Pilates Thoughtful Tuesday: What Is Advanced?

A Pilates practitioner performs an advanced inversion on the Reformer, balancing strength, control, and stability.

When a client asks, “Is this an advanced class?” what do they actually mean? Are they asking about the difficulty of the movements, the pace of the session, or whether they’ll be pushed to their limits? The word “advanced” gets thrown around so easily that it’s worth stopping to ask if it still means what Joseph Pilates intended it to mean.

In Pilates, “advanced” has never been about showing off strength or flexibility. It’s about control, precision, and the ability to maintain the Pilates principles through more complex patterns. A client might think advanced means harder, but a teacher knows it means deeper.

Many traditional movements require flexibility, strength, coordination, and awareness all at once. The more advanced you are, the more you can balance those elements without losing stability or breath. It isn’t about how far the leg goes, it’s about what happens through the centre when it moves.

Then there’s the question of springs. On the Reformer, the fewer the springs, the greater the challenge. Less support means more control is needed, not more force. Yet in some of today’s high-energy “boot camp” style studios, advanced seems to mean more springs, faster transitions, and louder music. Dynamic, yes. Methodical, not always.

When clients ask if a class is advanced, they’re often asking, “Will I be good enough?” Our role is to help them understand that advanced isn’t a badge of status. It’s a stage of learning. It’s about how the mind and body connect, not how fast or big the movement looks.

So perhaps the best answer is:“This class will challenge you where you are today. Advanced is not a level, it’s a mindset.”