A frame, a carriage on rollers, a few springs and two straps: the Pilates Reformer does not look like a piece of equipment that requires a course of its own. That is precisely why a closer look is worthwhile – because what distinguishes it from a cable machine or a leg press lies not in its appearance but in the spring system. This article explains how the equipment works, how Reformer training differs from mat Pilates, what it achieves and who it is suitable for – with what the update Akademie course material actually says.
Where the Reformer comes from
Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in Germany in 1883. A sickly child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, he developed from his study of eastern and western movement practices – yoga, martial arts, gymnastics, Greco-Roman wrestling – a system he called “Contrology”: the art of controlling the body through the mind.
The Reformer has a very concrete origin. During the First World War, Pilates was interned in England as a German citizen and began there to rehabilitate sick and injured internees. He attached springs to hospital beds so that bedridden patients could train their limbs – the direct forerunner of today's Reformer. After the war he emigrated to New York and in 1926 opened a studio with his partner Clara near the New York City Ballet Company; dancers were among his first students. He died in 1967 at the age of 83.
That explains the construction: from the very beginning the springs were support, not just resistance.
The components and what they do
The Reformer allows exercises in almost every body position – lying, sitting, kneeling, standing. Its main components:
- Frame: the stable basic structure made of wood or metal. It defines the range of movement of the carriage and has to be checked regularly for stability and wear.
- Carriage: the moving platform on which training takes place. It glides along the frame on precisely manufactured rollers; a well-maintained carriage glides quietly and evenly, and this gliding quality is decisive for the training effect.
- Springs: the heart of the resistance system. They connect the carriage and the frame.
- Footbar: adjustable support point for feet and hands at the front end.
- Headrest: adjustable support at the head end, which promotes the alignment of the cervical spine.
- Shoulder rests: two padded blocks at the head end which prevent you from sliding upwards when pushing against the spring resistance.
- Straps and loops: long and short loops on ropes running over pulleys. Their length has to be checked before every exercise and set symmetrically.
- Platform: the fixed part at the front end, serving as a standing point for standing exercises.
The spring system: why the resistance is not constant
This is where the real difference from conventional fitness equipment lies: most machines work in one plane and with constant resistance – twenty kilos on the cable machine are just as heavy at the start of the movement as at the end. Springs, by contrast, generate a progressive resistance: the further the carriage is moved away from the end of the spring, the greater the resistance becomes. That has an immediate consequence – the hardest phase usually lies at the end of the range of movement, that is, exactly where the muscles are typically weakest.
Added to this is the return movement: in the eccentric phase the springs offer an active resistance that the person training has to control. This braking is one of the most valuable training stimuli of the Reformer – and often more demanding than the pushing. The combination of moving carriage and spring resistance makes the training easy on the joints and readily controllable.
Standard settings by spring strength
- 1 spring (light): for balance and stability exercises in which the body has to control the carriage under its own power.
- 2 springs (medium): standard resistance for most basic exercises – enough for effective strength training without putting control at risk.
- 3 springs (heavy): for strong trainees or for exercises such as the footwork series.
- 4 springs (very heavy): only for a few specific exercises and for advanced trainees.
Spring strengths vary from manufacturer to manufacturer; these figures are guide values, especially as some Reformers have only two red springs.
The most common misconception
More springs do not automatically mean more effort. In balance and plank exercises, less spring resistance makes the exercise harder, because the body has to control the unstable carriage without support. Anyone who teaches has to understand, for every single exercise, in which direction the spring resistance shifts the difficulty – the point on which beginner instructors most often get it wrong.
Reformer or mat: the actual difference
Mat and Reformer Pilates are the same method with the same six core principles: concentration, control, centring, precision, breathing and flow of movement. In both cases, centring takes place via the powerhouse – transversus abdominis, multifidus, pelvic floor and diaphragm. These four structures form a three-dimensional casing around the trunk which stabilises the spine and transmits force from the centre of the body into the extremities.
The difference lies in where the resistance comes from. On the mat you work against body weight and gravity; the Reformer adds a second, adjustable direction of force. The Roll Over, for instance, is the direct transfer of a mat exercise to the Reformer: whereas on the mat the arms press against the floor, on the equipment the short loops take over this function and actively involve shoulder and back stabilisation in the movement. Round Back, in turn, is the Reformer equivalent of the Roll Up on the mat.
In practical terms this means: the Reformer can make a movement easier by supporting it, and harder by providing resistance – sometimes within the same exercise. And anyone starting out gets clear feedback from the equipment: a juddering carriage gives away every bit of momentum.
What the training achieves
The effectiveness of the Pilates method is documented by a growing number of scientific studies. The most important effects at a glance:
- Posture: Strengthening the deep trunk musculature and the trained body awareness improve posture lastingly, not only during the training.
- Functional strength: Pilates strengthens in movement patterns rather than in isolated individual muscles – directly transferable to everyday life and sport.
- Mobility: Active stretching, joint mobilisation and strengthening through the full range of movement improve flexibility without the risk of static stretching methods.
- Back pain: Strong deep trunk musculature and better posture demonstrably reduce chronic back pain. Pilates is used worldwide by physiotherapists as a rehabilitation method.
- Body awareness: The demand for concentration and precision markedly improves proprioception – the perception of your own position in space.
- Mental health: The meditative quality of the training has a demonstrable stress-reducing effect.
- Injury prevention: A strong powerhouse, good posture and balanced musculature are the most effective means against injury – at any age.
What does not belong on the list: Pilates is not endurance training. And “quality before quantity” is not an empty phrase here but method – six precise repetitions are worth more than twenty careless ones.
Who it is suitable for – and where caution applies
The equipment is suitable for very different starting situations, precisely because the resistance can be set anywhere from supportive to demanding. A beginners' class is designed for 60 minutes and a group of one to five people – a completely different level of supervision from a class with thirty participants.
A clear demarcation is part of this: instructors are neither doctors nor physiotherapists. Before the first class, every new participant fills in a health questionnaire covering injuries, diagnoses, pregnancies, medication and sporting history; where there is uncertainty or where contraindications exist, medical clearance is obtained before training. The following points give a first orientation, but replace neither a medical assessment nor discussion with the treating specialists:
- Pregnancy: In the first trimester most exercises are possible with caution, provided there are no complications. From the second trimester onwards, lying flat on the back is avoided, because the pressure of the uterus on the inferior vena cava can impair venous return; the focus shifts to upright positions and pelvic floor strengthening.
- Spinal conditions: With disc herniations, spinal canal stenosis or fresh injuries, flexion and rotation of the spine are restricted or avoided entirely; the range of movement stays within the pain-free zone.
- Osteoporosis: Where bone density is reduced, strong spinal flexion, rotation and compression are avoided; the focus lies on extension-oriented exercises.
- High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease: Inversions and intense breath-holding against pressure are avoided, and the level stays moderate. In the event of dizziness, shortness of breath or chest pain, training is stopped immediately.
- Acute inflammation and fresh injuries: no training of the affected region until the acute phase has subsided and medical clearance is available.
How a first class runs
Before every class the Reformer is checked systematically: are all the springs intact and correctly hooked in? Does the carriage glide evenly and without noise? Are the loop lengths symmetrical? Are the headrest and footbar firmly seated? Faulty equipment is taken out of service immediately. New participants are then given an introduction to the equipment: how does the carriage work, how are springs hooked in and out, how do I get on and off safely? These ten to fifteen minutes are not an administrative act but the part that prevents falls.
After that comes a class structure that systematically warms the body up, challenges it and brings it back to rest. In the beginners' class the work starts with the footwork series on three red springs or more and eight to twelve repetitions per exercise; then follow core work, spinal work, arm and leg work in the loops and, to finish, a short piece of lateral and rotational work. And one principle applies ahead of any choreography: better to teach three exercises really well than to demonstrate eight superficially.
Whether the Reformer suits you better than another method is clarified by the comparison in Pilates vs. yoga. Anyone flirting with the idea of their own studio will find the business side in the article Opening a Pilates Reformer studio.
Course tip from update Akademie: The route to the Reformer runs via the mat. A completed mat Pilates qualification is a prerequisite for the Reformer course – together with at least ten Reformer classes attended yourself with at least two different instructors. You therefore take the first step with the Pilates Instruktor course; prerequisites and career paths are explained in the article Pilates trainer courses in Switzerland. The advanced Pilates Reformer Instruktor course builds on this and concludes with a learning assessment and an examination video.
Frequently asked questions about the Pilates Reformer
What exactly is a Pilates Reformer?
A piece of training equipment with a stable frame, a moving carriage on rollers, a spring system, an adjustable footbar as well as straps and loops. It allows exercises lying, sitting, kneeling and standing. Its forerunner came about in the First World War, when Joseph Pilates attached springs to hospital beds so that bedridden patients could train their limbs.
Is Reformer training harder than mat Pilates?
Not as a matter of principle. Depending on the exercise and the setting, the springs can support a movement or make it harder. The Reformer therefore allows gentler entry points just as much as more demanding variations. Both forms follow the same six core principles of the method.
Why are more springs not automatically harder?
Because the springs stabilise the carriage. In balance and plank exercises, less spring resistance makes the exercise harder, since the body has to control the unstable carriage without support. In pushing exercises such as the footwork, the reverse relationship applies.
Who should seek medical advice before Reformer training?
Everyone with a pregnancy, a spinal condition such as a disc herniation or spinal canal stenosis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, as well as everyone with acute inflammation or fresh injuries. Before the first class a health questionnaire is filled in as a general rule, and where there is uncertainty medical clearance is obtained.
How large is a typical Reformer group?
A beginners' class is designed for 60 minutes and a group of one to five people. That is no accident: the instructor has to observe every person continuously in order to spot compensation patterns and signs of fatigue early.
Conclusion
The Reformer is not a fitness machine with a Pilates label but a system in its own right, whose distinctive feature lies in the spring resistance: it increases the further the spring is stretched, and it demands just as much in the return movement as in the pushing. That makes the training easy on the joints, precisely controllable and suitable for very different starting situations. Effects on posture, functional strength, mobility, back pain and stress are documented. What it cannot replace is endurance training, medical assessment and proper instruction – which is why at the beginning stands not the equipment but the understanding of what it does.
