Pilates (; ) is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by the Greek German-born Joseph Pilates (). It is especially practiced in the United States (where Pilates lived, developed and taught his method) and the United Kingdom (where he lived and taught early stages of his method). As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States. Pilates called his method “contrology” (from “control” and Greek , -logia).
