10 Interesting Pilates Facts

​We live and breathe Pilates here at The Pilates Center Fort Worth, but there are a lot of misconceptions out there about the practice of Pilates! Digging into his history and use today, I came across these fun facts that help shed light on what Pilates is all about:

1. At least 11 million people practice Pilates in the United States today
2. Pilates started as a way for Joseph Pilates to help rehab prisoners of war in British custody during WWI. (Yes, Pilates was invented for MEN!)
3. Pilates was originally named Contrology.
4. Before developing Pilates as a discipline, Joseph Pilates trained in professional boxing, weight lifting, the martial arts, and gymnastics. 
5. The Wunda Chair was originally designed for the home. It was meant to be used as a seat when not in use as a piece of Pilates equipment.
6. Mat work was designed to be done at home, in between workouts on the apparatuses. 
7. Pilates strengthens your feet. Many people think Pilates only strengthens your core, but your feet are actually a key part of how you move and how everything else in your body is aligned. 
8. Pilates is a form of mindfulness. It’s not just an exercise you do with your body, Pilates is about the mind/body connection, as well as the proper use of breath. 
9. The very first apparatus Pilates created was the Magic Circle. He used the steel bands that he found wrapped around beer kegs to create it.
10. The original mat Pilates sequence consisted of 34 exercises, and was laid out in Joseph Pilates’ book, Pilates: Return to Life through Contrology. Those 34 exercises, in order are:
    1. The Hundred
    2. The Roll-Up
    3. The Roll Over with Legs Spread
    4. The One Leg Circle
    5. The Double Leg Stretch
    6. The Spine Stretch
    7. Rocker with Open Legs
    8. The Cork-Screw
    9. The Saw
    10. The Swan-Dive
    11. The One Leg Kick
    12. The Double Leg Kick
    13. The Neck Pull
    14. The Scissors
    15. The Bicycle
    16. The Shoulder Bridge
    17. The Spine Twist
    18. The Jack Knife
    19. The Side Kick
    20. The Teaser
    21. The Hip Twist with Stretched Arms
    22. Swimming
    23. The Leg-Pull Front
    24. The Leg-Pull
    25. The Side Kick Kneeling
    26. The Side Bend
    27. The Boomerang
    28. The Seal
    29. The Crab
    30. The Rocking
    31. The Control Balance
    32. The Push-Up

What are some of YOUR favorite Pilates facts?