Maggie Schlegel
Last updated February 24, 2025

How Often Should You Do Pilates a Week?

Exercise may not be your usual go-to activity… but if you’ve discovered Pilates, you may be changing your mind on that.

Likely still have questions though – and how often should you do Pilates?.. may be one of them.

At Sultivate, a Reformer Pilates Studio, we have Pilates beginners and Pilates pros in almost all of our classes. Today, we’ll pull back the curtain on scheduling your Pilates classes.

Let’s jump right in!

The Broad Overview of What Makes Pilates Unique

Pilates – a low-impact, full-body workout designed to improve:

Core strength
Flexibility
Overall movement efficiency

Unlike traditional strength training – which often isolates muscle groups – Pilates focuses on controlled movements, proper alignment, and breathwork to create a balanced body ready to rock everyday activities.

One of the main reasons Pilates can be such an effective exercise system: is the emphasis on mind-body connection.

The precision included in every movement ensures the correct muscles are engaged with minimal strain on your joints. It makes Pilates great for people of all fitness levels, whether you’re a beginner or a professional athlete.

There are two main Pilates types…

Mat Pilates and Reformer Pilates – take your pick

Mat Pilates is done on the floor – often just using a mat but sometimes incorporating small props like rings or resistance bands. It uses body weight and controlled movements to build your strength.

Reformer Pilates is performed on a reformer – a bedlike carriage that uses springs and pulleys to provide resistance. The Reformer gives you a wider range of motion and allows greater customization for various fitness levels.

Both Pilates styles offer amazing benefits, and many fitness enthusiasts incorporate both in their routines. Regardless of which style you choose, Pilates will help you build a strong, balanced, and flexible body – with less risk of injury.

Now let’s get to one of our main questions…

How Often Should Beginners Do Pilates?

New to Pilates? You may be wondering how often to practice Pilates to build strength and see results – without overdoing it. For beginners, 2 to 3 sessions a week is a great starting point.

This frequency allows your body to:

adapt to the movements
build core strength
Improve flexibility

All while giving your muscles time to recover.

Unlike high-intensity workouts, Pilates is gentle on the joints, but it still requires proper recovery to avoid fatigue and overuse injuries, especially if you’re new to exercising.

Consistency vs. intensity

As you start your Pilates journey – consistent, moderate practice is more beneficial than the occasional intense Pilates class.

It’s easy to get hooked and go too hard when you’re first starting your Pilates journey. But this can lead to soreness, overwhelm, and burnout… rather than focusing on the fundamentals.

Fundamentals like:

Proper breathing techniques
Engaging your core for a better workout
Maintaining alignment and balance in each movement to target the right muscles

When you build a strong foundation – you progress faster in the long run. As well as avoiding common pitfalls like muscle imbalances and improper form. Both of these can lead to injury if you aren’t careful.

Avoid the most common beginner mistakes

Pilates every day – without allowing your body time to adapt and strengthen.
Jumping straight to the progression of an exercise – without learning the base level exercise first. Mastering the basic movements first is important for preventing injuries.
Neglecting other forms of movement – Pilates is amazing, but pairing it with lots of movement in your everyday life is important. Things like walking, yoga, barre, and strength training, can all help you build your strength and endurance alongside Pilates.

The takeaway: If you’re a beginner, 2-3 sessions per week is a great start. This will allow you to build your technique and allow your body to build the strength and endurance it needs to avoid injury and set yourself up for success in your fitness journey.

But if you aren’t a beginner…

How Often Should Intermediate and Advanced Pilates Enthusiasts Take Classes?

If you’ve already built a solid Pilates foundation, it may be time to increase your frequency and intensity. Pilates 3-5 times a week is a great ratio to continue your fitness progress and see greater results.

At this stage, your body is more accustomed to the movements. You can safely increase the challenge. Try different Pilates classes, advanced exercises (we call them progressions at Sultivate), and different Pilates equipment.

How to safely increase intensity without risking injury or burnout

When practicing Pilates and increasing your frequency, listening to your body is important.

