# Keke Palmer's Pilates class is about strength, not thinness > The Robbins native turned a Chicago exercise festival into a room full of people learning to feel better, not look smaller. - Title: Keke Palmer's Pilates class is about strength, not thinness - Summary: The Robbins native turned a Chicago exercise festival into a room full of people learning to feel better, not look smaller. Fitness built around community… - Keywords: keke palmer, pilates, chicago, wellness, celebrity fitness, news, local, Keke, Palmer's, class, strength, thinness - Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/arts-and-culture/2026/09/14/keke-palmer-pilates-class-salt-shed-chicago-robbins-actor-fitness-influencer - Published: 2026-09-14T19:10:23.989+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: keke palmer, pilates, chicago, wellness, celebrity fitness, news, local ## A Pilates class with jokes Keke Palmer's mat class ran casual and conversational. She cracked jokes between leg stretches, and the room laughed as much as it worked. ## Nearly 250 people showed up The class filled the Salt Shed on Sunday as part of the second annual exercise festival Move at the Shed. ## Hot pink and green light The 33-year-old actress, singer and host wore hot pink leggings and a matching top, and complimented the room's tranquil green lighting from the stage. ## She sang her own playlist The background music was a playlist of songs from her albums, and she occasionally sang along while leading hip rolls and squats. ## Practice by Palmer The class promoted her digital wellness platform, which offers workouts, recorded audio messages and live chats with her. ## A millennial celebrity trend She is not alone. Gunna runs the global Wunna Run Club, ASAP Ferg teaches cycling and boot camp, and Hilary Duff fronts a "stronger, not smaller" campaign for Ladder. ## Against the GLP-1 moment With weight-loss drugs dominating the conversation, Palmer's pitch is community and mental and physical well-being instead of thinness. ## Not about a six-pack In a fireside chat with ABC7 anchor Val Warner, Palmer said mobility is the point and how you feel matters more than how you look. > Everybody's body is beautiful. Pilates is really just about being able to be mobile. ## Like a friend from home Natalie Dowdell, 38, of Ravenswood, called the class a good mix of Keke's personality and a real workout, and said she checks out anything Palmer does. > She feels like a friend that you know from home. ## It started after her son Palmer picked up Pilates after giving birth in 2023, then decided she wanted to move past personal practice and give something back. > How can I be on my Tony Robbins? ## Working since she was 11 A career that began with "Akeelah and the Bee" and "True Jackson VP" left her in constant survival mode. Her recent TED Talk covers how she is learning to prevent burnout. ## Scarcity as trauma Her parents, who met in Chicago theater, backed her dreams, but she felt pressure to be the breadwinner early while the family climbed out of poverty. > Scarcity is really scary. Everything feels like you're a second away from losing it. That's trauma. ## Booked as the unexpected Salt Shed programming manager Mary McKeen wanted rare and unexpected experiences for the festival, and said Palmer is all about remembering to take care of yourself. ## Fans who grew up with her Most attendees were women in their 20s and 30s. Keralynn Little, 29, said seeing a Black girl in lead roles mattered, and that Palmer feels like she is growing up alongside them. > So the fact that she got into fitness, it kind of feels like she's growing up with us. ## Front row, unknown, devoted Ines Herrera, 26, of Lincoln Square, praised Palmer for being authentically herself and claimed a front row spot. > And she may never know who I am, but I'm still a dedicated fan. ## A pro sized her up Jennifer Hill, a 62-year-old Pilates instructor, came to study the sequence and said Palmer managed to tailor a mass class to bodies she could not see or know. ## The city made it official Chicago Public Health Commissioner Garth Walker presented Palmer with a resolution proclaiming Sept. 13 "Practice by Palmer Day." ## Still empowering people Hill's daughter loved "Akeelah and the Bee" years ago. Hill said Palmer is doing the same thing now, just in a different room. > It was an empowering movie. And [Keke] is continuing to do that now. ## Key takeaway Fitness built around community and mobility lands differently than fitness built around shrinking.