Physical Capability for Life

Over the past year, I've found myself thinking less about fitness and more about physical capability.

Not what I can do today. What I'd like to be able to do at 80.

At 67, that question feels more important to me than how much I weigh, how much I can lift, or whether I've mastered another Pilates exercise.

I want to teach my grandnephews and grandnieces to ski. If I'm fortunate enough to have grandchildren one day, I'd like to teach them as well. Realistically, I'll probably be in my 80s before that opportunity comes.

I don't want to watch from the lodge. I want to carry their skis. Help them up after a fall. Spend the day on the mountain together. Wake up the next morning and do it all again.

That simple picture changed the way I think about my Pilates practice, every workout I do, and ultimately the life I'm preparing to live.

Classical Pilates is and has been an important part of my life for many years.

Years before Elizabeth and I began our work with Gratz Pilates, I came to believe that Joseph Pilates created the most thoughtful system of movement ever developed.

Since we became the stewards of Gratz, that conviction has only deepened. I've had the privilege of learning from extraordinary teachers whose understanding of the Method far exceeds my own. Every conversation reminds me how much more there is to learn.

The deeper I've gone into Classical Pilates, the more convinced I've become that it provides the foundation for a physically capable life.

That realization brought me back to the question I'd been asking myself all year: What do I want to be able to do at 80?

As I thought about this question, I realized there were a handful of physical abilities that would help me live that life.

The answer, for me, was to maintain my regular practice of Classical Pilates while adding strength training to my weekly routine.

Joseph Pilates Thought Bigger 

Joseph Pilates did not intend Contrology to exist in isolation.

He was deeply influenced by the broader physical culture movement of his era. He boxed. He wrestled. He practiced gymnastics. He skied. He believed that movement should prepare us for life—not simply for exercise.

The Classical apparatuses reflect that philosophy. Springs provide resistance. Many exercises require us to support our own body weight. Others ask us to combine strength, balance, mobility, precision, and control in increasingly demanding ways.

In my view, Joseph Pilates wasn't simply developing exercises. He was developing physically capable human beings. This idea feels just as relevant today as it did a century ago.

That brings me back to the question I've been asking myself:

What do I want to be able to do at 80?

Many people answer that question differently.

For some, the Classical repertoire itself is the answer. It is all they need and want.

Others complement their Pilates practice with dance, hiking, skiing, swimming, cycling, tennis, yoga, or countless other pursuits.

Each path reflects different interests, different aspirations, and different lives.

Rethinking My Goals

What do I want to be able to do at 80?

For me, the answer wasn't replacing anything. It was continuing my regular practice of Classical Pilates while adding a modest strength-training program. I believed it would complement the foundation Pilates had already given me. That Pilates foundation includes helping me maintain and increase range of motion, strength and an overall awareness of my body and how it works that would not be there without Pilates training.

I've established a handful of measurable performance goals for a few key strength exercises—not because the numbers themselves matter, but because they help me understand whether I'm becoming more capable of living the life I hope to enjoy.

Over time, I've come to realize that the numbers aren't the destination. They're simply signposts.

I don't really care how much I can bench press or how many pull-ups I can do.

I care whether those things help me carry a child's skis, spend a full day on the mountain, help them back onto their feet after a fall, and wake up excited to do it all again the next morning.

That's what those numbers are really measuring.

My Pilates journey is a critically important part of this. I'm still working to improve the fundamentals. I'm still learning. I'm still trying to better understand the Method. And yes, I'm working on advanced exercises like Snake and Twist—not because I expect perfection, but because I enjoy the process of learning. Those exercises demand many of the same qualities I'll need on that mountain years from now: strength, balance, mobility, control, and confidence.

Those, too, are signposts I'm watching as I prepare for the decades ahead.

One of the great gifts of Classical Pilates is that mastery is never really finished.

Strength training hasn't changed that journey for me.

If anything, it has reinforced it.

Classical Pilates has taught me how to move well. It has also made me strong in ways I never imagined when I started practicing. I am a more able skier. A faster tennis player. And, when I began adding strength training, I found I was starting stronger and way ahead of the game. I was able to move weights at the start that would otherwise have taken me months or years to work up to.

Strength training has also contributed to my Pilates practice.

Together, they've helped me prepare for the life I hope to be living at 80.

Continuing the Conversation

This essay isn't intended to provide answers.

It's intended to begin a conversation.

I don't expect all of us to reach the same conclusions.

In fact, I hope we don't.

Thoughtful conversations make our community stronger.

Joseph Pilates challenged us to become more capable human beings.

What do I want to be able to do at 80?