How Fitness Clubs Can Join in on the Pilates Trend

The Pilates trend reflects the current shift towards low-impact movement, longevity, and recovery. In 2024, Pilates was considered the #1 workout worldwide, with bookings up 84% from the previous year. 

Pilates also presents an opportunity to push fitness club innovation forward, encouraging operators to rethink how they use space, design classes, and deliver value. For multi-location operators, Pilates solves three strategic problems at once.

It keeps members who are aging out of high-intensity formats engaged through a lower-impact path that still delivers results. It attracts new demographics, professionals, women over 35, and injury-conscious members, who are more likely to stay when programming feels sustainable.

And it strengthens retention by offering a counterbalance to fatigue-driven churn: members can alternate between high-intensity and recovery-focused sessions under one roof, simplifying their fitness experience and focusing spend in one business.

The Pilates Trends: Where Is Low-Impact Fitness Heading? 

Pilates began gaining ground in the 2000s, as boutique studios paired minimalist spaces with precise, deliberate movement. 

Among other group fitness trends like yoga, it’s been growing ever since, if not more than the rest. In 2025, for a variety of reasons, it reached a new peak that hasn’t stopped since. Checking the Google Trends for pilates, the demand shows steady, consistent growth.

We believe there’s great work being done by Pilates studios and influencer instructors to showcase the value of Pilates and to drive interest in this offering. Pilates builds strength, flexibility, and great posture, all of which are very beneficial to our current sedentary lifestyle. 

At the same time, the format continues to evolve. Reformer Pilates is taking off, and newer versions like hot Pilates or fusion concepts keep it fresh. Digital adoption adds another layer: virtual sessions, AI-guided workouts, and app-based progress tracking make Pilates more accessible and easier to scale.

And it doesn’t stop there; the Pilates economy now includes equipment and apparel, all supported by tech and social media. That kind of diversification shows it’s not a passing phase. It’s a full segment within fitness that continues to grow because it meets both sides of demand: results and experience.

Pilates Classes: The Strategic Opportunity for Fitness Clubs

Effective Pilates programming for gyms requires the right mix of certified instructors, structured progressions, and consistent brand experience. As a large, multi-location club, you already have the infrastructure, space, systems, and brand reach to compete in the growing Pilates segment.

1. Converting underutilized studio space

Many clubs have studios that sit empty during off-peak hours. That’s prime space for Pilates.

You don’t need to build a new concept; you can reconfigure what you already have with the right equipment and programming. 

Start with one or two test locations, measure demand, and then standardize the format across your network once it’s validated. This gives you a low-risk way to add a premium product line while increasing overall class utilization.

2. Partnering with boutique instructors or micro-brands

You can also partner with independent Pilates instructors or local micro-brands that already have a following. 

They bring credibility, niche expertise, and often a built-in audience that can boost your initial bookings. 

Some clubs run these partnerships as revenue shares or short-term takeovers; others build them into long-term brand collaborations. Either way, it lets you diversify your programming without overextending staff or marketing budgets.

3. Launching branded Pilates sub-experiences within existing clubs

Offering Pilates in fitness clubs could go beyond meeting the growing demand. Although it depends on the operator and your long-term vision. As we mentioned, you already have the assets. All you need to do is repackage and reposition them around a high-demand, premium category that’s not slowing down anytime soon.

For instance, you can launch a “Pilates by [Club Name]” experience, a sub-brand that feels distinct but operates under your existing systems. This gives you the flexibility to design the visual identity, pricing, and member experience differently while keeping everything under one umbrella. 

You can even extend it through partnerships with equipment or apparel companies to create co-branded retail opportunities. Once the format performs, replicate it across sites to create a unified, premium experience members recognize anywhere.

5 Ways to Integrate Pilates Across Multi-Location Clubs

1. Pilot Before You Scale

Start with one flagship club to validate demand before you roll it out system-wide. Treat it as your MVP, launch with the minimum viable setup: a simple class structure, essential equipment, and one or two experienced instructors.

