What you need to know if you’re a Reformer Pilates beginner
It doesn’t matter if you’re experienced at mat Pilates or are a total Pilates beginner, Reformer Pilates is a great exercise to try next. The beauty of Reformer Pilates is that it’s for anyone and everyone. It gives a full body workout that benefits beginners and elite athletes alike, improving strength and muscle tone, strengthening your deeper abdominal muscles which help create greater core strength and improved posture in a gentle and safe way.
The reason why we do not schedule specific Pilates Reformer beginner exercises is because there’s no need! Every session is led by a certified Pilates instructor who will explain what you’re doing and how to do it. Our Pilates studios classes are small which means your instructor will have time to spend with you to ensure you’re doing the exercises with the correct technique, and, with your permission, manoeuvre your body into the correct position if need be. You will never be left at the back of a large reformer class wondering if you’re doing it right!
Fundamentals classes or 1 on 1 private sessions
However, if you would like to begin with gentler Reformer classes that are run at a slower pace, look out for our Rehab & Fundamentals sessions. They are aimed at people recovering from injuries as well as people who are nervous about joining one of our routine sessions without any experience at all. Alternatively, book a private session with one of our instructors.
There are many health benefits of Reformer Pilates which will particularly benefit beginners, principally because the Reformer bed (which is sometimes referred to as the Reformer machine) provides you with a lot of support and shoulder blocks which helps to prevent you from putting too much strain on individual muscles and significantly reducing the risk of injury. The Reformer is a bed-like frame with a flat platform, sliding carriage, adjustable bar, long straps and a combination of springs that provide various levels of resistance.
The bed may look complicated and possibly a bit scary, but as soon as your instructor has shown you how the Reformer works, it will all make perfect sense. And after one or two beginner pilates lessons, you’ll be as familiar with how to adjust it as people who’ve been doing the exercise for years.
It’s worth bearing in mind that the inventor of Pilates, Joseph Pilates, originally developed the Reformer bed after using a series of springs and pulleys that he attached to hospital beds so injured patients could safely begin their physiotherapy. The equipment enabled them to build strength before they were strong enough to get out of bed which helped speed up their recovery. It also makes Reformer Pilates a great workout for injury rehabilitation.
At the beginning of every Pilates practice, your Pilates instructor will let you know how to create the best spring tension for your level of fitness and experience.
If you are a Reformer Pilates beginner, it is always a good idea to tell your instructor it’s your first time. They will give you a quick lesson on how to use the bed and the exercise equipment, and keep an eye on you to make sure you’re happy with the exercises and are positioning yourself correctly with complete body awareness.
Before each set of dynamic stretching exercises, you’ll be told which combination of springs to use depending on how much resistance you would like, so there’s always the option of putting it on a lighter setting. The instructor will let you know which part of the bed to use, what the exercise is, and will often give you an easier alternative. The alternative exercises are not only a ‘nice to have’ for beginners, they’re important for people who are recovering from injuries, enabling them to continue getting the benefit of doing the exercise but without putting undue strain on the affected part of their body.
Each exercise only lasts a minute before you go on to a different one. Halfway through you’ll be given the option of increasing the difficulty, but if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you don’t have to. The flexibility offered by all the different difficulty and resistance options is the reason why people of all abilities and experience can exercise side by side, with everyone benefiting from them.
You’ll get a short break before each set of basic exercises before moving onto the next set. And at the end of the session, you’ll have cool down exercises. You may be very pleasantly surprised by how effective Reformer Pilates can be. If you’re a complete beginner, we can guarantee your muscles will ache (in a good way!) the next day, and even if you think you hadn’t been exercising intensively (like you’d do in a gym session for example), you’ll certainly know you’ve been doing your body a lot of good!
We understand that Reformer Pilates isn’t going to be for everyone, but we’d love for you to give it a go. That’s why we have an offer to Try a Class for just £10 (which also includes the option to bring a friend for free), so there’s no obligation if you decide it’s not for you. Click here to book a Class at your nearest studio, adding the promotion code TRY10 at the check out.
One of the most asked questions is about what to wear for our Reformer Pilates classes. You do not need to worry about getting special clothing – anything you’d wear to the gym or for mat Pilates will be perfect. Luckily, the only item of clothing that is compulsory is affordable and easy to source – a pair of socks! This is because they give you a better grip while you’re using the equipment, as well as for hygiene reasons of course.
Check out our TikTok channel – @ChilliPilates – to get to know some of our instructors and watch videos showing what Reformer Pilates is all about.
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