What to wear for your first Pilates class
You’ve decided to try out Pilates. Congratulations! You are going to love it. Now what to wear for your first class. Are lululemons leggings a requirement for class or will a regular T-shirt and shorts do? Here are some things to keep in mind for your first class. Believe it or not, the attire will help you get more out of your workout but don’t worry lulus are not a requirement for class.
There is a lot of rolling and tucking in Pilates so one of the first things that I tell newbies is to stay away from clothes that have a zipper. Especially the running ones that have the back zipper for your keys. Whether you are taking a mat class or an equipment based class you will be laying down on your back and after a while that little zipper will start to get uncomfortable. Think about if you pulled back on one of your fingers. At first no big deal but after 2 or 5 minutes of holding it there… super annoying. There is also the chance that you could rip the material of the equipment. Talk about an awkward first class.
Instead of wearing loose fitting running shorts I would recommend compression shorts or biker shorts. The tight fit will help your instructor see the alignment of your hips better and there are also multiple exercises that have your legs in the air. Wearing form fitting shorts will prevent the material from riding up.
Instead of baggy sweats/joggers try form fitting leggings. It’ll help your instructor see the alignment of your legs. There are many different angles that we use for exercise set ups-bridging in parallel, bridging in turn out, bridging in clam just to name a few. Wearing form fitting leggings will help your instructor ensure that your leg alignment is where it needs to be to help you feel the work in the right places as well as keep your joints in healthy/safe positions.
When picking out a shirt or long sleeve to wear keep in mind some of the things we already discussed. As it gets colder I remind my clients to refrain from jackets and opt for a long sleeve shirt so that the zipper doesn’t bother them as they are doing their ab work. Form fitting shirts also help your teacher see the positioning of your torso to check on the alignment of your spine as well as the positioning of your shoulders. If you are someone that has shoulder pain I would even recommend a runners tank so that your coach has an optimal vantage point of your shoulders to see when they might roll forward or if you could be working from your shoulder blades a little more.
As a teacher I try to imagine that I could see your bones. I try to picture what your skeletal system is doing and what your muscles are doing to help you get the most amount of work and also to help strengthen your body in the right alignment. Looser fitting clothes is ok if that’s all you have. If you find that you love Pilates (which I know you will ;) ) and you want to update your attire but don’t want to spend a fortune on clothes that you sweat in then I recommend these items below.
