In Her Campus’ series The College Try, our writers test out viral wellness, dating, fashion, productivity, and pop culture trends firsthand. This time, Jayona Monique Dorsey gives the U.S.’s largest reformer Pilates class the ol’ college try.
I got to trade my usual workout routine for a reformer, a room full of strangers, and one seriously challenging Pilates class — the largest reformer Pilates class in the United States, that is.
I’ve done my fair share of Pilates classes, but I had never taken one quite like this. On Sunday, Sept. 13, I was one of the 100 participants who climbed onto 100 reformers for a 50-minute Pilates class with BODYBAR Pilates — and it was anything but your average Sunday workout.
And because 100 reformers, 100 years, and 100 studios still weren’t enough, BODYBAR also used the moment to give back. The company donated $10,000 to the Foundation for Women’s Cancer, giving $100 for every reformer in the room in recognition of Gynecological Cancer Awareness Month. So, naturally, I had to celebrate the milestone by sweating my way through it.
I walked into the room already loving Pilates: I’ve been practicing for years and have tried everything from mat to hot Pilates. But walking into a room filled with 100 reformers was a completely different experience. Here’s how it went.
Instantly, I knew this class would be different.
As soon as I walked into the room, there was so much energy. People were laughing, stretching, taking pictures, and getting settled into their stations — but underneath all of that was the shared feeling that we were about to be part of something bigger than a regular Pilates class.
Then, the music started, the instructors took their places, and 100 reformers started moving almost at the exact same time. The class moved through a full-body sequence that included everything from footwork and deep stretches to the classic Hundred, seated and standing movements, and plenty of carriage work that had my shoulders and core questioning every decision that brought me there.
Was it hard? Not necessarily. It was more so a good challenge. But it pushed me in ways I wasn’t expecting.
The movements themselves weren’t impossible, even though there were definitely a few exercises I had never tried before. What made the class challenging was the repetition, the control, and that very specific Pilates burn that makes you realize muscles exist in places you forgot about.
Luckily, the instructors made everything feel approachable. Kamille McCollum, BODYBAR’s president and co-founder, led the class from the stage alongside other instructors, while additional instructors moved throughout the room. If I got stuck on a movement, I barely had time to wonder what I was doing wrong before someone was there to demonstrate, adjust my form, or give me a modification. That made a huge difference.
Instead of feeling like I was trying to keep up with 99 other people, I still felt like I was being coached individually. And with so many different bodies, ages, and experience levels in the room, that sense of accessibility felt intentional. “One of the best moments was whenever I would say, ‘everybody take your hands overhead,’ and the whole room had their hands overhead,” McCollum told me after the class. “I think it just shows that women are so strong, and when we decide to put something out there and do something, then we’re going to get it done.”
Looking across the room, I understood exactly what she meant. There was something special about seeing 100 people move together, especially when the room represented so many different bodies and backgrounds. “It [was] also really cool to see all the different bodies in the room,” she says, “and be able to see that Pilates is for everybody.”
And that was probably my biggest takeaway from the class: Pilates can sometimes feel intimidating from the outside. The reformer itself looks complicated, classes can be expensive, and social media has created a very specific image of what a Pilates girl is supposed to look like. But inside that room, the focus was much simpler: show up, move your body, and meet yourself where you are.
By the end of the class, my muscles were shaking, I was sweaty, and I could already feel the soreness setting in. But I also felt accomplished. Then came the champagne — because after surviving 50 minutes of Pilates on 100 reformers, we all deserved a little celebration.
All in all, the U.S.’s largest reformer Pilates class was physically challenging, but the most rewarding part wasn’t seeing how long I could hold a position or how much I could push the carriage: It was being surrounded by people who all showed up for themselves, while also celebrating what can happen when women build, lead, and move together. And after this class, I think I’ll be stepping back onto the reformer.
