First she was Brat, now she’s a Pilates girlie.
“You know what I’ve been doing though recently is Pilates,” former vice president Kamala Harris told actor Keke Palmer on an episode of the “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast, posted October 15.
Harris said that, along with a walk with her husband Doug Emhoff, time to cook, and a family dinner, the workout would be part of her perfect Sunday. Harris, who is 61, has no biological children, but she helped co-parent Cole, 32, and Ella, 27, Emhoff’s kids from his previous marriage.
Harris said Pilates gives her “an overall feeling of well-being” and helps her feel empowered in her daily life.
“There’s so much about empowerment that is about knowing your strength and recognizing it,” she said. Through Pilates, which emphasizes the brain-body connection, she said she feels more connected to her physical strength.
“I’m just realizing that there are all of these muscles and areas that I have not been exercising,” Harris said.
Originally popular among dancers, models, and celebrities, Pilates has become the workout du jour. It was the most-booked workout on ClassPass globally last year, with bookings up 66% from 2024, beating both strength training and running. And luxury hotels, including some Ritz-Carlton and St Regis locations, have installed Pilates studios as a buzzy luxury amenity.
Harris is in good company — celebs including Jennifer Aniston, Miley Cyrus, and Hailey Bieber have all professed to love it, too.
The longevity boom might also be partially to thank for the spike in Pilates’ popularity.
The low-impact form of strength and mobility training uses controlled, precise movements to strengthen the core and the deep muscles that stabilize the joints. It can improve functional strength, posture, and balance — all things that keep a person mobile and independent as they age. A 2021 systematic review published in the journal Physiotherapy found that among the 1,650 participants age 60 or older, those who did Pilates had a significantly lower risk of falling, a serious risk factor for hip fracture, inactivity, and muscle loss.
Harris told Palmer, who qualified as a Pilates instructor earlier this year, that she prefers reformer, where exercises are done on a sliding carriage attached to weighted springs, to mat Pilates.
Harris didn’t say how many times a week she does Pilates, but based off her excitement talking about it, she could be on her way to full Pilates girlie status.
Someone get this woman a matching set and iced matcha latte stat.
