Are all Group Reformer Classes Equal?

I opened my studio on Sydney’s Northern Beaches 21 years ago and was one of the first studio’s to introduce group classes on the Reformer in 2002.  I had two different full qualifications under my belt and had completed a total of over 1000 hours of training including 200 of self-mastery and 200 of apprentice teaching.

I remember at the time I was worried about who would attend the classes and what criteria I would have around who could attend. In a nutshell, they had to complete an introductory pack that included studio sessions in order to understand the foundation exercises, spring choices, how to use the reformer and to make sure they were relatively fit and well with no major spinal injuries.  We had three levels of classes, starting with beginner, intermediate and eventually advanced.  To this day we still have these varying levels with a minimum of five foundation classes before progressing with the approval of the teacher.  Don’t get me wrong, not everyone wants to progress, we still have clients that just love staying in our foundation-level classes.  They are so happy there.

I also understand that group classes are more affordable for most clients and I personally love the atmosphere as I have some clients that have been coming to my studio since it opened.  I started with nine Reformers and now have a max of 12, plus we also have Pilates Chairs.  That way the instructor can decide to do a combo class, giving clients variations.  I stick to the foundations and occasionally add a fun new move, but changing tempo, springs and reps is one really easy way to make the class easier or harder without really changing the Pilates exercises.

Being a Director of an Education Body – Polestar Pilates Australia and also an inaugural committee member of the Pilates Alliance for nine years, I do feel that it is my duty of care to the industry to always be on point and show that we stick to the legacy that is Joseph Pilates and his work.   I do get asked by many people, including students and other studio owners and even my own staff and educators – “What do you think of the boom that is the Reformer Group studios opening on every corner which are mainly fitness Pilates?”   Honestly, since COVID, it is a bit crazy how many boutique Reformer studios have opened.  In the street I’m on, five have opened within one kilometre of my studio.  From speaking with my colleagues all over the world, it’s happening in many countries, not just Australia.

Firstly, I think Joseph was so far ahead of his time if you look back at when he wrote his book “Return to Life through Contrology” in 1945.   I think he would firstly be pretty stoked to see that everyone is doing Pilates, that’s what he wanted.  He was the first person to create his own equipment that could be classified as a home gym.  The question you have to ask is “But are they doing Pilates?  Or is it exercises that they’ve copied off TikTok and put on a Pilates Reformer?”.   These are the questions that are continually brought up.  Is there room for us all?  In short, I want to say yes and be inclusive, but we need more help in getting the word out there about the minimum levels of qualifications.

It’s critically important that you’ve completed a good quality education course that is recognised by the Pilates Industry with a minimum of 500 hours for comprehensive or a minimum of 175 hours for group classes according to the Pilates Alliance of Australasia.  The point of difference in doing this level of study is that you feel you have a toolkit to help you support clients of all stages because of the comprehensive nature of your learning. All of our teachers are members of an industry peak body and do continuing education to keep learning and progressing their skills. 

Safety is another important point.  The first priority of any health professional is – “Do Not Harm”.  Therefore it is really important that we teach safely, this one is a ‘biggie’.  I hear so many people getting injured doing reformer classes and they end up back in the studio doing rehab with fully qualified instructors.  If you have the correct foundation of repertoire, ‘know how to modify, know spring tensions correctly’ and have good programming, then you shouldn’t be hurting your clients.  Experienced Pilates teachers know that increasing the springs doesn’t always make the exercise harder.  They also know that the Pilates Reformer isn’t a piece of gym equipment, it has springs as resistance that can help work eccentrically and concentrically as needed.  This leads me to my next point.

Avoid getting too fancy:   Yes we are in the world of social media and influencers, which bring lots of little short video clips showing extreme ranges and fancy sequences, which let’s face it – most people can’t do.  This is where injuries come.  Yes, there are many dancers and movers that do Pilates, but your everyday client doesn’t bring that background.  They want to come to Pilates for maintenance and keep their body moving for the rest of their life.  If the repertoire is too confusing, they won’t come back. 

Before you go and add anything to your class that you’ve seen on TikTok and the like, just ask yourself – what is this exercise achieving?  Are there any benefits to it?  Does it add anything that I don’t already have in my class?  Will people be able to do it well? 

I completely understand that ‘some teachers get bored’ and they want inspiration.  That’s fine, just make sure it’s not the whole class.  Remember your clients love consistency and want to build on their movements, they are not bored (that’s just you – do your own workout in your time and add your fancy moves then).  So please stick to the foundations and add one to two new moves.  Your clients will love it and they’ll stay.

Understand how to program correctly:   Every education body will have its own specifics of the order and sequence of which to teach the repertoire.  The most important thing is to not overly fatigue one body part.  Programming should cover all spectrums of movements in all planes of movement.  It should have a good warm-up and cool-down.  You should have supine, prone, sitting, inversion and standing and don’t forget rotation, rotation, rotation.

Tempo is another great way to alter the dynamics of a class.  We don’t always have to do things so fast.  I love to slow things down so that clients can concentrate fully on the whole movement, making sure they get full range in the joints and can execute the move correctly.  Doing an exercise with control and precision is much more beneficial than 15 reps with poor form and control.  The muscles don’t perform to their full potential and can cause injury.  Joseph says:

“Concentrate on the correct movement each time you exercise, lest you do improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits.”

Then there are repetitions.  You really don’t need to go above 10 (Joseph didn’t – yes there is the 100, but that’s 10 of 5 in/5 out) and for some exercises, if they are executed with control and concentration, you may only need to do 6.  Yes, I too am sick of the “Butts and Abs” classes, or it’s “all about the burn”.    Don’t listen to me, this is what Joseph said.

“A few well-designed movements, properly performed, in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy callisthenics or forced contortion.”

Modifications matter: With good programming comes knowing how to modify and progress for those clients who need it.  On any given day a client can come in with a small little niggle from gardening, soccer or playing with kids on the weekend.  A professional teacher will know immediately how to modify the exercises with ease, without losing the flow of the class and putting the client at ease.  This is a skill that comes with practice.  Clients love hands-on adjustments as they can feel the difference when they are put into the correct alignment.

Have fun:   Joseph said “Pilates is complete co-ordination of mind, body and spirit” and that includes putting your own personality into your teaching.  We are humans with big hearts and spirit and I know I always add a little piece of me in all my classes.

I truly believe there is room for all of us, if we truly want to bring Joe’s work to everyone.  With this in mind, I have also been working with AUSactive (the Federal Government body) and the Fitness Industry to help bring more awareness to the fitness side of Pilates.  I recently did a webinar for AUSactive titled “The Relationship of Pilates Matwork to Reformer”.  I showed how six foundation mat exercises can be brought to the Reformer with good form, and understanding how gravity and spring selection can change the outcome of the exercise. The feedback was incredible and did show to me that the Fitness Industry does want to learn and be informed correctly.  It was really refreshing.  It shows me that if we all work together we can all make a change for the better to our industry and I’m all for that.

Catherine Giannotto is the Director and Senior Educator, Polestar Pilates Australia.
PMA-CPT, DIPLOMA SPORTS THERAPIES.