What Is Hot Pilates? Temperature, Benefits, and Safety

Hot pilates is a mat pilates class taught in a heated room, usually somewhere between 80 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the studio, often with light weights, bands, or a ball and a faster pace than traditional pilates. The heat makes you sweat more and raises your heart rate, but research on hot yoga suggests the movement, not the temperature, drives most of the fitness benefits.

Here is what to expect in a class, how it differs from regular pilates and hot yoga, who should skip it, and how to prepare so your first one goes well.

How hot is hot pilates?

There is no standard. Studios set their own temperature, and the number on the schedule matters:

Many studios use infrared panels in the ceiling, which warm your body directly rather than heating the air, so the room can feel hotter than the thermostat suggests. Humidity also changes how heat feels. A humid 90°F room is harder than a dry one. If the schedule does not list the temperature, ask the front desk before you book.

What happens in a hot pilates class

Most hot pilates is mat-based. A 45- to 60-minute class typically includes:

• Warm-up: breathing, spinal mobility, and light core work.
• Core blocks: classic pilates moves like the hundred, roll-ups, single-leg stretch, and criss-cross.
• Strength intervals: lunges, squats, bridges, and arm work with 2- to 5-pound weights or bands. This is where hot pilates often moves faster than a classical mat class, sometimes in interval blocks.
• Cool-down: stretching as your heart rate settles.

Some branded formats lean closer to HIIT, with timed rounds and music. Others are a standard mat class with the heat turned up. The class description usually tells you which. Reformer classes are rarely heated, partly because of the equipment and partly because sweat on a moving carriage is slippery.

Hot pilates vs regular pilates vs hot yoga

If you have never done pilates, take a few room-temperature classes first. The heat adds stress, and it is easier to learn the movements without also managing sweat and a racing heart. Start with our pilates for beginners guide. If you are deciding between heated formats, what is hot yoga covers the other side.

Benefits of hot pilates, and what the heat does

Hot pilates has the benefits of pilates: core endurance, flexibility, and muscular endurance, which a randomized trial measured after 12 weeks of twice-weekly mat classes (Kloubec, 2010). The heat adds a few things:

• Higher heart rate. Your heart works harder to cool you, so the class feels more like cardio.
• More sweat. That is mostly water loss, and it comes back when you drink. Sweating more does not mean burning much more fat.
• Muscles feel looser. Warm muscles move more easily, which feels good. It can also tempt you to push stretches past your normal range, so stay inside what feels controlled.

There is no research comparing hot pilates to room-temperature pilates directly. The closest evidence comes from hot yoga. In a 12-week study, Bikram yoga improved blood vessel function equally whether it was done at 105°F or at about 73°F, which suggests the heat was not what produced the benefit (Hunter et al., Experimental Physiology). Choose heat if you enjoy it. The research so far does not show you need it to get results.

Is hot pilates safe?

For healthy adults who hydrate and listen to their bodies, it is generally fine. Heat does add real strain. In an American Council on Exercise study of experienced hot yoga students in a 105°F room, core body temperatures climbed steadily through a 90-minute class, and seven of 20 participants passed 103°F (ACE). Most hot pilates rooms are cooler and classes are shorter, but the same caution applies.

Skip hot classes or talk to your doctor first if you:

• are pregnant (the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists lists hot yoga and hot pilates among activities to avoid during pregnancy; see ACOG)
• have heart disease, high or low blood pressure, diabetes, or a history of fainting or heat illness
• take medications that affect heat tolerance or hydration
• are sick, hungover, or did not drink enough water that day

During class, stop and sit or lie down if you feel dizzy, nauseated, confused, or stop sweating. Leave the room if it does not pass. Instructors would much rather you step out than push through.

What to wear and bring

• Light, fitted, moisture-wicking clothes. Shorts or cropped leggings and a tank or sports bra. Cotton gets heavy fast.
• Grip socks, if the studio asks for them. Some heated mat classes are barefoot.
• A large water bottle. Drink before class too, not just during.
• A mat towel. A towel over your mat stops you from sliding in planks.
• A change of clothes for the trip home, especially in a Maine winter.

Our post on what to wear to pilates covers fabrics and grip socks in more detail.

Your first hot pilates class

1. Pick the lowest-temperature class on the schedule.
2. Eat a light snack one to two hours before, not a full meal.
3. Set up near the door, where the air is a little cooler and stepping out is easy.
4. Use the lightest weights and take the easiest version of each move.
5. Drink small sips through class, and have water and something salty afterward if you sweated heavily.

Give yourself three or four classes before deciding whether you like the heat. The first one is usually the hardest.

Where to find heated classes in Portland, Maine

Portland Power Yoga on Cove Street is the best-known heated studio in Portland and also keeps mat pilates on its schedule. Several other studios heat select classes, so check individual schedules for the temperature and format. Browse heated and room-temperature options on our Portland pilates directory.

Full disclosure: Corvi is our app. You book with your studio as usual, then check in on Corvi to log the class, keep your streak, and see when friends are headed to the same session. It is free.

Common questions

What is the difference between hot pilates and regular pilates?

Hot pilates takes place in a heated room, usually 80 to 100°F, and often moves faster with light weights or bands. Regular pilates is done at room temperature with a slower, more precise pace on a mat or reformer. The core exercises are similar. The heat raises your heart rate and sweat rate, which makes hot pilates feel more like cardio.

Is hot pilates good for beginners?

It is better as a second step. Learning pilates movements is easier at room temperature, without also managing heat and a high heart rate. Take a few regular mat classes first, then try the lowest-temperature hot class on the schedule. If you go straight to hot pilates, take the easiest options and rest whenever you need to.

Does hot pilates burn more calories?

Somewhat, mostly because your heart rate is higher in the heat and many hot classes move faster. Much of the weight you lose in class is water, which comes back when you rehydrate. Research on hot yoga found the same fitness benefits with or without the heat, so choose the room you will keep returning to.

Is hot pilates safe?

For most healthy adults who hydrate well and rest when needed, yes. Heat raises core temperature and heart rate, so stop if you feel dizzy, nauseated, or confused. Avoid hot classes during pregnancy, and talk to your doctor first if you have heart conditions, blood pressure issues, diabetes, or a history of heat illness.

Find your next class: see every heated and room-temperature option on our Portland pilates directory, or join Corvi free.