Looking to target your core strength and overall flexibility while being gentle on your joints? Pilates may be the low-impact workout for you. Invented by its namesake, Joseph Pilates, the workout is based on about 50 controlled movements, which can be done on a mat or using specialized equipment called reformers. Ready to feel the burn? The list below includes the winning studio from our Best of Arlington 2026 awards, along with the category’s other top vote-getters, as voted by Arlington Magazine readers.
Club Pilates
This Best of Arlington 2026 winner is a big name with boutique vibes. Its Clarendon studio opened last August, joining a gaggle of sister studios in the DMV, all with max class sizes of 12 and real people answering the phone. The Northern Virginia franchise has eight locations—all of them accessible to members with unlimited plans—including studios in Pentagon City, Falls Church and Tysons, with at least four more on the way. In terms of convenience, “that’s like Starbucks,” says franchise director of operations Erika Surma. Classes are clearly labeled by level so newbies can feel comfortable, and instructors weave in modern gym elements like TRX bands, all while maintaining focus on what’s at the—ahem—core of the exercise. 3000 Washington Blvd., Arlington (Clarendon); 1101 S. Joyce St., Arlington (National Landing); 6112 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church; and 116 Founders Ave., Falls Church
Club Studio Fitness
Another nationwide chain with a local feel, Club Studio Fitness offers Pilates reformers, along with personal training sessions, free weights, functional training, a cycling room and a yoga studio. And if you’re thinking, “Gee, did they forget about treadmills?” there are tons of those, too. Plus, when you’re done working up a sweat, you can unwind in the steam room, whirlpool spa or dry heat sauna. Grab a bite or a drink from the Organic Superfood Cafe to round out the experience. 3550 S. Clark St., Arlington (National Landing), and 1500 Cornerside Blvd., Vienna (Tysons)
Mind the Mat Pilates & Yoga
This women-owned studio has three locations in Arlington and Alexandria. With 180 classes each week, the 18-year-old business has all your Pilates, yoga and barre needs covered. Options include beginner classes, prenatal yoga, Pilates bootcamps and HAWT Pilates. The latter is a workout developed by Mind the Mat co-founder Megan Brown that combines Pilates and HIIT in a heated room. Want to become a yoga or Pilates instructor? Enroll in a teacher training class here. 2201 N. Pershing Drive, Arlington (Lyon Park); 3300 Fairfax Drive, Arlington (Virginia Square); and 2214 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria (Del Ray)
The Pilates Loft
In 2026, The Pilates Loft started offering foundational classes for new students to make the practice more accessible for first-timers. For 11 years, the studio has focused on classical instruction, with exercises performed sequentially as inventor Joseph Pilates intended them to be. Hit the mat, or a reformer—a platform on wheels with adjustable straps for resistance work—or a tower, a vertical contraption that attaches to a mat or reformer. In February, the studio’s Virginia Square location will get an expansion. 3444 Fairfax Drive, Arlington (Virginia Square), and 2407 Columbia Pike, Arlington (Columbia Pike)
Praxi Pilates
This self-described “contemporary Pilates studio” offers reformer, circuit and strength training. You can also combo them with a Reformer + Strength class, which adds dumbbells to reformer moves. There are classes for all levels of Pilates prowess. Additionally, one-on-one training is available for anyone looking to ease into the discipline or perfect their practice. 4141 N. Henderson Road, Arlington (Ballston)
RTR Pilates
According to its website, RTR’s goal is to make Pilates a sustainable part of your lifestyle and to build a community through camaraderie. Classes are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Another offering: 50-minute jumpboard classes, which add heart-pumping cardio to the standard Pilates moves. Participants in the latter classes launch themselves off a padded footboard on the reformer to add low-impact jumping to the sweat sesh. RTR Pilates opened its newest DMV location in North Arlington at the end of 2025. 2449 N. Harrison St., Arlington (Yorktown), and 6254 Old Dominion Drive, McLean