It is considered more comprehensive and progressive than floor Pilates. The Pilates “reformer” would be a first-choice ally for muscle strengthening. It is practiced on a kind of bed, equipped with accessories fitted with springs. Thanks to the resistance of these numerous springs, the movements are controlled and amplified.
It’s a versatile machine that looks like an instrument of torture! For many, it’s the iconic tool of the Pilates method. While the method is known for working the muscles deeply, the “reformer” also helps improve flexibility and balance.
This strange spring-loaded bed wants to do you good! This is what fitness trainers and other physiotherapists claim when using it. Picture a bed, without a mattress, with a sliding platform and a few points of support. Straps and springs complete the setup.
The “reformer” is particularly effective for strengthening the abdominal muscles, the lower back, and the pelvic floor. These muscles are essential for body stability and balance.
According to Laure Lacombe, a physiotherapist and Pilates “reformer” instructor, as the efforts are more intense, the results are faster.
Joseph Pilates is said to have created a prototype of this machine while in prison during the First World War.
He later used the “reformer” to help war wounded to re-educate themselves from their beds.
This discipline was revived in the 1980s by the dancers of the New York ballet, to allow impact-free strengthening and work on flexibility, stretching, and deep muscles.
For about ten years, in Australia and New Zealand, the “reformer” has been very successful again. And for the past 2-3 years, it has been gaining popularity throughout France.
The cost is high: around thirty euros per session.