Here’s how to vary your workouts and prevent burnout:

Alternate your intensity levels – Mix in slower, more controlled sessions with higher-intensity classes. At Sultivate, we offer three types of Reformer classes: Relax, Sweat, and Reformer. All with different goals and intensity.
Include active recovery – Lighter Pilates sessions or stretching-based classes help maintain mobility while still allowing your muscles time to recover.
Use different Pilates styles – Try Mat Pilates one day and Reformer Pilates the next. Challenging your body in new and different ways will allow you to progress faster.

Why mixing Pilates styles can benefit you:

When your body gets used to a specific fitness routine your fitness progress can often plateau.

One of the best ways to avoid this is to incorporate a variety of classes and styles. At Sultivate we have 4 different types of Pilates classes.

Mat Pilates: to strengthen your deep stabilizing muscles and enhance core endurance.
Reformer Pilates: adds resistance and improves overall strength and flexibility.
Sweat Pilates: boosts your endurance and calorie burn.
Relax Pilates: supports your mobility and recovery, and is great for your mental health.

Balancing your routine helps you avoid plateaus and keeps your workouts challenging, engaging, and effective.

The takeaway: if you’re an intermediate or advanced Pilates practitioner – 3-5 sessions per week can help you mix up your routine. It will get you the active recovery you need to maximize strength, flexibility, and overall well-being.

Now it’s time to fine-tune your Pilates schedule.

Pilates for Specific Goals – Find Your Perfect Routine

If you’re exercising to reach a specific goal, that can affect how often you do Pilates as well.

Pilates frequency – based on goals

For general fitness and flexibility: taking a Pilates class 2-3 times a week can keep you on track. This will allow you to maintain strength and flexibility, and provide consistent movement without overloading your muscles.

For Strength and toning: taking a Pilates class 3-5 times a week can help you succeed. This will allow you to build lean muscle and improve your muscle definition. Make sure you incorporate Reformer Pilates so you can continue to increase the difficulty of exercises.

For Rehabilitation and Injury prevention: take a Pilates class 1-2 times per week.¹ If you’re recovering from an injury, start with 1-2 gentle sessions per week. Focus on controlled movements, alignment, and low-impact exercises. Over time you’ll be able to gradually increase your frequency and intensity – this will allow you to correct any imbalances that could lead to future injury also. (Always consult your health care team prior).

For Athletes and cross training: take a Pilates class 1-3 times per week. This will help with core strength, mobility, and injury prevention. Combining Pilates with your Sports workouts or high-intensity workouts can allow you to correct imbalances you may be experiencing from repetitive movements. Choose class types that align with your needs and avoid overtraining.

A custom Pilates schedule for a custom person

Ultimately, your Pilates schedule needs to work for YOU!

Your lifestyle
Your fitness level
Your other fitness activities

If you’re a pilates newbie, start small and gradually increase your frequency. It’s all about consistency over intensity. Choose a Pilates schedule that feels sustainable.

The Takeaway: the best Pilates schedule meets your personal goals. Whether that’s strength, recovery, or overall well-being. Tailor your Pilates schedule to fit your needs and lifestyle.

Pilates isn’t the only workout for you, though.

Pilates as Part of a Larger Workout Plan

Pilates is powerful on its own. But it also complements many other exercise forms.² From strength training to cardio or Yoga… Pilates can help you enhance mobility, prevent injuries, and improve your overall fitness performance… especially when combined with other exercise forms.

How Pilates complements other workouts

Strength Training: Pilates helps activate stabilizing muscles, improves posture and form during weightlifting, and enhances core control… for less strain on your lower back and joints.
Cardio and HIIT workouts: Running, cycling, and HIIT workouts can create tightness in your hips, hamstrings, and lower back. Pilates counterbalances this by increasing your flexibility and range of motion.
Yoga and mobility training: Yoga emphasizes deep stretching but Pilates builds core strength and muscle endurance, which pairs amazingly well with stretching. Both can help with balance, body awareness, and recovery.

