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I'll be honest with you. I didn't come to Pilates with some big wellness awakening or a doctor's orders. I came to it because I was feeling lazy, I knew I needed to move more, and I wanted something I might actually enjoy doing. That was it. No dramatic backstory. Just a woman who needed to get off the couch and do something about it.
I had tried the gym. I had done the runs that felt like punishment. I had followed along to workout videos in my living room with the curtains closed and zero enthusiasm. Nothing stuck because nothing felt good. It all felt like something I had to get through rather than something I wanted to show up for.
So when I tried Pilates for the first time, I went in with pretty low expectations. Easy movement, maybe a bit of stretching, something gentle that wouldn't wreck me for the next two days. What I did not expect was to walk out of that first session feeling like I had actually used my body in a way it was designed to be used. Not punished. Not exhausted. Just genuinely worked.
A few weeks in, something shifted. I started noticing that I was stronger. Not in a dramatic before-and-after way, but in quiet, everyday moments. Carrying groceries felt easier. I sat up straighter without thinking about it. My hips moved more freely. And the thing that really got me? I started looking forward to my sessions. Not in a disciplined, ticking-a-box kind of way. Actually looking forward to them. That had never happened to me with exercise before, not once.
If you are over 35 and you have been putting off adding more movement into your life because nothing has ever felt sustainable or enjoyable, I want you to read this. Because what Pilates gave me was not just better mobility and real strength. It gave me a reason to keep showing up. And honestly, that is the change I never saw coming.
per year after 35
to see real change
you feel the difference
Why Exercise Matters More, Not Less, After 35
From your mid-thirties, your body begins to lose muscle mass at roughly one to two percent per year — a process called sarcopenia. Bone density starts to decline. Oestrogen, which plays a quiet but significant role in joint health, mood regulation, and fat distribution, begins its slow shift downward well before perimenopause arrives in full.
This is not something to fear. It is something to know. Because once you know it, you can train with intention rather than habit.
Muscle loss: Resistance and weight-bearing movement are the most effective counter. Reformer pilates qualifies on both counts.
Bone density: Weight-bearing exercise signals the body to maintain bone. Evidence supports pilates for this, particularly standing reformer work.
Posture and spinal health: Prolonged sitting shortens hip flexors and weakens the posterior chain. Pilates directly addresses this imbalance.
Core integrity: Not the aesthetic six-pack — the deep stabilising muscles that protect the spine and pelvis. This is what pilates trains.
Stress and cortisol: Low-intensity focused movement activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the opposite of a stress response.
What Reformer Pilates Actually Is
The reformer is a spring-resistance machine — a sliding carriage on a frame, with adjustable springs that provide either resistance or assistance depending on the exercise. This is what makes it so different from mat pilates, which uses only bodyweight.
The springs mean you can work at precisely the right level for your body. A session moves through the whole body — legs, hips, spine, shoulders, arms, feet — always with the core engaged as the foundation. You finish feeling as though you have genuinely worked without the sense of having been broken down. That balance matters enormously at this stage of life.
No two studios are identical, and this is worth knowing before you commit. Jetset Pilates, where I train, has a particular energy — the teachers read the room carefully, and there is no pressure to perform beyond where you genuinely are. If you are not sure which studio suits you, ClassPass is a genuinely useful way to try several before you decide. That is exactly how I found Jetset.
The Benefits I Have Experienced Personally
I want to be straightforward with you here because there is a lot of noise online about how quickly Pilates delivers results. The honest answer is that two to three sessions a week will not transform your body in thirty days. But it will start changing how your body feels in ways that matter a lot more than you might expect.
For me the first thing I noticed was my posture. I have spent years hunching over a laptop and it shows. After about a month of consistent reformer classes I caught myself sitting differently. Taller, more open across the shoulders. My husband noticed before I did, which tells you it was not just in my head.
The strength gains came more gradually but they have been real. Pilates works muscles that most of us have basically switched off, the deep core, the glutes, the stabilisers around your hips and shoulders. When those muscles start doing their job again everything else in your body starts to feel more stable and more capable. I carry myself differently now. I move through the world with a bit more ease and a lot less of that low-level physical tension I used to think was just part of getting older.
The thing I genuinely did not anticipate was how much I would look forward to going. I schedule my three sessions at the start of each week and I protect them. Not out of discipline or guilt but because I actually want to be there. That is new for me and it is not nothing.
"The reformer does not care about your ego. It cares about your alignment, your breath, and your intention — and it will absolutely let you know when you have forgotten that."
— Anjie, Style & Soul 35+The research does support these outcomes — particularly around chronic back pain, postural improvement, and stress reduction in women over 35. You may want to verify the most current clinical studies if you are making a health-based decision, as evidence in this area continues to develop.
Getting Started: Practical Guidance
Use ClassPass to explore first: Try several studios before committing. That is how I found Jetset — reformer was the one that made everything else feel like a warm-up.
Work at your pace, not anyone else's: I paid for ignoring this with two days of not being able to walk. Your class, your springs, your pace.
Commit to six sessions before deciding: The first couple are orientation as much as exercise. By session five, you will feel the difference.
Wear fitted clothing: Your teacher needs to see your alignment. Loose clothes hide what they need to observe — this is where what you wear actually matters.
Tell your teacher everything: Past injuries, current niggles, hours at a desk. A good pilates teacher works with your history, not despite it.
Aim for two sessions per week: Once a week maintains. Twice a week transforms.
