Choose a private Pilates studio the way you would choose a coach: by how it works, not by the equipment in the photos. A good studio for an athlete assesses you before it programmes anything, has an instructor who understands what your sport asks of your body, holds strength and conditioning credentials as well as Pilates certification, loads you progressively, works with your coach and physio, uses more than the reformer, makes claims it can support, and fits its sessions around your training calendar.
You can check all of them in one conversation and a first session.
What should an athlete look for in a private Pilates studio?
An assessment before any programming
The first session should be about you, not a routine. Expect questions about your sport, training week, competition dates and injury history, then a look at how you move: single-leg control, trunk position under load, and range at the hips, upper back and ankles. That assessment is then compared with what your sport needs, and the programme comes from the gap between the two. If a studio puts you on the reformer for a standard sequence in the first ten minutes, the programme is not built around you.
An instructor who understands your sport
Ask the instructor to describe what your sport demands. For a runner that might be pelvic control in single-leg stance and trunk endurance as fatigue builds; for a tennis player, rotation, deceleration and repeated lunging; for a lifter, trunk stiffness and hip position under heavy load. A good answer talks about movement phases, force and fatigue, and only then about exercises.
Strength and conditioning credentials as well as Pilates certification
A Pilates certification teaches the method and the equipment. A strength and conditioning qualification covers loading, periodisation and the physical demands of sport. For an athlete both matter, because the work should combine Pilates principles with strength and conditioning principles rather than stop at what the Pilates equipment springs can provide. Ask which bodies issued each qualification and which pieces of equipment the Pilates certification covers.
Progressive loading you can see
The programme should get harder in planned steps, through more resistance, less support, longer holds, more range, single-leg or rotational versions, then be reassessed. Ask how the studio decides when to progress.
Willingness to work with your coach and physio
Your coach owns the training plan and, if you are injured, your physiotherapist leads. A good studio asks to speak to them, aligns on goals and focus areas, and keeps them updated.
Equipment beyond the reformer
The reformer is useful, but much sport-specific work suits other equipment. The stability chair puts close to full body weight through one leg for step-ups and single-leg footwork; the trapeze table (Cadillac) allows supported hip, shoulder and spinal work; the ladder barrel and spine corrector load extension, side bending and rotation through the trunk. In a private session the exercise should decide the equipment, and the studio should also have accessories for strength and conditioning work.
Claims it can back up
Be cautious with a studio that promises to stop injuries, fix posture or make you faster. The evidence does not support those promises for Pilates as a stand-alone. A studio worth training with will tell you what the work targets, what the research shows and where it is thin.
Fit around your training calendar
Studio work should follow your season: more new and demanding work in the off-season or base phase, maintenance during heavy blocks, a lighter touch before competition. Check that scheduling is flexible, that the frequency is set from your training load rather than sold up front, and that package validity fits how often you will realistically attend.
How does Peak Performance meet these criteria?
New clients start with a 55-minute initial consultation that assesses how you move, looks at your goals and builds the foundations of an individual programme, which is then progressively loaded and reassessed around your training or race calendar. Charibelle Abad, the founder, is a triathlete and Half Ironman finisher and is a trained NSCA Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a certified STOTT PILATES instructor across mat, reformer, chair, Cadillac and barrels, plus STOTT PILATES Athletic Conditioning. Sessions are not purely Pilates: they combine Pilates principles with strength and conditioning principles, mixing in strength and conditioning work depending on your goal, with more focus on control of movement.
The studio takes a team approach, aligning with your sport coach, gym trainer and physiotherapist on goals, focus areas and programming. Fiona, a triathlete, described the studio speaking to her coaches and going with her to a bike fitting, and Albert, a powerlifter, described Charibelle watching him lift at his gym “just so she understands what it is I’m trying to do and where I’m getting stuck.”
Every session is private 1:1 (or 1:2 in tandem) on full Merrithew equipment: reformer, trapeze table, barrels including the ladder barrel, and stability chair, plus accessories for strength and conditioning work. Sessions are by appointment, and the recommended frequency is set at the initial consultation from your training load and goal.
What does the research say about these criteria?
None of these studies is about Pilates, and some come from one sport, so they support the principles behind the criteria rather than any studio.
Reasonable evidence. Planned variation in training helps. Williams and colleagues pooled 18 studies and found periodised resistance training improved one-repetition maximum strength more than non-periodised training, a moderate effect, with larger gains in untrained participants1. This was maximal strength, not sport performance.
One small trial. Coutts and colleagues gave 42 young rugby league players the same 12-week periodised programme, half supervised by a strength coach and half unsupervised. Both groups improved, but the supervised group completed more sessions and gained more squat and bench press strength2. It shows the value of expert supervision; it does not test qualifications directly.
Associations, not causes. Ekstrand and colleagues collected reports from the medical staff of 36 elite European football clubs. Teams rating communication between head coach and medical team as poor had a higher injury burden and lower training and match availability than teams rating it moderate or high3. Communication may reflect other differences between clubs, so this cannot show that talking more reduces injuries.
A useful caution. Bahr reviewed injury screening and found no screening test with good enough properties to predict who will be injured, and no study showing that targeting screened athletes works better than giving everyone the same programme4. An assessment is for building the programme, not for forecasting injury.
Practical application. Assess, programme from the sport’s demands, progress in planned steps, and keep the coach and physio in the loop. These are standard training principles applied to studio work, and they are reasoned recommendations rather than trial findings about Pilates.
Should a Pilates studio replace my strength coach or physio?
No. A private studio should complement your sport practice, your strength programme and your physiotherapy, not take their place. Ask how its work fits with theirs and who decides when goals compete. A studio that answers clearly, and will speak to the people already looking after you, is likely to be a good fit.
Where to start
At Peak Performance, new clients begin with an initial consultation at $135. It assesses how you move, looks at your goals and builds the foundations of your individual programme, and it is where the studio recommends how often to train. After that, private sessions are $160 ad hoc, $1,500 for a 10-session package with 4 months’ validity, or $2,800 for 20 sessions with 6 months’ validity. Purchase the consultation through the pricing page, then book your time, or message the studio on WhatsApp for help choosing a slot.