In the search for the right identity and mental peace, young women are flocking to a specific form of exercise: Reformer Pilates.
Here, training and wellness merge in an aesthetic universe where the right workout clothes also play a crucial role.
A new report from the fitness chain SATS shows that demand for the exercise form 'Reformer Gravity Pilates' has increased by 476 percent in the period from January 1, 2026, to June 15, 2026. The exercise form 'Hot Pilates' has also increased by 224 percent.
And one group in particular is massively represented among the participants. A full 90.5 percent are women, and a third of the participants are in the 20-29 age group. SATS reports this to DR.
One of the exercise-enthusiastic women is 19-year-old Ida Nyholm. She started Reformer Pilates at the fitness chain Puregym just under a year ago and has no intention of giving it up.
Ida Nyholm, 19, during an hour of Reformer Pilates. (Photo: © Private photo.)
- It's a good break from everyday life, and when I leave, I feel light in my body, she says.
Ida Nyholm was actually skeptical about starting. She had seen pretty, aesthetic pictures and videos of the exercise form on social media and thought it seemed overhyped. Still, she became curious and went for it.
- I have done yoga and Pilates (exercises on a mat, ed.) at home, so I wanted to see what the Reformer could do. Then I just thought it was really cool, says Ida Nyholm.
For those who haven't heard of this exercise form before, you perform various exercises that activate large and small muscle groups, similar to Pilates on a mat. With Reformer Pilates, the exercises are done on a machine instead, where you perform the training lying down or sitting with varying resistance from springs.
It's not only at SATS that this popular exercise form can be seen. It can also be seen at the Reformer training chain Energii. Last year, the company expanded with new training centers, and in the last three months, Energii has had nearly 400,000 attendees for Reformer Pilates across their over 30 training centers. The company reports this to DR.
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What is special about the Reformer?
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Reformer Pilates is good in many ways, but according to physiotherapist at Nørrebro Fysioterapi, Hugo Petersen, there is one main explanation.
- It is a gentle way to train the core of the body, what we call the core, he says.
The exercise form is popular among women, and that makes good sense according to Hugo Petersen.
- Reformer Pilates is particularly effective for people with injuries. We see, among others, many women who come after giving birth, he explains.
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Reformer signals a specific identity
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According to trend researcher at the trend bureau pej gruppen, Louise Byg Kongsholm, the explosive growth in this specialized exercise form makes good sense. It's not just about becoming flexible and stretchy, but also about mental health and the signals young women want to send.
- Reformer Pilates signals an identity that says "I have control over my mental health," and not necessarily "I am trained." And for young women, wellness is no longer just health; it becomes status consumption. A way of saying: I prioritize the whole. It's almost morally charged, she says.
The desire to send a signal that you prioritize your mental health through select exercise forms has become so sought after that specific clothing brands, like the Danish Exercere, are gaining ground among young women.
The company, which started as a small business on Instagram, ended 2024 with a million-dollar profit (https://kobenhavnliv.dk/osterbrogl/overskuddet-stiger-exercere-aps-fik-millionoverskud). And that's no coincidence, says trend researcher Louise Byg Kongsholm.
- Exercere has become successful because they offer an identity. They sell access to a world where it is prestigious to prioritize mental and physical health. They have made it socially acceptable to talk about wellness as self-representation instead of as fitness. Many people feel it is their identity they are buying, not their fitness, she says.
But for Ida Nyholm herself, it's about switching off her mind, and that's precisely what draws her to the training center about twice a week in Vesterbro, Copenhagen.
- The fact that you have to follow the instructor just means you can switch off. There's simply no room to think about all sorts of other things, because you have to concentrate on the exercises and keep up, she says.
When Ida Nyholm has finished a small hour of Reformer training, she feels she has more energy to handle everyday tasks.
- Exercise just does something good for me. Then I have been productive, and I am ready to do other things, because I have done something good for myself, she says.
It's not only women who try their hand at Reformer. SATS reports that 9.5 percent of participants on Reformer classes are men and that the number is rising. Here, for example, you can see how it went when a group of football boys tried the popular exercise form.
APR 30, 2026 | 16M *Zonen:* 8 football boys vs. REFORMER (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/episode/zonen_-8-fodbolddrenge-vs-reformer_595294)
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