Powerhouse Post (No3)

Hey there!

Welcome to the Powerhouse Post, my weekly round-up of all things Pilates industry related. Read on for the latest headlines and some of my commentary.

Cheers, Kaleen

 📸 On Socials

This reel (CW: He gets handsy) came across my feed this week.  It’s not the first I’ve seen of Or Kahlon but it’s the most blatantly ridiculous use of hands-on cues I’ve seen from him.  He’s typically borderline and I always wonder, “What’s the point of that touch?” This video shows him stealing moves straight out of the old creepy fitness guru playbook.  Every hands-on cue in Pilates (or fitness) must have a clear teaching purpose, and his clearly do not. Unfortunately, Or’s star continues to rise as he was the cover star of the latest Pilates Journal’s cover.  While his movement on a reformer is fascinating and sometimes beautiful to watch, his teaching is absolutely appalling. There is a long history of men in fitness abusing their power with clients, and I’d like to think we now know better so we should do better. “That’s how Joe was,” is not an acceptable justification.  Can we please stop elevating these folks?  Gross. (the r/pilates subreddit even joined the conversation)

Is this still Pilates? This question in the r/pilates subreddit perfectly encapsulates a class that had little to know Pilates principles but was hard…. And so therefore does not meet my requirements for being “A Great Class”

📰 In the News

Pilates Intel re-published an awesome interview with Bob Liekens, who describes exactly how and why Romana made changes to the way she taught Pilates.  Besides being a really interesting article, it’s a key point in the whole “classical vs contemporary” debate.  No one teaches Pilates exactly how Joe did.  Even Romana.  Joe’s method was and is brilliant, but must keep evolving to meet students, instructors, and society where they’re at.  I particularly liked this quote from Bob: “If you did work with Romana towards the end of her life, she became much more rigid in her teaching. Remember, Romana became the utmost authority of Pilates, there was no Joe anymore, and she wanted to protect the technique. It always came back to her if something unfortunate occurred. And so, she got quite defensive at times insisting on keeping it safe. And therefore, you could hear her at times say, ‘this is the way you do it and there is no other way.’”  Bob’s story about Romana demonstrates the difficulty in scaling something beyond one person and how rigidity gets introduced into a system.

💰️ Pilates Biz

Pilates studio franchises continue to expand, with the Australian brand Studio Pilates opening in the US.

Fitt Insider published a great report this week on in-person fitness. Some highlights:

• Gym memberships increased 5.6% YoY and 20% since ’19 according to a 2024 Health & Fitness Association (HFA) report.

• According to Band of America, 84% of fitness transactions went to IRL gyms and studios.

• 55% of younger generations embrace fitness as an identity, and 60% say it’s more than a hobby. (source: McKinsey Study)

🔥 Do your classes meet expectations?

Find out how your class design stacks up by using my FREE Class Design Report (CDR)

✍️ From Kaleen’s Blog

🔎 Research and Tech

A new systematic literature review came out examining the role Pilates plays on managing pain and disability in the arms and legs.  The authors found that the studies they examined show Pilates improves the quality of life for folks with musculoskeletal issues of the arms and legs, however, they note that whether Pilates is better than other interventions is unclear.  To me, this is important.  Yes, Pilates is awesome, but there is still no evidence it is better than other methods.  And that’s okay!  Everyone is different, and having multiple movement options is awesome!  For most folks, the best form of fitness is the one they do regularly, and staying consistent is way easier if you like what you’re doing.

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