WHAT IS REFORMER PILATES? A PLAIN-ENGLISH GUIDE

THE MACHINE, PIECE BY PIECE

The reformer is the machine the whole thing is named after. Picture a low, padded bed frame. The padded part, called the carriage, sits on wheels and glides up and down the frame. Joseph Pilates built the first version around a hundred years ago, and the story goes that he rigged springs to hospital beds so patients could exercise while lying down. The modern machine is considerably more comfortable, but the idea has not changed much.

A few parts come up in every class. The footbar is a padded bar at one end that you press against with your feet or hands. The straps are two long cords with loops for hands or feet. Shoulder rests and an adjustable headrest keep you settled while the carriage moves. And underneath the carriage sit the springs, which are the part that matters most.

During a class you will lie on the carriage, sit on it, kneel on it and sometimes stand on it. Each position changes which muscles do the work. That is most of the machine's trick: one piece of equipment, several hundred exercises.

THE SPRINGS ARE THE CLEVER BIT

Springs connect the carriage to the frame. They are colour-coded by strength, and your instructor tells you which ones to attach for each exercise. Changing them takes about two seconds and quickly becomes automatic.

Here is the part that surprises people: more springs does not always mean harder. For some exercises, heavy springs support you, carrying part of your body weight so you can move well. For others, a single light spring is the difficult option, because almost nothing is holding the carriage steady and your own muscles have to do it instead. Anyone who assumed the lightest setting was the easy way out tends to revise that opinion mid-exercise.

The springs also work in both directions. Pushing the carriage out takes effort, and letting it glide back is not a rest. You control the return, slowly, against the pull of the springs. That slow return is where much of the work happens, which is why reformer pilates looks calm and feels otherwise.

HOW A CLASS ACTUALLY RUNS

A group reformer class is instructor-led from start to finish. Nobody is left to guess what a strap is for. At our studio a class runs 45 minutes with a maximum of eight people, one bed each, so the trainer can see everyone and adjust as needed. That is the point of keeping classes small.

Most classes follow a similar shape. You start lying down with footwork, pressing the carriage away with your feet, which warms up the legs and lets you get the feel of the machine. Then comes the main sequence: exercises for the whole body, with the muscles around your trunk involved in nearly all of them. You finish with slower stretching work. Throughout, the instructor calls out the exercise, the spring setting and the options.

Those options are how one class serves all levels. The same exercise usually has a gentler version, a harder version, and a spring change available on your own bed. A beginner and someone on their hundredth class can work side by side, each at their own edge, and nobody across the room can tell which is which.

REFORMER OR MAT PILATES?

Mat pilates and reformer pilates share the same method and most of the same principles: slow, precise, controlled movement. The difference is equipment — on the mat, your body weight is the only resistance, while the reformer's springs add resistance where you want it and support where you need it. You do not need mat experience first. Arriving at the reformer as a complete beginner is normal, and common.

WHO IT SUITS

Most people, honestly. Because the springs can assist as well as resist, and because exercises come in easier and harder versions, reformer pilates works across a wide range of ages and fitness levels. It is low-impact, with no jumping and no pounding, which is partly why it appeals to people returning to exercise, people who sit at a desk all day, and people whose knees have opinions about running.

It is commonly used to build strength, balance and flexibility, and many people simply find it a good way to move well for three quarters of an hour. What it is not is treatment. If you have an injury or a health condition, talk to your GP before starting, then tell your instructor, because exercises can usually be adapted around most things once the trainer knows.

A WORD ON EFFORT

It is as hard as your spring settings and chosen options make it. Expect effort of a particular kind: deep, muscular and precise rather than breathless, with the occasional leg shake during footwork — normal and, according to instructors everywhere, a good sign. Mild muscle soreness a day or two after a first class is commonly reported and fades as your body adapts. The learning curve is short: by the third class you will be changing springs without thinking about it.

QUICK ANSWERS

RELATED READING

Your first reformer pilates class: what to expect — Booked in already? Here is exactly what your first class looks like, from arrival to the slightly wobbly walk out.

Reformer vs mat pilates: which should you start with? — Weighing the machine against the mat? We compare the two honestly, cost included.