Pilates: *Seated on a reformer.
Toronto: *Half-smiles. *Double blinks.
Pilates: “Why are you so obsessed with me!?”
Actually, I’m not sure who became obsessed with who first. My MindBody app has a message for me: TAKE A PILATES CLASS. That’s in all-caps, because I really feel like it’s screaming this at me. Each time I search for a workout near me in Toronto, up come Pilates class after Pilates class at Pilates studio after Pilates studio. One thing is clear: Pilates is the hottest workout in the city. Here’s why, and the new studios where you can get your hundreds on.
I did a two-week Pilates challenge – here’s what happened.
Toronto can’t get enough of reformer Pilates
It’s not just Toronto that’s obsessed. It’s anywhere with a Class Pass subscription. The studio spot booking company published a report in December 2024, called Look Back, showing an 84% increase in Pilates bookings.
While Pinterest didn’t include Pilates in its annual trend report, just searching the term brings up enough filters to show it’s a popular thing to pin: outfit, princess, aesthetic, board exercises, reformer, studio design interiors, machine equipment, vibes, somatic, clothes, mood board, art, instructor aesthetic, reformer aesthetic, studio design aesthetic, humour, poses photos, arm workouts, illustrations, outfit ideas. I could go on, but you get the pinned picture, and it includes a reformer.
Sweat & Tonic @ The Well Review: Hot HIIT Pilates is the class you didn’t know existed.
According to Toronto’s Unity Fitness, in its “Fitness Trends to Watch in 2025,” Pilates — especially hot Pilates — will continue to grow in Toronto. It reports “sold-out classes as people flock to this low-impact, core-focused training method.” (What’s hot Pilates? It’s like hot yoga, in that you work out in an infrared heat room.) “With a focus on sustainable fitness, Pilates offers a perfect solution for those looking to train smarter, not harder,” read the report.
Also, I can’t seem to escape from Club Pilates ads on social. I haven’t tried it, but no matter where I am, Instagram seems to tell me there are nine studios near by. The same franchise company also owns Stretch Lab, Pure Barre, Cyclebar, Rumble and others, which is obviously trend based: passive stretching – check; barre – check; cycling – check; boxing – check.
Chi Junky review: Where every teeny muscle feels seen.
Dear spin and HIIT: Toronto’s just not that into you
Why are we obsessed with Pilates? Turns out it’s the mind-body connection. The whole idea of zoning out and pushing through cycling and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes is “out.”
“A couple years ago, spin and HIIT had its heyday, and all those classes were so full and studios were popping up everywhere in Toronto,” says Megan van der Baars, a public relations professional with VDB Communications, who also teaches spinning, Pilates and Lagree at Sweat & Tonic’s two locations, Solis Movement and at Lagree Collective. She admits her first Pilates class humbled her which drove her to do it more, and she loves the variety teaching Pilates gives her, from Britney-themed to dark-lit classes. So, she became Pilates certified, as indoor cycling seemed to be going nowhere (pun intended). “It’s like fashion; the trends are always changing.”
I also have a theory that the break from all-out cardio for a few years (cough, COVID, cough) had all of us (cough, me, cough) craving slower movement. Even with a Peloton bike at home, I don’t work out as hard as I did pre-2020. My PBs are just a reminder of what I used to do. My ego (I tell myself) is OK with this. And after a shoulder injury, I see a movement therapist on the reg, and Pilates is always on her list. In fact, I’m prescribed mermaids at home on my Microreformer.
Despite the young-ish TikTok and Insta trends for #PilatesPrincess, people of all ages like the ability to ”work out while lying down,” says Aleks King-Sorrell, co-founder of Roncey neighbourhood’s Fortides Pilates, adding the studio has clients in their 20s and 70s.
Pilates has been around pretty much forever. Well, at least since Joseph Pilates (Pilates is a proper noun, which is why the P’s capitalized) created it in 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. And he brought it to the States in 1912. You’d think Pilates would have hit Toronto as a trend sooner.
Lagree Micro Review: Don’t expect an at-home Pilates workout.
Plus, Pilates really works – here’s how
It’s not a weight-loss thing. It’s not grunt work (although you are encouraged to breathe loudly). You don’t even have to be so exhausted as a reward after.
Plus, Pilates works. According to the journal Bulletin of Faculty of Physical Therapy (May 2023): “Pilates may improve quality of life while lowering pain and disability. It may also increase flexibility, strength, mobility, respiratory rate, vital capacity, body mass index, and balance. It also helps in lowering fasting blood glucose and HbA1c level in type 2 diabetic women and also helps in lowering the severity of temporomandibular dysfunction.” (HbA1c is the blood test for measuring blood sugar levels, and temporomandibular dysfunction is jaw pain.)
Stephanie Spagnolo, the other founder of Fortides Pilates, says, “there’s more research now on female hormones and cortisol and the role that that plays in your overall well-being,” adding that intense workouts aren’t always friendly for women’s bodies.
But, you may have to go with how you (and your periods) feel, as every body is different. It seems like for every study suggesting intense exercise is bad, there’s one that says it’s good. But one thing all experts agree on: Exercise is good for health.
