History of Pilates

Pilates is a form of exercise with a history stretching back to the 1920s. Today, millions of people around the world practice it, and they swear by its ability to shape a new, youthful body. The man who invented this new form of exercise was Joseph Pilates. While its popularity has grown considerably only in the past few years, the Pilates system has lasted nearly a century, with no signs of slowing down.

Joseph Pilates

Joseph Pilates was born in a small town outside of Dusseldorf, Germany. He grew up there as a small and sickly child who had asthma, rickets and rheumatoid fever. At a young age, he was fascinated with the human anatomy, and he studied everything he could about it. He eventually opened up his own gym, and he began to teach his own methods to people who were suffering from similar diseases to those he had. He taught that people who are exercising must do it slowly and smoothly in order to do it correctly.

The birth of Pilates

Joseph and his wife Clara taught the art of Contology, or the art of control, to people in the 1920s who had debilitating diseases. This is why the slow, methodical movements of Pilates were developed. The patients were using homemade equipment that provided resistance and did not require them to overexert themselves. Early on, Pilates was something that caught on well with dancers and a small core of fitness enthusiasts, but nobody expected the surge it has had in the past decade.

Pilates continues its reign as one of the most commonly practiced exercise routines in the world. It began as a way to give patients, who lacked the ability to do most workouts, a way to overcome their illnesses. It turned into a phenomenon that seems to have no end in sight.