Pilates for beginners: what your first month actually feels like

The first pilates class is mostly listening. Not because it is easy — your legs will shake at some point — but because the method asks you to pay attention to how you move rather than how much. If you come from running or the gym, that is the adjustment. If you come from nothing, you have an advantage: no habits to unlearn.

Class one

Expect a teacher who explains a lot and corrects gently. Expect to find that your two sides are not the same. Expect an exercise that looks like nothing — lying down, lifting one leg — to be harder than it should be. Expect to leave feeling taller rather than wrecked.

What will feel strange

• Breathing out on the effort. Everyone holds their breath at first.
• “Neutral spine.” It takes a few classes to feel where yours is.
• Moving slowly on purpose. Speed hides weakness; pilates removes the hiding place.
• Your feet. On a reformer they suddenly matter.

What to wear and bring

Fitted clothes — leggings, a top that stays put when you are upside down. Grip socks if the class is on reformers; most studios require them and sell them. Water. Nothing else.

By week four

At two or three classes a week, the fourth week is usually when it clicks. The instructions make sense without being repeated, you can feel the muscle the teacher is talking about, and something outside the studio — a staircase, a long drive, sitting at a desk — is noticeably easier. Visible change in the mirror takes longer and depends on much more than pilates. The change in how you carry yourself is quick.

Mistakes worth skipping

• Choosing the advanced class because the beginner one sounds slow. The beginner class is where the technique lives.
• Going once, then waiting three weeks. See the note on frequency below.
• Comparing yourself to the person on the next reformer. They were you, once.
• Not telling the teacher about an injury. They can only adapt what they know about.

If you are wondering how many classes a week to start with, the timetable is the place to begin: see what is running, and the first month below shows what a sensible pace feels like.

Try a reformer class in Koh Samui

Isla is a ten-reformer studio in Chaweng, a few minutes from the beach, with small classes taught in English. If it is your first time here the intro offer is ฿1,800 for three classes; a single class is ฿900. Pick one from the timetable, or see the packs and prices first.