So, if you like Pilates, it should do good things for your body.
Pilates reformer versus Pilates mat: Which is better for at-home workouts?
The fashion brands are onboard with Pilates
It’s not just Toronto that’s on board, as fashion lines and luxury fitness brands are slipping into Pilates DMs.
Spagnolo lists a bunch of brands hopping on the reformer carriage: Your Reformer from Australia with premium reformers, Temu from China with accessibly priced equipment, and even France’s Céline came out with a luxury Pilates gear collection.
Home gym ideas for the fit and fashionable at-home athlete.
Pilates versus Lagree
Lagree often gets mixed in with Pilates, but if you speak with a Lagree trainer, studio owner or even Sebastien Lagree, the founder himself, it’s clear that it’s not Pilates. But there are similarities: a machine (Lagree calls it a Megaformer, but many Lagree fans still call it a reformer), micro movements, shakes and cute fits with matching sticky socks. The foundation of Lagree is more akin to strength training, according to the brand. There have been a bunch of new Lagree-machine studios open up too, including Lagree Plus on Adelaide and Spadina, and Lagree Collective in Etobicoke, Reformd in Forest Hill (owned by the same peeps as Sweat & Tonic), Jaybird in Yorkville and Queen West, in addition to the two longtime Studio Lagree locations. Toronto seems to be obsessed with the Pilates-adjacent, too.
Lagree Plus review: Toronto’s latest Megaformer classes put to the test.
New Pilates studios in Toronto for 2025
For me, press releases and opening-day class invites have all steered me to Pilates classes. Here are a few of the new studios I’ve tried so far this year. See which one’s style could match your own Pilates needs and aesthetic.
Coco Reformer Pilates
This gorgeous space is like walking into a meditation. Every corner is curved and everything is a muted neutral and lit with low lighting. It’s calmness visualized. The class is spacious with plenty of room between the 17 reformers. I took Danielle’s class and she had us using all kinds of Pilates equipment, in addition to the reformer, including the Pilates ball, which had my glutes screaming (in a good way) the next day.
Coco Reformer Pilates, 536 Eastern Ave., $35 a class (packages available), 45-minute classes include Tone, Strength, Foundation, Candlelit Stretch, Mobility and more.
Fortides Pilates
This is ol’ school Pilates I know and love. The instruction is straightforward and methodological, as each move builds on the next. I took Kathleen’s class, and I was impressed by her detailed instruction. Often with Pilates classes, the instructor doesn’t demonstrate. Or, if they do, they’re out of sight when you’re in certain positions. So, her breathing and positioning notes meant I did the moves right. And I felt it deep in my core the next day. Owners Spagnolo and King-Sorrell take inspiration from the London, England, Pilates studios they loved while living there.
Fortides Pilates, 149 Roncesvalles Ave., $37 a class (packages available), 50-minute classes include Fortides Full Body, Pre-Post Natal, Fortides Foundation, Bro-tides, Fortides Restore and Fortides Fly and more.
The besties behind Fortides: The Roncey Pilates studio you need to try.
Ki Movement Studio
This location is perfect if you work downtown. Based on the second floor of the Malabar building, you’ll notice that the lobby is small. But when you walk through the reformer doors, the light greets you (from the massive warehouse windows and ceiling-to-floor mirrors). The Balanced Body Allegro 2 Reformers are placed at an angle so you can spread your arms as wide as possible. I took Dee’s class. I loved her approach with offering options, and she allowed us to count the reps ourselves. No point in rushing – it’s not a HIIT class.
Ki Movement Studio, 14 McCaul St., suite 202, $35 a class (packages available), 50-minute classes include Reformer Move & Groove, Reformer Flow & Stretch, Reformer Power & Burn, Reformer Cardio & Jump and more.
Hands down, the easiest fix – how I stopped wrist pain during exercise.
Maison Movement
The first thing I noticed was how boutique the Pilates class felt. It was more of a semi-private than a group class, with its four reformers. The instructor, Karen, spoke with us individually about any injuries and overall goals. It also made it dead-easy to speak up when I needed help with a move (yeah, that shoulder thing, still). Another perk, I was able to talk to the other people taking the class without any awkwardness.
Maison Movement, 209 Wicksteed Ave., suite 49, $60 a class (packages available), 45-minute classes include Reformer for All Levels, Private and Semi-Private and more.
Jaybird Toronto review: We wing it at the Yorkville & Queen locations.
Solis Movement
This studio is like walking into the future. It’s white reformers and hue-changing lights. But what I was most excited about when taking Aleks’s class, The Stride, which featured a jump board (a mini trampoline that can be secured at the foot end of the reformer). Doing jump squats while lying down isn’t just good for the quads and hammies, but it’s a helluva good time, too. My only regret was not wearing a heart rate monitor to see how it compared to my other cardio workouts.
Solis Movement, 548 King St. W., third floor, $30 a class (packages available), 45- and 50-minute classes include The Sets, The Stride, The Shape and more, as well as hot-room and mat classes.