The popularity of Pilates has exploded lately, but there’s a lot of history behind the hype. It’s been around almost a hundred years, but it has only recently gained widespread exposure. Tracing the Pilates method back to its roots can help you understand the basis of the program.

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. His father had been a champion gymnast and his mother was a naturopath who believed in the capacity of the body to heal itself without drugs. It might not surprise you then that young Joseph came to love exercise more and more throughout his youth. Despite the fact that he was initially small and sickly, he began to practice bodybuilding, wrestling, martial arts and gymnastics, and educate himself on human anatomy. His training was so effective that in his adolescent years, he was already modeling for anatomy charts.

Ironically, the Pilates method might not have ever seen the light of day had it not been for World War I. When the war began, Joseph Pilates was in England, where he had been performing in the circus and as a professional boxer. This was not a good thing, since he had been born and raised in Germany. As you might expect, he was placed into an internment camp. During this period of time, Pilates became driven to develop an exercise routine that could be performed in confined quarters so that he could help those interns with ill health rehabilitate their bodies. He drew upon his knowledge of historical exercise practices as well as utilizing his own experiences when it came to staying fit.

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