75. The Truth About Pilates

In this episode, Sam sits down with Heather Andersen—founder of New York Pilates—to talk about the current Pilates boom, its benefits, and its drawbacks. What actually is Pilates? What's definitely not Pilates? What are all these new studios and instructors getting wrong? How do I breathe while bracing my core properly? And WTF is a Multifidus? Listen to this episode if you want to know the truth about Pilates in 2026. Key moments: 01:51 The overlap between ballet and Pilates 04:41 What Pilates ACTUALLY is 06:14 The 7 pillars of Pilates technique 09:31 Why is Pilates having such a moment right now? 16:57 What people get WRONG about Pilates 21:23 What’s unsafe about the Pilates boom 23:31 New York Pilates vs. everyone else 26:47 Weekend certifications and finding the right instructors 29:44 What makes a good Pilates instructor (what to look for in an instructor/class/studio) 33:06 How to brace your core correctly 38:31 Abdominal doming 42:37 How her practice has transformed over time 43:05 Classical vs. contemporary Pilates 50:42 Taking modifications in class 53:58 Rapid-fire Pilates “this or that” Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WHOOP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow along: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tiktok.com/@lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.threads.net/@lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices