Pilates? Reformer vs mat results?

CeeBeeSlim

Hello. I’m am trying to add more low impact exercise to my routine and not a great fan of yoga or barre. I liked Pilates when I used it to rehab a hip and back injury for about six weeks.

I’ve been fortunate to grab very very low priced home gym equipment as I’m in a military town and folks are practically giving stuff away - and I’ve been passing on studio grade reformers with towers, a box, trampolines, etc - I’m not fully knowledgeable about how to use all the components, so I’m wary of being able to teach myself how to use it (I guess I could get a 1:1 training session, if necessary).

So - although I have the room, can I get the same-ish type of workout on a mat? Save the money and the space? Or is the Pilates on a reformer unmatched and worth grabbing? For context these are about 500-1k for machines at least twice that much.

Sinisterbarbie1

I love reformer workouts, have done pilates for years off and on, and enjoy it way more than a mat workout, but it is not something you can pick up in one session or in a handful of sessions, and ideally you would work out with a trainer regularly at least to check in on form and learn new ideas of routines. There are hundreds of combinations of exercises that can be choreographed together. I actually have my own reformer and do so. When I can’t check in regularly (at least by zoom, but manually correcting postures is really helpful) I find I don’t use it as much. Some reformers can be collapsed down relatively easily to put in a closet or against the wall for storage, others not so much. Either way it can easily become a big extra piece of gym equipment if you don’t know how to properly use it.

A compromise might be to get either just a pilates tower and mat set up or a pilates chair. It is much smaller and you can do a lot of exercises that target the same muscles the same ways also with the use of springs, but pushing them away or slowly resisting/balancing/controling them. Either of these set ups should cost way less and it is far more compact. The down side is that the chair in particular is a less popular piece of equipment so you may have fewer options for used chairs and also fewer trainers to teach you how to use it.

Xellercin

I despise the reformer and get great results with just a mat. So does my spouse.

But "results" mean different things to different people.

I would try Pilates on the mat and see if you enjoy it. The best results come from what you enjoy.

CeeBeeSlim

@Sinisterbarbie1 @Xellercin

Thanks for the helpful responses. I will try Pilates mat first. I realized the main reason I enjoyed the Pilates sessions during rehab because it felt like I was working out but also - most importantly - had an experienced instructor watching my every move, helping me with my form, and one little adjustment here or there made quite a difference.

Knowing how hard I can go, I could see myself making things worse on my own with a tower, etc.

@xellercin - what makes you “despise” the reformer? (That’s the part you lie down on, right?) 😃

Sinisterbarbie1

The reformer is the entire piece of equipment. The carriage is the piece you lie down on that slides back and forth and the springs control the tension/resistance exerted against it, Some reformers have tower attachments. Typically you also buy a box and sometimes a jump board to expand the range of exercises you can do and postures you can perform them in. For some exercises it is easier to have a lot of tension and more support, for others more tension/resistance makes it harder for you to work. The idea is to control and stabilize all movements with the use of your core muscles and your breath. You are also often working in very small ranges of movement to achieve results. The reformer is deceptively hard work - you can’t really phone it in and pretend, but if you put in the effort and pay attention to the workout and breathing you get the benefits of rhythmic breathing, a great workout, and I walk away feeling taller and lighter because my posture is always better after. You can do many similar exercises on the mat, however you would use weights or your own body weight rather than springs for resistance and/or do them totally unsupported which in some cases makes the exercise more challenging or not possible for some folks to do. Sounds like that might not be a worry for you,
Enjoy whichever you choose. Pilates is great for you in all its forms.

88AViva

I love the reformer. Wish I had the space for one at home. Whenever I can make time to go to the studio and use it, I'm super happy 🙂 There are so many options and combinations of movements and you can build up the resistance as you get stronger. I also do love the pilates chair but reformer > chair. At home I use the mat and the small stability ball (23cm). This was when I regularly worked out, but I'm going to get back to that now.

Xellercin

CeeBeeSlim wrote: »

@Sinisterbarbie1 @Xellercin

Thanks for the helpful responses. I will try Pilates mat first. I realized the main reason I enjoyed the Pilates sessions during rehab because it felt like I was working out but also - most importantly - had an experienced instructor watching my every move, helping me with my form, and one little adjustment here or there made quite a difference.

Knowing how hard I can go, I could see myself making things worse on my own with a tower, etc.

@xellercin - what makes you “despise” the reformer? (That’s the part you lie down on, right?) 😃

I started doing Pilates decades ago before reformers were really available. I'm not sure I can explain why I hate the reformer so much, but it just didn't feel like Pilates to me.

I also have a lot of injuries, so have to be very careful what I do.

But in terms of results, my husband is perfectly healthy and has been lifting weights daily for years, and when I talked him into adding mat Pilates to his routine, his whole body, posture, and movement changed significantly for the better. His entire torso is now absolutely ripped.

You don't need a reformer at all to get massive benefits from Pilates.

Sinisterbarbie1

The Pilates Foundation page has interesting history about Joseph Pilates and his/his wife Clara’s development and popularization of the exercise. It was originally practiced on what is today referred to as the Cadillac and the other equipment evolved from there. They have a page intended to help people decide whether mat or studio apparatus work is more suited to their interests/needs. https://www.pilatesfoundation.com/pilates/studio-or-matwork/

CeeBeeSlim

@Xellercin Thanks. I saw nothing else but “entire torso is absolutely ripped”. 🤣. That will never be me but enough to inspire me to try!

@Sinisterbarbie1 Thanks for the link. I shared this with my husband and he is taking his first Pilates today. Now - if he comes back and says he wishes we had a reformer at home…what’s that movie… “There Will Be Blood!”😂