Ash Pryor’s Pilates Program Proves Worth the Wait: A Review After Taking the 9 Classes

Ash Pryor’s Advanced Beginner Pilates Program landed on Peloton August 21, giving members their first look at Ash off the rower and on the mat. After finishing all nine classes across the two-week program, one thing became clear to me: this Pilates Program does not just introduce beginners to the fundamentals, it makes them feel like they already belong.

A Big Step for Ash Pryor

Ash joined the Peloton instructor roster in 2022 as a Row specialist, and rowing remained her only modality for years. That changed this August, when Peloton confirmed Ash’s Pilates certification and paired it with a full Pilates program rather than a single class drop. The Clip Out covered the announcement when it first broke, noting that this program marks Ash’s first time teaching off the Row entirely.

That matters more than it might seem on the surface. Members who know Ash from her rowing cadence calls and race-day energy are now meeting her in a completely different setting, one built on stillness, control, and small movements instead of power strokes. Stepping into a new modality after years of building a following in another one is a real risk, and Ash treats it like an invitation rather than a hurdle. She opens every class the same way: “Let’s fall in love with Pilates together.” It sets the tone before a single rep happens.

Inside the Advanced Beginner Pilates Program Structure

The Pilates program spans two weeks, with four class days each week and rest days built in between. Week one opens with a 5 minute warm up (meant to be done before any Pilates class in the program) paired with a 15 minute class, then moves into two 20 minute classes, and closes with a 30 minute session. Week two repeats that same progression, a 15 minute class followed by two 20 minute classes and a final 30 minute class, but this time a small Pilates ball joins the mat starting on day one.

That build matters for anyone who has ever felt intimidated walking into a Pilates class. Instead of dropping members into a long, advanced flow, the program lets confidence build in small, deliberate steps. By the time the sessions stretch to 30 minutes, the fundamentals already feel familiar.

Cueing That Builds Confidence, One Piece at a Time

I began this program with some experience, but wanted to see what I could learn about and adjust in my form. I have been doing mat Pilates for 5 years, all with Peloton. I jumped right into classes and skipped over a beginner Pilates program (like the one still available from Kristen McGee) and went to intermediate level classes. They were daunting and I felt woefully incompetent for months. Having completed Ash’s program, I definitely recommend starting here (or with other beginner classes if you don’t have time for the full program). If you are like me and simply thought you could learn by doing and consider yourself intermediate now, I still encourage you to take this program anyway. I improved my form so much as the program continued and was stronger at the end. I don’t have the Row (yet!) and it was also a joy to get to know Ash better.

The single biggest strength of this program is how Ash explains movement. Her cues are specific, visual, and genuinely funny, which makes them stick. During the warm up, she describes proper neck position by asking members to imagine holding a clementine under their chin, carefully – so as not to let the juice drip down their neck. For shoulder posture, she asks members to “show a chain,” an easy visual for pulling the shoulders back and down. She describes the spine as a string of pearls (that image will stick with me) and picturing lifting one pearl at a time during a roll-up. In between moves, she often tells members to use a towel to “wipe the sparkles” alongside her and then reset their form.

By class two, the tone turns into a promise: “Pinky swear you will work with your body, not against it,” she says, adding that there are “no demotions here.” Modifications show up constantly and are framed as options, not consolation prizes. That framing carries through the entire program, and it is a large part of why the pacing works for true beginners without ever feeling like it is holding more experienced members back.

One of the clearest examples comes in class three, when Ash offers three levels of the same move: “kindergarten scissors,” “kitchen scissors,” and “full scissors.” Giving a beginner move an actual name, rather than just calling it a modification, removes the stigma that often comes with scaling a movement down. It is a small choice with a big effect. She reinforces that mindset directly, telling members the goal is “not perfection, awareness.” When I was starting out in intermediate classes, I was never given permission to do smaller scissors and so I struggled unnecessarily for a good while.

Breaking Down the Teaser (and Everything Else)

The program’s progression is easy to feel in real time. Class four adds twists, side plank, and swimming, layering complexity onto the foundation from the first three classes. Class five moves to 30 minutes and picks up the pace, then introduces the teaser, a move that intimidates plenty of longtime Pilates practitioners, let alone beginners. Ash breaks it into pieces and has members use their hands for assistance at first, reminding them, “It’s not cheating, it’s learning.”

That approach pays off. My form on double leg stretch and single leg stretch noticeably improves by class three, and my teaser kept getting stronger through class eight, to the point where it starts to feel like an entirely different movement than the one introduced days earlier, or that I had been doing in previous classes. Watching that kind of progress happen inside a single program, rather than over months of scattered classes, is part of what makes the structure so effective.

The Pilates Ball Adds a New Layer

Week two introduces a small Pilates ball, and Ash treats it as a new tool rather than a new obstacle. Class six brings the first ball work along with an introduction to Criss-Cross and Swan. Class seven adds a mermaid stretch and clamshells, and Ash’s cheerleader energy shows up in full force here, with an easy “we did that” after tougher combinations. Class eight layers in side leg lifts and more twists, spends most of its time up on the knees, and closes with two minutes of teaser work along with bear plank, a fitting bookend to how far the movement has come since it was first introduced. A bear plank has always been a frustrating move for me, generally feeling nothing, other than my wrists. Using the ball, my bear plank finally felt like there was something happening in my core.

