How to start doing pilates on a budget

One year ago, I joined the pilates course at my local gym. Before joining the class, I had tried doing pilates at home following the tutorials of the youtuber Blogilates. Although they were devastating to say the least, they made me feel strong and it was a great way to train my arm muscles without using weights. I had tried doing push-ups and other similar exercises, but they were always harsh on my chest muscles.

Now, don't get me wrong, pilates also made my muscles sore at first, but it was the normal soreness that you experience when you try a new workout, not a soreness from getting hurt because of a wrong position or movement.

Fast forward to 2024-2025, pilates goes viral and everyone wants to be a "pilates princess", a very specific aesthetic depicting young, skinny girls (often white) who attend expensive and exclusive reformer pilates classes while wearing expensive matching sets by Alo or other similar brands, while combining some elements of the "clean girl" aesthetics, such as getting matcha before or after the pilates class.

In Lebanon, this entire aesthetic even got its own Tiktok trend and viral song, titled - you guessed it - "Alo pilates matcha". (Thank you to youtuber Marc Insco for this information)

The viralization of pilates also drew some criticism, claiming that it had been framed in an exclusive, almost cultish way, thus becoming elitist and overly expensive.

However, pilates was born as an inclusive activity. It was invented by Joseph Pilates after World War 1 as an easy workout routine to help injured and bed-ridden sodiers with recovery, while using minimal equipment that could be easily attached to their hospital beds.

If you want to go in-depth about the original premises of Pilates and how it got unfairly warped into an exclusive activity, I'll leave you a video essay by youtuber Manifestelle below:

With this premise, is it possible to do pilates while on a budget? Absolutely, and I will give you some tips on how to figure out the ideal solution for your budget. I'm not a pilates instructor, so I will stick to talking about the costs and the organizational aspects. If you have any concerns about starting pilates, talk to your doctor or a pilates instructor in your area.

Step 1: what do you actually need?

Pilates is not only inclusive because of the exercises themselves, but also because it does not require equipment. Yes, sometimes you will use balls, rollers, elastic bands and other equipment, but they are not essential. You just need a mat, a towel, non-baggy workout clothes and slipper socks.

None of these items need to be from some high-end fashionable brand. A pair of leggings and a fitted t-shirt or tank top are completely fine. Same goes for the towel, you just need a big towel to put on the mat or reformer during the workout, and that's it.

Especially if you're starting out and you're not sure if you will enjoy pilates, refraining from buying new clothing from the get go is already a smart move to spend less on pilates. If you're able to reduce your pilates-related expenses to the very essential, e.g. your membership and transportation to get to the class, that's a great beginning.

I'm the type of person who quits a hobby as soon as she starts spending a lot of money on equipment (sorry, sewing machine), so being able to only spend money on my membership led me to be way more consistent with pilates than a lot of other hobbies I wanted to try. Even now that I have solidified this hobby into my life, I have bought little extra clothes, all out of necessity and for cheap.

Step 2: finding the ideal lessons

The type of classes can definitely impact the price of your membership. Reformer pilates classes tend to be the most expensive, as they are usually held in smaller studios for a small group.

Mat pilates, instead, tends to be a bit cheaper, but it's still important to check who is offering the classes. Pilates and yoga studios tend to charge a lot for mat pilates, whereas general gyms are usually cheaper.

The location also matters: gyms and studios in bigger cities are generally more expensive than local gyms in smaller towns.

Some other things to take into consideration are the cost of trial lessons and the prices of lesson packages (if available).

If this is completely out of our budget, then you can find a lot of free resources on Youtube. Besides Blogilates, one of my favourite youtubers for pilates workouts is Move With Nicole, because she's one of the very rare pilates youtubers who also gives guidelines on the breathing technique, which is one of the basic principles of pilates.

Step 3: schedule in a smart way

One of the ways that you can maintain your budget while attending pilates classes is to schedule the lessons wisely so that the final monthly cost remains below your means.

Say, for example, that you bought a batch of 10 lessons for 100$ (unrealistic, I know, but bear with me), and you want to spend less than 50$ on pilates every month. In this case, you can attend classes once a week and, if you want to do more pilates, you can add some home workouts that you can do for free.

Some studios might also charge you a penalty fee if you book a class and then cancel too late, so make sure that, at least at first, you plan your attendance in a way that's sustainable for your lifestyle. Do not schedule a pilates class on your lunch break if your office is too far away from your gym. Making your membership count is also a key factor in building and maintaining the habit of doing pilates. Spending money on classes that you can actually attend will always be better than spending money on a membership you'll never use.

With that said, I hope this article was useful to help you start out with pilates. Pilates actually does not require much, once you factor out all the purely aesthetic part.

Despite the gentrification it's facing, it's definitely possible to find more inclusive and affordable options out there, so do not let social media gaslight you into thinking it's something for the elites, because it's simply not. It's fun, it's relaxing, it's good for your mobility and core strength and, if you attend a group class, it can also turn into a social activity as well.

And if someone tries to make you feel insecure, here is one of my favourite commentary videos (with a more silly undertone) on the topic:

So, have fun and let me tell you in the comments below if you want to try pilates or if you have tried it before!