For over a decade, I’ve taught in-person Pilates classes designed for women over 60 – and week after week, those classes have a waitlist. I’ve come to see that demand as less about me and more about what it reveals: once women in this age group experience Pilates, they don’t want to give it up. Pilates may be having a moment with the younger generation right now, but I firmly believe it’s one of the best exercise programs for the over-60 body. Here’s why.
1. It’s Low Impact – So It’s Kind to Your Joints
Pilates lets you work hard without pounding your joints. There’s no jumping, no jarring, no bracing for impact. That means you can build real strength while protecting your knees, hips, and spine – and keep showing up, class after class, without paying for it the next day.
2. It Builds Muscle Mass and Protects Your Bones
Using your own body weight – along with props like bands and hand weights – Pilates builds muscle and supports bone health. That matters, because it directly combats two of the biggest age-related changes we face: sarcopenia (the gradual loss of muscle mass) and osteoporosis (the loss of bone density). Every class is a deposit in your strength and bone bank.
3. It Uses Dynamic Movement – Which Lubricates the Body and Releases Pain
In Pilates, you’re strengthening and stretching your muscles as they move. This dynamic movement is wonderfully lubricating for the body – it gets the joints gliding, the tissues warm, and the stiffness melting away. Many of my students tell me it’s the thing that finally helped release long-held aches and pain.
4. It Strengthens Your Core – Your Powerhouse
The core is the centre of everything. It’s what gives you that feeling of strength and control as you move through your day – that quiet confidence in how you carry yourself and how you show up in everything you do off the mat.
5. It Improves Your Balance
When you work your core, you instantly become steadier on your feet. But Pilates goes further – it trains the small stabilizing muscles throughout your whole body, the ones we rely on to keep us upright. Better balance means more confidence with every step, and a lower risk of falls.
Whether your favourite things are gardening, biking, travelling, walking, hiking, or swimming, a strong core is what you’ll feel underneath all of them. It’s what keeps you doing the activities you love – pain free – for years to come.
The over-60 body isn’t asking for punishing workouts. It’s asking for movement that strengthens, steadies, and supports. That’s exactly what Pilates delivers – and it’s why, once women discover it at this stage of life, they rarely stop.
An Invitation, If This Speaks to You
If you’ve been reading this and thinking, that’s what my body has been asking for – I’d like to invite you to try this free Youtube class to help start your Pilates journey.
Let’s Chat:
What is your favourite way to stay active in this stage of life? Have you tried Pilates before? If yes, how has your experience been?
