their safe space” and men being present invades their sense of ease to workout.

It’s a tricky one.

The uncomfortable reality

I genuinely believe that the majority of men who choose to attend a Pilates class are there for honest and valid reasons – namely the health benefits it delivers.

Men have expressed their fear of judgement by attending female dominant class – to the extent that they don’t want to even smile or look up from their spot, incase their attention is misconstrued as invasive.

That is really quite sad.

We have huge discussions about men’s mental health and allowing them to connect and express themselves, yet ostracize them in spaces that are supposed to be inclusive and supportive.

The other side of that conversation is what to do with the ones who are there to be sex pests.

I’ve had conversations with other Pilates teachers and students alike, who have had that one guy who repeatedly shows up to classes, lingers too long, takes far more “drink breaks” that necessary (usually during movements that involve bums) and asking somewhat inappropriate questions.

Not quite enough to be overtly sleazy or considered harassment, but enough to give women in the room the ick.

Perhaps some men do just lack social sensibility, but I also think that women have a strong sense of intuition about these things and pick up on ingenuine people – in particular a man with impure intentions.

How to manage that particular issue can be fraught and difficult to navigate. They’re not exactly doing anything wrong, but there’s a sense of disharmony and unease in the space, that must be acknowledged.

I think the ideal space is when everyone is able to feel comfortable – men shouldn’t be afraid to even make eye contact incase they are thrown into the “creepy” basket and men who attend should not be there to check out the women in the class.

The women advocating for Pilates to be their safe space have valid input, but what if the situation was reversed?

If men were saying women weren’t allowed to participate in fitness in their spaces, would there not be outrage at the sexism?

Yes, we have gendered sports. And this is probably controversial to say, but I agree with that instance of separation. Particularly in contact sports.

But sporting leagues are asking for something different. They are competitive against other people or teams. This demands that athletes are allowed to reach the pinnacle of their abilities against other athletes of equal capabilities. Biology is an important factor in how those abilities are nurtured and used.

In general fitness classes, there’s no competition – in fact, it should be the opposite, everyone is there to support one another and encourage the best out of anyone who is participating. Men and women are not going into full contact Pilates classes, so therefore gender is mostly irrelevant.

Except for perhaps how a man and woman’s physiology works.

A move toward true inclusivity

Men will often struggle with hip opening and may lack flexibility that their female counterparts find more natural. This is sometimes where an instructor needs to be able to offer adaptions and alternatives to suit certain limitations, but this should be no different to any other person who might have injuries or restrictions.

With everything taken into consideration, I do think that Pilates and Yoga spaces should be inclusive of all people – including men.

The benefits of these classes is something everyone deserves to enjoy and inclusivity must include everyone (except the sex-pests).