Anyone Have a Reformer or Swear by Pilates?

[Joni O]

I'm off on another tangent. While googling something else, I came upon the article below. Now Pilates is the magic bullet to everything I need into my old age. It's 9pm and I'll change my mind by morning, but the article is really interesting.

Does anyone have a transformer or something similar? FitBoop, do I remember you saying you have one?

https://www.self.com/story/does-pila...ength-training

P.S. Save me from ordering an AeroPilates machine on Amazon! :-)

[FirmDancer]

Oh my! That is a very interesting article!

I have the AeroPilates reformer - the least expensive one - the one without the trampoline at the bottom. I haven't been using it lately due to other issues in life. But now I want to get it back out and start using it!

-Neita

[Pat58]

If I had room for it there'd be a reformer in my house right now. I've used them in classes years back, and more intensively at physical therapy. They're wonderful for all my spine and joint issues, then double duty is they're wonderful for fitness and just generally feeling good in your skin.

Do you think you'd use it after the honeymoon period? Are there reformer classes available for you to try? The are bulky and heavy. The place where I went to PT was getting in all new equipment and offered to sell me their Metro IQ for a song. It has wheels on one end so you can move it around, but at 85 pounds it was too heavy for my back to get it standing upright on the wheels.

[Joni O]

There are several pilates studios near me. In fact, I had one personal training session at one of them years ago. I could probably go there for a private reformer session. I remember it hurting my bad lower back last time, so I'd for sure try before buying one.

There are lots of workouts on YouTube.

[txhsmom]

I do not have a reformer but I would get one if I had enough room in my small home. While mat pilates will never be my only workout - I get bored too easily - I always feel better when I am adding pilates into my workout routine.

Carol

[fatkat555]

My mother-in-law gifted me her unused 5-cord Aeropilates machine which honestly sat folded in a corner of my house for several years. I’ve always been a “I-hate-machines” snob, but I thought maybe my son or husband could use it. After being unused, I almost gave it away. Something told me to at least give it a go before I sent it out the door. Well, I’ve now fallen down the rabbit hole. I purchased a box and pole, the pull-up bar, and a stand for it. Mine came with the jump board or mini rebounder.

Like any good vidiot, I went on a mission to collect all the Aeropilates dvds. It’s tough because the dvds suffer from repackaging so you have to make sure you’re not getting a dvd you already own. Marjolein even has a YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@lighterliving?si=Xwm6Nnnot5jb1SwM
Here, she has a few workouts and I think I saw somewhere where she said she’s going to film new videos.

What really got me was how much you use your core when on lighter cords jumping off the rebounder. My abs were sore!! No crunching! I love the elimination of gravity when lying down.

Cons: the darn thing eats up space, but this goes with any machine. If you have the space to leave it unfolded (I don’t), that would be ideal. If getting up and down to a floor position are difficult for you, you’ll definitely want a stand. You also need space side to side to get full range of motion for arm and leg circles.

Pilates snobs say the Aeropilates corded machines are not smooth, the resistance is inconsistent, and the machine doesn’t glide like a fancy expensive reformer. This is partly true, but if you’re just trying to get moving OR if you’ve never been on a studio reformer, you might not know the difference. I will say that I can see the need to tighten my cords and look at ways to replace them. With experience, I’ll get a good workout because I’ll know which cords to use and when.

In my experience, the reformer at home is self-study and although there are dvds, I think eventually you would develop your own workout routine. There are posters with the exercises, but I have found that to get the advanced exercise series, you’ll find them behind a paywall of some sort. It seems everything reformer is more expensive.

There are some people who say you can’t build strength through Pilates. That’s why they have Lagree, etc, to up the intensity. I think this is false. You control your resistance and you can always increase it.

I did find some Stott dvds via eBay that I believe can be used on the Aeropilates machine. I haven’t yet tried them.

Let me know if I can enable! I’m always good at that!

[Joni O]

Uh oh. I think I had one before. I'll read all about it this afternoon.

http://forum.videofitness.com/showthread.php?t=217573

Nope. It was a Supreme Pilates machine I bought.

And thanks for your insight fatkat!

ETA: Nope. Decided against it back then, and asked everyone her to remind me of this if I ever asked again.

Well, that was then ...

[Pam61]

I used to have a reformer (when I lived in AZ) and was doing pilates consistently. With multiple out-of-state moves since then (MN & RI), I had to sell it. It really is a gentle way to work your body. I really miss it, but space is a problem now. I do have a Total Gym which I've occasionally used like a reformer, but it's just not the same. I still have the Ellen Croft (more portable) Supreme Pilates device, but it's nothing like a real reformer, either. I like being off the ground more.

[Pat58]

Originally Posted by fatkat555

There are some people who say you can’t build strength through Pilates. That’s why they have Lagree, etc, to up the intensity. I think this is false. You control your resistance and you can always increase it.

Totally false! Once the footwork warmups were finished at PT I got a fantastic strength building workout on the reformer. Especially when we used the box and pole for upper body. When I use my Winsor videos, I admire the lean and toned arms on Mari and her background demonstrators, who were all trainers at Mari's studio. They got those sleek muscles from the reformer.

It also fried my core, butt and thighs.

[Jane P.]

I would recommend going for a few private sessions first to learn how to use the Reformer. Also try some mat pilates at home, just doing what makes you feel comfortable. There are excellent Pilates dvds available as well as you tube.