‘The best abs I’ve ever had – but it hurt!’: the punishing rise of extreme pilates
Share:
.gif?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Intense workouts like Solidcore and SLT are booming, one $43 class at a time. Are they making women stronger or feeding Ozempic-era expectations for thin bodies?. It’s lunchtime on a Wednesday and I am in a dark room, shaking intensely. My forearms are propped up on a big black machine called a “Sweatlana”. Like five other quaking women beside me, I am furiously plank-crunching, attempting to move the machine’s carriage forwards and backwards using only the force of my abs.
![[Hannah Marriott]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Hanah-Marriott,-L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“Come on team!” bellows a high-energy instructor over the booming music, urging us all to get “comfortable with discomfort”. Our trembles, she says, are a sign of reaching “second-stage muscle failure” which is not, as it sounds, fatal, but, apparently, a state to aspire to if we want to get stronger.
![[women using pilates machines]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fb635c2abff203c60255ca8851dbd71fcedaf618/0_0_1500_1000/master/1500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Welcome to Solidcore, a 50-minute workout which combines two zeitgeisty forms of exercise: pilates and strength training. Classes take place in dark, blue-lit studios which look like petite nightclubs. Celebrity fans include Malia Obama and Sydney Sweeney and the cult-like nature of classes has been parodied in an SNL sketch.
![[solidcore]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9083b26417558edb43f2b7bc3988cc4fe272b3a3/0_0_6100_2000/master/6100.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Legions of self-identifying “Solidcore girlies” proudly post TikTok videos about how sore they are after class. In September, the LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton bought a majority stake in the company, valuing it at between $600m and $700m, with plans to grow the chain from 130 US locations to 250 globally by 2028, including plans to open more than 25 new US locations this year.
Share:
More for You
.jpeg?crop=4:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Top Followed
Trending
You Might Also Like
