Why is Classical Pilates Expensive?
First things first, Pilates is available to everyone for any budget. You will get tons of wonderful free online resources on Pilates. However, it is ideal to practice one-on-one, with all apparatuses, under the watchful eye of a trained professional. Yes, that is obviously more expensive. Even so, the cost of the private Pilates lessons is in line with, and in some cases, less expensive than, private personal training in other settings. When compared to other fitness instruction, Pilates teachers often use more specialized equipment and go through more training for their teaching certifications. Pilates also uses specialized equipment that can be dangerous if it’s not operated under the watchful eye of an experienced teacher. A single classical Pilates reformer is around $4700 plus shipping, which can be another $1,000 plus a customs duty of $2500. A fully-equipped, classical Pilates private studio, with just one single piece of each apparatus, will cost well over $40,000. Then there are add-ons, props, and maintenance. The apparatuses are incredibly specialized; many are made to order; there are often long wait times; and installing and maintaining equipment requires a lot of work, as we are not talking about buying a few dumbbells or weights here.
Pilates teacher trainings are often longer and more expensive than other fitness certification programs. A reputable, comprehensive classical Pilates teacher training program will cost thousands of dollars and take about a year to complete. It will take a minimum of 600 hours involving practice teaching (teaching either your clients or studio clients as an apprentice without any pay), observation (watching other lessons take place), and self-practice (doing Pilates). There are also several self-study projects to be done, as well as lengthy written and practical tests. It’s a lot of time and money, and it's a huge commitment. A real, comprehensive classical Pilates teacher training program can feel like a full-time job. Almost all the training programs I went through required me to take regular private lessons with a mentor at their standard rate (in my case, it was $150, as both my mentors had 25+ years of experience teaching Pilates) for the duration of the training. Besides, the teacher training program is not restricted to a single program; the initial teacher training certification is just know-how. Next come advanced teacher training programs and workshops, lessons with mentors, conferences, and so much more. Basically, I spend all the money I make from Pilates on Pilates!
At the end of the day, one is ultimately paying a Pilates teacher for their time. An hour of their time, whether online or in person, is an hour of their time. The more experience and training they have, the more their time is worth. Trying to bargain with a Pilates teacher is the ultimate insult. If you can’t afford a particular teacher’s services or just don’t want to pay their rate, there are more than enough resources for every price point. Pilates is a wonderful practice that can truly change people's lives, but it is a job. It’s how teachers pay their bills. Studio's need to pay their instructors, rent for studio space, pay the cleaning staff, pay the electricity bill, pay the taxes, and the list goes on. It is extremely expensive to run a Pilates studio.
Yes, Pilates is a life-enhancing practice that everyone must experience, but at the end of the day, to experience all this, you need more than a smile and goodwill to run and survive.