Use this pilot to test what works, from class organization and scheduling to the member journey: track attendance, retention, and satisfaction through your CRM. 

With ABC Fitness softwares like Ignite and Glofox, all that data can be centralized in a single system to fine-tune programming and build the business case for expansion. Once you have results, it’s easier to justify the investment to your board or investors.

2. Invest in Instructor Certification and Consistency

A common misconception among large fitness operators is treating yoga and Pilates the same. While they share similarities, Pilates requires more hands-on instructor attention and specialized equipment (such as reformers), leading to different operational and cost structures.

As such, it requires a bigger investment in resources in certified instructors who understand both the physical and coaching side. This is also an equal, if not greater, investment than Pilates equipment.

Before expanding, we’d suggest you test and standardize the delivery: how instructors greet members, structure sessions, manage pace, and close classes. Once you find the tone and rhythm that fit your brand, build your internal “method” around it. That foundation becomes essential if you plan to scale into a branded Pilates sub-experience later.

3. Offer Hybrid Options for Retention

Pilates is versatile. You can deliver it in-studio or at home. Use your app to offer members live or on-demand sessions they can access between classes, whether they’re traveling, recovering, or simply prefer flexibility. 

Include shorter “hotel-room” or “no-equipment” versions to maintain engagement beyond your facilities. Your Pilates instructors can always suggest the no-equipment or modified versions of the exercise as they go through the class, too!

Offering hybrid Pilates positions your club as modern and adaptable, especially if you invest in user-friendly booking and payment systems and maintain high production quality. This model taps into the rise of hybrid fitness trends, letting members stay consistent wherever they are while keeping your brand at the center of their routine.

Apart from being a great differentiator, hybrid pilates also helps reduce client drop-off by offering flexible participation options.

4. Segment and Target Marketing

Segmenting from the start will help your pilot reach the right members. You can check your CRM data to identify members interested in related areas such as recovery, rehab, flexibility, or mobility. 

Promoting Pilates to them is a great starting point to gather feedback and refine your messaging before expanding outreach to the broader member base.

This isn’t just about selling more or filling your newly launched Pilates classes. This type of member segmentation will teach you what you need to know to refine and optimize your pricing, scheduling, and positioning, making it easier to expand to other locations and scale to apparel, and more.

5. Track Performance and ROI as a Line of Business

How about if you treat your new Pilates classes as a new business unit? 

Here’s why: Pilates has different setup and class costs due to equipment, instructor, and pricing. Also, Pilates participants have a different retention rate than others. 

It tends to have smaller group sizes and often charges higher per-session rates than yoga, so metrics must reflect those dynamics.

You can compare performance across clubs and disciplines to see where the model works best. With clear financial data, you can identify top-performing sites, replicate their playbook, and make smarter investment decisions as you scale.

Metrics such as revenue per available session hour, equipment utilization rates, and membership conversion rates for Pilates-specific offerings are critical. You can also track back and regularly refine based on where you stand.

5 Common Pitfalls When Launching a Pilates Class (and How to Avoid Them)

Pilates fits perfectly into the broader movement toward the integration of boutique fitness, where members expect premium, community-driven experiences within larger clubs. But it doesn’t come without its own challenges, especially if it’s a new offering among your other classes. Here are the top five challenges you need to keep in mind:

1. Instructor inconsistency: Certification doesn’t guarantee a consistent experience across clubs. Develop a standardized instructor onboarding and training curriculum that covers your brand voice, cueing style, class pacing, and member management. Also, use your club software to monitor instructor performance metrics and flag any patterns.
2. Pricing too low: Pilates isn’t a standard group class, and pricing it like one lowers its perceived value. Treat it as a premium service with smaller class sizes, specialized instruction, and clear tiers. Test pricing during your pilot to find what drives both participation and margin.
3. Targeting everyone: Broad campaigns waste spend. From day one, target your segments: members interested in recovery, mobility, post-injury rehabilitation, or pain management. Use your CRM’s marketing & automation tools to A/B test messaging, channels, and offers for different segments.
4. Ignoring hybriddemand: Members want flexibility, in-person, on-demand, or while traveling. Add mobile access with ABC Ignite Engagement, offering virtual and hybrid Pilates training that keep engagement high beyond the studio.
5. Treating Pilates as “just another class”: If you don’t treat Pilates as a separate profit center, you’ll miss insights and misallocate your resources. Measure setup costs, retention, and ROI separately. Use ABC Ignite’s BI tools to see which clubs and instructors drive the best performance and replicate those results system-wide.

How ABC Fitness Supports Scalable Pilates Growth for Multi-Location Clubs

From piloting to replicating your Pilates offering across clubs and locations, you need a robust tech stack to structure, track, and refine performance. 

Below, we’ll show how ABC Fitness supports each stage of scalable Pilates growth, from class operations to hybrid engagement and analytics.

1. Manage your operations and instructor schedules seamlessly

You need to manage your instructors, bookings, and class data across multiple sites, without relying on spreadsheets or manual coordination. 

With ABC Fitness softwares, you can centralize class scheduling, set booking rules, and manage resources from one place. The platforms also support waitlists, demand alerts, and instructor assignments, so you can keep classes balanced and utilization high. 

This cross-location visibility makes it easy to spot which clubs are performing best and where you can optimize.

2. Deliver a consistent and branded member experience

Pilates is as much about experience as it is about results. Members want a premium, seamless booking process that matches the quality of your studios. 

With ABC Glofox, you can deliver a branded app that lets members explore schedules, book classes, and receive real-time updates, all under your logo and color palette. It turns the booking process into an extension of your brand, not just a transaction.

3. Extend Pilates beyond the studio

You need to keep members engaged even when they’re not in your clubs. ABC Ignite Engagement lets you bring Pilates online with live and on-demand sessions that members can access at home, while traveling, or in between in-person classes. 

You can also track participation, habits, and progress through the same platform. This hybrid approach keeps your members active and connected to your brand, even off-site.

4. Track data and measure performance across locations

How about tracking? ABC Ignite comes into play here. You can track attendance, member satisfaction, and revenue metrics across all clubs in real time. 

Dashboards show which instructors, class times, and locations perform best. You can analyze retention rates among Pilates participants and identify where the model delivers the strongest ROI. This lets you refine operations before expanding further.

5. Integrate your ecosystem for smarter growth

There is no other solution in the fitness industry that makes your systems “talk to each other” this effectively. Your CRM, marketing, billing, and member engagement tools all come under the ABC Fitness ecosystem, giving you full visibility and allowing you to personalize offers, cross-promote products, and automate your retention strategy. 

To wrap up, here’s how your Pilates program doesn’t live in isolation but becomes part of a connected member experience with ABC Fitness:

• ABC Glofox: Streamlined class scheduling, attendance tracking, and branded app experience
• ABC Ignite: Insights on program adoption, retention, and revenue performance across locations
• ABC Ignite Engagement: Hybrid coaching and habit tracking to extend Pilates beyond the studio

Conclusion

Pilates is the main current group fitness trend in 2025. It prioritizes longevity, recovery, and mobility over intensity. It meets member demand for mindful, low-impact training while offering clubs a profitable way to diversify and extend retention.

For multi-location operators, the smartest way forward is to start small, pilot in one club, refine your programming, test pricing, and measure engagement before scaling. The real investment isn’t only in reformers or floor space; it’s in certified instructors, a consistent brand experience, and the tech stack that helps you track and optimize every step.

With the right systems in place, Pilates becomes more than a new class; it becomes a scalable growth driver that strengthens your brand, increases lifetime member value, and builds loyalty across locations.

See how ABC Fitness helps enterprise operators scale Pilates with data-driven insights, seamless integrations, and member-first experiences. Request a Demo Today!