Dynamic Fitness’ 20-Year Evolution

In the 20 years since Dynamic Fitness first opened its doors (yes, you read that right — how the time flies!), we estimate about 1,500 clients have come through our doors in search of a path to holistic fitness through Pilates. Since we were Sarasota’s original classical Pilates studio, we like to believe that we had a hand in bringing awareness to the local community about the immense, transformative benefits of Pilates practice. A lot can change in 20 years, and it’s been fascinating to watch our studio “family” evolve.

One of the most dramatic changes has been the number of men who are regulars at our studio. We used to have maybe one or two male trainees per week. These days our client roster includes 13 men. Some of them attend class twice a week and one actually loves Pilates so much, we see him three times! Five of the men have wives who are also Dynamic Fitness regulars, and there are two couples who train together. We love to see them motivating and supporting each other through their workouts.

Our male clients prefer the one-on-one sessions with our trainers, but we do have two men who participate in our group reformer classes as well. What they all have in common is that they’re very smart guys. They recognize the intelligence built into the Pilates method (which, as you may know, was created by a man). They’re also of an age group that recognizes the need to seek out exercise that promotes longevity and doesn’t put them at risk of injury, like many popular workouts that are very “boot camp”-oriented in content. These men study the art of a well-rounded lifestyle. And it doesn’t hurt that the newfound strength, flexibility, and balance from Pilates does wonders for their golf and tennis games!

What about the women? For the most part, our female clientele has retained the same profile. In line with Sarasota’s general age demographic, we tend to have a more middle-aged group for both men and women, but lately we’ve been seeing a brand new profile in group classes that are comprised of young moms. These women are friends who enjoy being together to work out and support each other in both family and fitness. In our blog we’ve discussed Pilates’ enormous benefits for mothers (see “New Moms Find an Ideal Workout in Pilates,” https://www.pilates-sarasota.com/blog/postnatal-pilates/) and it makes us so happy to see the proof right in our studio!

To sum up 20 happy years of providing authentic Pilates to Dynamic Fitness clients in one word, we’d need to invent another word. In the meantime we want to say thank you to all the clients who have worked toward their best bodies with us at our studio, and we look forward to meeting and shaping Pilates’ next generation.