By HTE Founder, Erin Hughes.
There is something slightly suspicious about a workout that looks this simple.
A compact chair. A pedal. A few springs. No sprawling equipment. No dramatic movements.
Then you get on it.
Suddenly, the smallest movement requires concentration. Your balance becomes part of the exercise. Muscles you weren’t particularly aware of a few minutes ago have joined the conversation. And that innocent-looking pedal is demanding considerably more control than expected.
“That looks easy” quickly becomes “Oh. Now I understand.”
That, according to the team at Upstate Studios, is part of the magic of Pilates Chair, its newest class, launching initially in Geelong.
And while Reformer Pilates has become a familiar part of the modern movement landscape, the chair offers something quite different.
It might also be one of Pilates’ best-kept secrets.
Small movements, serious work
One of the first things the Upstate team noticed about the Pilates chair was just how much you could feel from such small movements.
“It’s a really different kind of challenge to Reformer. You have to use so much control and stability.”
The equipment itself is relatively compact and unassuming, but its possibilities are anything but.
Exercises can incorporate sitting, standing and balancing, with the resistance of the pedal creating opportunities to work on strength, stability, mobility and coordination.
And you don’t necessarily need enormous movements to feel the effect.
“You get a really full body workout without necessarily doing huge movements.”
Some of the standing work has been particularly revealing.
“It looks so simple, but once you’re balancing and controlling the pedal, you really feel your whole body working.”
That combination of simplicity and challenge is what makes the chair interesting.
There is nowhere to hide behind momentum. Instead, the work comes from control.
No, you don’t need to be a Pilates expert
If Pilates Chair sounds like something reserved for people who already know their teaser from their tendon stretch, Upstate wants to dispel that idea quickly.
You definitely don’t need to be an expert.
“The class can be adapted to different levels, so you can start wherever you’re at.”
That accessibility was important when Upstate began developing the class.
Pilates Chair can appear specialised, particularly when you encounter the equipment for the first time. The challenge was to retain what makes it interesting while translating it into the kind of welcoming group experience Upstate is known for.
“We’ve loved figuring out how to take something that can feel quite specialised and make it feel welcoming and fun in a group setting.”
The result is less about arriving already knowing what you are doing and more about being willing to discover what your body can do.
Why the chair, and why now?
For Upstate, introducing Pilates Chair wasn’t about adding something new simply for the sake of novelty.
The appeal was the opportunity to offer a genuinely different movement experience.
“We loved that it offered something really different to what we already had. It brings together strength, balance, control and mobility in a completely different way.”
There is also something fitting about taking a piece of equipment with a long Pilates history and reconsidering how people might experience it now.
For Upstate, that meant making it feel “fresh, fun and accessible as a group class”.
And perhaps that is where Pilates Chair becomes particularly interesting.
For many people, Pilates is no longer a specialised practice encountered only in private sessions. It has become social, energetic and part of a broader approach to strength and movement.
The chair offers another way into that world.
Yes, you might sweat
The name “Pilates Chair” doesn’t exactly conjure images of a particularly dynamic workout.
Upstate knows this.
In fact, one of the things the team would most like people to understand is how different the reality can be from the perception.
“You might picture something quite slow and traditional when you hear ‘Pilates chair’, but there’s actually a lot of strength, balance and movement involved.”
And yes, they confirm: “You can definitely work up a sweat!”
But intensity isn’t really the most interesting measure of the class.
What stands out is how many different things your body is being asked to do at once.
Balance while creating strength. Control a movement while coordinating different parts of the body. Work against resistance while maintaining stability.
Developing the class has been a reminder to the Upstate team of just how much variety exists within Pilates.
“The chair can challenge your strength, balance, mobility and coordination in such different ways. It’s made us appreciate even more how many ways there are to move your body.”
The best part might be surprising yourself
There is a particular vulnerability that comes with trying a new kind of movement.
You don’t know where to put your feet. You’re concentrating on the instructions that everyone else appears to understand. Your body may not immediately do the thing your brain is asking it to do.
It can be tempting to wait until you feel more prepared.
Upstate’s advice is considerably simpler.
“Just give it a go!”
Because the class isn’t designed around arriving with mastery. It can be adapted to different levels, with the instructor there to guide you through it.
“It might look a little intimidating at first, but once you’re on the chair and the instructor talks you through it, it starts to make a lot more sense.”
And then comes the part they’re most excited about.
“You might surprise yourself with what you can do.”
Perhaps that is the more compelling reason to try something unfamiliar.
Not because we need another workout to conquer or another metric to improve, but because occasionally it is good to put ourselves in a position where we don’t quite know what our bodies are capable of yet.
Upstate hopes people will leave Pilates Chair feeling strong, energised and proud of themselves for trying something new.
But there is another feeling they would like people to carry out of the studio with them.
“A bit more confidence in what their body can do.”
And maybe the reminder that trying something new doesn’t have to be intimidating.
Although there is one reaction they’re expecting to hear fairly often:
“Okay, that was harder than I expected.”
And somehow, we suspect that might be exactly the point.
Want to try Pilates Chair? Find out more at Upstate Studios here.
