How to Get the Most Out of YouTube Pilates Workouts
Search "Pilates" on YouTube and you'll get more workouts than you could finish in a year: 20-minute ab burns, full-body sessions, wall Pilates, 28-day challenges. Pick the right ones and you get a real, effective workout at home, for free, on your schedule. The hard part is picking. Which instructor should you follow? Which videos are best for a beginner? And how do you know you're doing the moves right?
Here's how to answer each of those, starting with whether YouTube workouts really work, who to follow, which beginner videos to pick, how to do Pilates at home, how to tell if you're doing it right, and where YouTube videos can fall short.
Are YouTube Pilates Workouts Effective?
Yes. Following YouTube Pilates workouts regularly can build core strength, control and good movement habits, and the more often you press play, the more familiar the moves feel. And you can do it for free, whenever works for you.
So yes, YouTube Pilates workouts can be effective, and they work best when the instructor shows you a variety of versions, so you have options to choose from. That's why the instructor you pick matters.
Who Is the Best Pilates Instructor on YouTube?
The best Pilates instructor on YouTube is the one you enjoy enough to keep coming back to, and whose instructions are easy for you to follow. That could be someone with millions of subscribers or someone with a small channel.
A few things make an instructor easy to follow at home:
They tell you what to do: a clear cue like "breathe out as you lift your head" tells you what to do and when.
They give you a check: something you can see or feel, like which part of your body stays still while another part moves.
They demonstrate options: a bent-knee or propped-up version shown alongside the full move.
Their pace works for you: you can keep up without rushing the moves.
Before you settle on someone, check two things. First, are they trained to teach Pilates? Many instructors list their certification in the channel's About section or their video descriptions. Second, what's their teaching style? Some teach the original Pilates exercises in a set order, which is called classical Pilates. Others mix those moves with newer ones, and videos labeled "Pilates-inspired" or "fusion" often add cardio or weights. Any of these can be a good workout, so pick the style you enjoy and that fits what you want from it.
The easiest way to find an instructor you like is to try a few. Pick two or three instructors and do one or two videos from each over a week. Stick with the one you enjoy the most and provides a challenging but not too challenging workout.
Following Pilates Videos at Home? Get Our Free Form Guide
What Are the Best YouTube Pilates Workouts for Beginners?
For a beginner, the best YouTube Pilates workouts are the ones you'll actually come back to. A video you enjoy and do a few times a week will do more for you than one you dread starting. For ideas on keeping it up when life gets busy, see our guide to staying consistent with a Pilates routine.
Three kinds of videos make a good starting set:
A basics video: the instructor slows down and explains a handful of beginner moves before putting them together. Do one of these first and every other video becomes easier to follow.
A full-body beginner workout: a workout for your whole body at an easy pace, at whatever length fits your schedule. This is the one you'll repeat most.
A short add-on: 5 to 10 minutes on one area, like your core or hips, to tack on once your full-body video starts to feel easy.
Fast workouts set to the beat of the music are worth saving for later. They move quickly and expect you to know the moves already.
Finding these videos is easier than it sounds, because YouTube's search does a lot of the sorting for you. Adding a few words, like "beginner mat Pilates 15 minutes", brings up videos at your level and length, instead of everything a plain "Pilates workout" search turns up. Skip anything labeled advanced or built around props you don't own. When you find one you like, save it to a playlist so your next workout starts with one tap instead of ten minutes of scrolling.
If you're brand new to Pilates, our Pilates for beginners guide covers the basics to know before your first workout.
Checking Your Form at Home? Get Our Free Form Guide
How to Do Pilates at Home
Doing Pilates along with a video works best when you can focus on your body, not the screen. Lay your mat where you have room to stretch your arms and legs out, put your phone or laptop where you can see it from the mat, and pick videos where you can clearly hear the instructor over the music.
If you're new to Pilates and figuring out what equipment you need for your Pilates routine, see our guide to creating a Pilates setup at home, which covers the essentials.
Once you start, keep most of your attention on your body. Glance at the screen to see the next move, then listen to the instructor as you do it. If a longer video is split into chapters, you can repeat the part you found hardest or skip to the one you came for.
How Do I Know If I'm Doing Pilates Right at Home?
You can check your form as you go, without pausing the video. Try these three checks:
Your breathing: keep breathing steadily through each move. If you find yourself holding your breath to keep up, switch to the easier version the instructor shows, or do fewer reps.
Your lower back: many moves ask you to hold your lower back either in neutral, with its small natural curve, or in imprint, drawn gently toward the mat. Whichever the instructor asks for, it should stay that way as your arms and legs move. If the position of your lower back changes as you move, make the move smaller. Our new article covers how to find neutral spine and when to use imprint instead.
What stays still: in most Pilates moves, one part of your body moves while another stays put, like your hips staying level while one leg lifts. If the part the instructor says to keep still starts moving, make the move smaller until it stays put.
For more checks like these, see our guide to proper Pilates form at home.
What Are the Limits of YouTube Pilates Workouts?
With so many videos to choose from, YouTube can take you a long way. Each video is made for a broad audience, though, so a few things are still up to you:
Finding the right version of a move: if a move is too hard right now, it's on you to choose an easier way to do it, and not every instructor shows one.
Putting together a plan: each video stands on its own, so it's up to you to decide what to do today and what comes next.
Knowing when to level up: once a video starts to feel easy, you'll need to go looking for one that challenges you more.
That doesn't make YouTube a bad choice, but it does mean the choosing, adjusting and planning are all on you.
What Prompt Pilates Does Differently
If you'd rather spend your time working out than searching for the next video, consider joining Prompt Pilates.
Prompt Pilates is an adaptive Pilates app that handles the choosing, adjusting and planning for you. You answer a few questions about your body, your goals, the props you have at home and how much time you've got, and it builds each workout from there:
The right version of every exercise: instead of one version for everyone, it gives you the modification your body is ready for.
A plan built for you: each workout is put together around your goals and the time you have, so you never have to piece a routine together yourself.
Progress built in: as exercises start to feel easy, it moves you on to harder versions, so you never have to hunt for the next video.
Want to see what that's like? Join the Prompt Pilates waitlist for two free weeks of app access when we launch this winter.
The Bottom Line
YouTube Pilates workouts are a great way to build a home practice for free. To get the most out of them, pick an instructor you enjoy, save a few beginner videos worth repeating, and check your form as you go. If a video asks for more than your body is ready to give, pick a different one. Do that a few times a week, and you'll keep getting stronger.
Make It Your Practice
Already doing Pilates at home with YouTube? Keep the routine and drop the guesswork. With Prompt Pilates, every workout gives you the modification your body is ready for, fits the time you have, and gets harder as you get stronger, with no hunting for the next video. Join the Prompt Pilates waitlist to get two free weeks of app access at launch.
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