11 ways reformer Pilates could benefit your mind and body
Reformer Pilates is everywhere. If it's not our fave celebrities doing it (Adele, Hailey Bieber and Margot Robbie are all avid fans), it's all over Instagram, so if you're new to reformer Pilates, you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about.
A UK survey by HFE even found 70% of people would now choose Pilates over yoga; most citing its potential with weight loss and muscle toning, as well as strength and mobility training. These are all valid benefits of reformer Pilates, but there's more. Reformer Pilates can also be effective for weight loss if that's your goal (one study showed that 12 weeks of consistent reformer Pilates classes could improve body composition), while the use of a reformer machine can test your balance and coordination.
Read on for our full list of reformer Pilates benefits, as well as the difference between reformer Pilates and regular Pilates, and how to use a reformer machine.
Looking for studios? Check out our guide to reformer Pilates near you.
What is reformer Pilates?
The reformer — the name given to the entire platform and frame used in reformer Pilates — is probably the most famous piece of Pilates equipment. And, if you aren’t familiar, it looks kind of scary.
In reformer Pilates, a frame, called the ‘carriage’, moves around on wheels and is attached to one end by a set of springs, which provides resistance as the platform is moved. There’s also a foot bar and long straps, which can be used by the legs and arms, and shoulder blocks for stopping the practitioner falling off when working out.
A reformer Pilates machine can be used in a huge range of ways to benefit strength, flexibility and balance; the majority involving pushing or pulling the platform against the spring resistance and controlling the movement back, or holding it in place, though this can be done standing, sitting, upside down and using all the different elements of the Reformer.
The versatility of the equipment means it can continue to challenge even the most experienced Pilates practitioners; often by holding more of the body off the platform or with the springs on a lighter setting, requiring more strength and engagement.
Reformer Pilates classes may also include the use of Pilates balls, Pilates rings, ankle weights and resistance bands.
What are the benefits of reformer Pilates?
Have you seen Elle Macpherson (just one of many who loves herself a reformer Pilates fix)? Though the results speak for themselves, the benefits of Pilates aren’t just celebrity fluff.
'It's brilliant for everyone as it's an inclusive workout method', says James Shaw, Pilates instructor at Frame. 'Whether you’re a pro athlete, office worker or new to working out, reformer pilates will help develop your whole body'.
Like mat Pilates, reformer Pilates benefits include the following:
Improves strength — particularly around the core, back, glutes and thighs
Improves flexibility
Improves balance
Improves focus
Improves coordination
Improves posture
Improves body alignment
Lowers blood pressure
Improves cardiovascular health
Can ease lower back pain, as it focuses on stabilising the spinal muscles
Can aid weight loss, when teamed with balanced nutrition
How to use a reformer Pilates machine
Reformer Pilates is accessible to any age and fitness level, but it’s worth going to classes or getting a private teacher to ensure you understand the foundations of Pilates and how to isolate and activate your core muscles correctly. We'd also highly recommend attending a reformer Pilates class if you're pregnant, as opposed to trying a machine on your own.
The teachers will explain exactly how to use the board (known as the reformer), but your form and posture is key. 'Correct form and alignment are a fundamental part of Pilates, and it’s easy to feel that you’re in the right position when you’re not', says Justin Rogers, Head of Brand at Ten Health & Fitness. 'Often just a small change in your form will make a big difference to how effectively you’re working, and which muscles you’re engaging. A good instructor will adjust your position manually to make sure you're performing each exercise as safely and effectively as possible.'
Is mat Pilates as good as reformer Pilates?
Relative to mat Pilates, 'Quite simply, you can do more on the Reformer', says Justin Rogers, Head of Brand at Ten Health & Fitness. 'With the combination of adjustable spring resistance and a sliding platform, the Reformer can create resistance or instability (or both) to make exercises easier or harder in a way that the mat can’t.'
Can beginners do reformer pilates?
Like most types of exercise, many movements can be modified to ensure that reformer pilates is accessible to all experience levels – beginners included. If you’re early on in your reformer pilates journey, be sure to book beginner-friendly classes so you can learn the exercises at a manageble pace and with the support of a teacher. Don’t be afraid, if an exercise feels too challenging or you aren’t sure of how to perform it correctly, to ask for help from your teacher.
Does reformer Pilates change your body shape?
Despite the internet leading you to believe that Pilates creates long, lean muscles it does not - y0u can not lengthen your muscles. Think what you'd look like if you did and your muscles were longer than your bones. What it does do, is strengthen your muscles through 'eccentric muscle contractions’, which is the name given to the motion of an active muscle lengthening as it resists a force or load. Eccentric training, which reformer Pilates comes under, involves doing this repeatedly.
Read what happened when one WH staffer did reformer Pilates twice a week for a month.
Does reformer Pilates have mindful benefits too?
Though, unlike yoga, reformer Pilates wasn’t invented as a spiritual activity, it’s undoubtedly mindful. The proven mental benefits include improving memory; training the brain; the good old endorphin kick; and relieving anxiety and depression.
There are also specific workouts designed to flush the body of stress hormones, as well as releasing tension in the face that isn’t targeted during a normal stretch session.
With breathwork being the latest buzzword in wellbeing, it's noteworthy that it’s one of the six fundamental Pilates principles, with Pilates himself saying: ‘Above all, learn to breathe properly’. This is also a technique applied in reformer Pilates.
'The main thing beginners do wrong in reformer Pilates is to hold their breath!', says Shaw. 'We encourage breathing with the movement to help engage deeper abdominal muscles, lower blood pressure and help bring focus from the mind to the body.'
Read now: How to practise self-compassion and become more confident
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