How often should you do Pilates a week for a balanced routine?

If mixing any of these workouts sounds like a great pairing for your fitness, here’s an example of what it could look like in your weekly schedule.

2-3 Pilates sessions: in a variety of styles (Mat, Reformer, Cardio, Relax). For Core strength, mobility, and flexibility.
2-3 strength training or resistance workouts: to build your muscles.
1-2 cardio sessions: (running, cycling, rowing, HIIT), for endurance.
1-2 active recovery days: (gentle stretching or our Relax Pilates class).

The key here… is to listen to your body. Allow time for movement AND recovery in your exercise schedule.
Pilates is a great tool for enhancing your performance while preventing burnout and it makes it a great addition to any fitness program.

The Takeaway: Pilates works well with other workouts. It improves core stability, mobility, and injury prevention. It can help you move efficiently and feel stronger in every activity, whether that’s lifting weights… or simply walking through everyday life.

Here are a few tips to make Pilates work for you.

Maximize Your Pilates Schedule to Get Results

It’s not just about how often you practice Pilates – it’s also about how well you do it. Whether you’re a beginner or a Pilates pro, here are some tips to help you deepen your practice, avoid common mistakes, and see real progress toward your fitness goals.

1. Prioritize your form rather than your reps

Pilates is all about precision, control, and alignment. Don’t rush your movements.

Instead, focus on:

Engaging the correct muscles.
Moving with intention and breath control.
Maintaining the proper posture and spinal alignment.

Practicing Pilates less frequently doesn’t mean you can’t see faster strength gains and better results… as long as you focus on the quality of your movements.

“The best motivation always comes from within.”

– Michael Johnson

2. Listen to your body to avoid injury

Pilates may be low-impact, but you can still overdo it.³ Common signs of overuse or fatigue include:

Soreness that persists and never gets better.
Tightness or decreased range of motion.
Feeling drained rather than energized after class.

If you’re feeling any of these symptoms, it may be time to scale back a bit. Prioritize your recovery and incorporate some rest days into your schedule. Gentle stretching and hydration will help bring your body and mind back into balance.

3. Mix up your routine to progress

Doing the same workout over and over allows your body to adapt to the workload. This can lead to plateaus in your fitness progress. To continue to progress:

Try different Pilates styles to work different muscles.
Increase the resistance in your workouts to add some overload to your muscles.
Alternate between strength-based Pilates classes and flexibility-based Pilates classes.

Variety challenges your muscles in new ways and keeps your Pilates fresh and exciting while getting you better results.

4. Focus on breathwork for better core engagement

There’s a reason why breath is one of the 6 Principles of Pilates… It can be a game changer for your Pilates results. Instead of holding your breath, practice:

Inhaling through the nose to expand your ribcage, and
Exhaling deeply to engage your core and deepen your movements.

Breathwork allows you to activate your deep core muscles. It makes each movement more effective and controlled.

5. Book a private Pilates session

When you’re serious about improving, working with a certified Pilates instructor 1:1 can make a huge difference. A private session can help you:

Correct your form more quickly and prevent bad habits.
Provide a variety of exercise modifications based on your specific needs.
Help you set, and meet realistic, achievable fitness goals.

At the end of the day, Pilates is more effective when you prioritize your form, listen to your body, and keep your schedule dynamic. Following these tips will help you stay consistent, avoid plateaus, and see lasting results.

A Reformer Pilates Studio for Everyone

Pilates is versatile and can be an incredibly effective workout for any lifestyle. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert – the key to success is finding the balance between consistency, intensity, and recovery.

At Sultivate, we don’t believe it’s only a matter of how often you practice… but rather, how well you practice.

Prioritizing form, breathwork, and recovery will help you maximize the benefits Pilates can offer and build a strong foundation for all your activities. Whether just in your everyday life, or other fitness goals.

Ready to incorporate more Pilates into your week? Take your first class with us at one of our 3 studios. There’s a class for every body!