Class nine brings it all together. Ash tells members that are athletes with larger bodies directly that Pilates is for them too. This is critical messaging that Peloton embraces – movement and exercise is for everyone. Ash often says, “All are welcome here” and she means it. She also encourages anyone without a Pilates ball to consider getting one as a very helpful tool as they start their Pilates journey – see one inexpensive option here. Finally she reminds members to rest exactly as much as they need because “there is no shame in the game”. She mentions her knee surgery last year in several of the classes and how she often has to use modifications on that leg. Permission to allow recovery or to not be perfect is always great messaging.

The final class closes with a line that sums up the entire experience: “I look forward to many more times together.” I do, too, Ash!

The Music is an Upbeat Joyride

In this program there is some music for everyone. It pulls from a wide range of genres and includes plenty of strong remixes, which keeps a mat-based format from ever feeling monotonous. Some of the artists she chose for the program include Olivia Dean, ODESZA, Lenny Kravitz, Britney Spears, RUFUS DU SOL, A Tribe Called Quest, Luther Vandross and Drake. I added a few songs to my Peloton Spotify playlist after loving them in her classes. You will find the beat and groove along with her throughout each class and never feel bored by the music or the rhythm.

Why Ash Pryor’s Pilates Program Works for True Beginners

What separates this Pilates program from a typical beginner class is repetition of encouragement paired with real structure. Every move gets broken into pieces before it gets put back together. Each modification gets offered without judgment. And the phrases “you did that” and “we did that” show up often enough that by the final class, working out with Ash starts to feel less like following an instructor and more like training alongside a bestie who happens to know exactly how to explain a Pilates roll up.

Pilates itself is well suited to that kind of teaching. Cleveland Clinic notes that the practice builds flexibility, muscle tone, and strength while remaining accessible regardless of age, fitness level, or health status, which lines up closely with how this program is built from the ground up.

One of my Clip Out colleagues, Elizabeth Schlosberg (#MinuteToSpinIt), took this Pilates program along with me and commented that she felt it had the music for fans of Hannah Frankson and the supportive commentary of those that love JJ. She also deeply appreciated how Ash breaks down the moves, does most of them with head down for neck comfort, and also offers different breath options. 

Representation That Sets Peloton Apart

There is something worth pointing out beyond the workouts themselves. Ash Pryor is a larger-bodied athlete leading a Pilates program on one of the most well known connected fitness platforms in the world, and she says so directly to her class, telling members that Pilates is for “larger body athletes” too. That statement carries weight in a category that has not always shown a wide range of body types on screen.

Peloton’s instructor roster spans a wide range of ages, body types, backgrounds, and abilities, and that range shows up across every modality the platform offers, not just Pilates. Seeing an instructor who looks like a significant share of the member base, leading a beginner program with this much warmth and precision, is exactly the kind of representation that deserves to be highlighted rather than treated as a footnote. It is one of the things that continues to separate Peloton from a lot of the fitness industry, and it deserves real credit.

That point came into sharper focus recently when Ash shared a testimonial from a member who admitted, in her own words, that she nearly skipped Ash’s classes altogether. The member described being reluctant at first, held back by the assumption that a larger athlete could not be as challenging or motivating, and called herself out on exactly what it was: bias. She went on to credit Ash with becoming the most motivating instructor she has taken on the platform, someone whose commentary and music left her in tears, covered in goosebumps, and pushing harder than she expected, and said that connection is what carried her from a casual rower into someone who has since signed up for lessons on the water.

Ash’s response, posted alongside the testimonial, was just as direct. She thanked the member for naming her own bias out loud and pointed out that larger-bodied trainers are routinely counted out, questioned, and underestimated before they ever get the chance to coach, a reality she said she is not complaining about so much as making visible. She also connected the moment to her own health journey, sharing that she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and made a promise to herself never to let her appearance determine her worth as an athlete. It is a reminder that the representation Peloton offers goes beyond who shows up on screen. It shapes who feels welcome to press play in the first place.

Final Verdict

Ash’s Advanced Beginner Pilates Program lands at a moment when Pilates is already one of the fastest-growing categories on the platform. With cueing that is this approachable and a structure built to grow confidence one class at a time, this Pilates program could easily become the entry point that brings an entirely new group of members to the mat.

This was a thoughtfully devised program, complete with a well-earned badge at the end, that any member can truly benefit from – whether you are brand new to Pilates or have been trying your hand at intermediate Pilates for years (like me!). I look forward to taking more of her Pilates classes as they become available on the Peloton platform.

Check out Ash Pryor’s Instagram to see her journey through the launch of this program and to cheer her on as she trains for the NYC Marathon. There is truly nothing she can’t do and we are here to celebrate all of it.

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