What makes it Athletic Reformer?

When was the last time you did a great Athletic Reformer Pilates class? What made it so great?

The Pilates Reformer was an innovative fitness tool first used not only for its original purpose of rehabilitation, but also for Athletic strength training and conditioning. Whether you want to build a strong core and lengthen your spine as traditional Pilates offers, or build strength and muscular size with Athletic Pilates, the Reformer will get you there.  

It was my own journey that made me discover the benefits of Athletic Pilates and the Athletic Reformer workout. After herniating three discs during weight training, I took years off from strength training to recover and avoid reinjury. Occasionally, I would try gym workouts and find myself once again in pain. Quickly I realised my body could no longer withstand the heavy top loading. I began to explore athletic strength movements on the Reformer. I discovered the benefits of sharing the horizontal and vertical loads and over time, I began to increase my spring tension and found I was not in pain after training on the Reformer. This inspired me to rebuild my muscle mass in a more balanced approach.

In my view, it’s simple Athletic Reformer and traditional strength training differ based on vertical and horizontal loads.  Simply look at the Reformer as a “horizontal version” of a fitness cable machine and the options become limitless.

Typically as we all know, traditional Reformer classes use low load-bearing (spring tension), low rep count (three to five), and are set at moderate intensity, and therefore do not typically cause the onset muscle soreness associated with strength training.

Meanwhile, Athletic Pilates is programmed with increased spring tension, multiple sets, and options for high intensity. In order to experience a burn and next-day soreness, we need to increase the intensity for our clients. This means doing 10 reps, then moving onto the next exercise won’t cut it. 

High-intensity and load-bearing exercises create tiny, microscopic tears in the muscle fibers. These tears are necessary in order to rebuild and develop stronger muscles. Your body responds to this by increasing inflammation, which may lead to what’s known as delayed onset muscle soreness. The Reformer loaded with heavy spring tension, alongside long durations and repeated sets focusing on one specific muscle group, will create onset muscle soreness … and growth! 

When we look at strength training principles the vertical loading causes the abdominals to react by strengthening them in relation to the force applied to the spine. In Athletic Pilates, the vertical and horizontal loads are proportional. This equality allows the abdominals to develop in a more balanced manner. Spine compression is a common side effect of vertically loaded body building techniques. If you were to measure the distance between the ribcage and the pelvis on the 45-year-old body builder, there would most likely a few inches missing. This is another reason Athletic Pilates is more beneficial to the spine over time. 

It’s also important to understand that the format of an athletic Reformer Pilates class or session can vary greatly. I typically start with a warmup, then either pick a muscle group or choose a few muscle groups, offering options to increase spring tension. I have multiple circuit formats that work the entire body. They range from repeat sets of strength, core, and balance or metabolic movements. My programming keeps the movements fresh and varied. If I were to pick a muscle group to strengthen, I would build that into a circuit with options to increase tension.

If the upper back was the chosen muscle group, we could start with movements to warm up the spine, shoulders, chest, and back. Then we would get set for the strength portion. I would direct the students to find a medium spring tension appropriate for their strength and do 20 reps. Following the warmup set, we would drop the rep range down to eight to 10 and do four sets, increasing tension. The important aspect to increasing tension is that the students focus on proper movement, and if the tension increases to where they can no longer hold good form, breathing, and spine length, then they are instructed to lower the tension to a manageable tension.

I generally find that training primary muscle groups in Athletic Reformer Pilates is suitable weekly. In both my group and private training, it’s common to focus on a primary muscle group(s) when doing a full-body strength-building routine. If we hit the upper back one day, we have a week to recover, which is appropriate for most individuals.

And finally remember we need to keep a focus on good form and healthy movement principles. This is paramount in Athletic Reformer Pilates. With the popularity of more rigorous Reformer classes, making the workout “hard” is not the best approach. We need to follow the Athletic Reformer Principles. These are the Pilates Principles, with the addition of recovery periods between sets, and allowing students to learn what their personal spring tension is rather than dictating tensions. For a student who is over six feet tall and super strong, the spring tension will feel completely different than it does for a five-foot-tall student building strength. We need to stop dictating spring tension, and let the student choose what’s right for them.

I would also suggest that new Athletic Reformer teachers learn to slow the class pace, keeping the focus on quality of movement rather than on always trying to make the students feel worked over.   I feel that when we teach an athletic based reformer class, that if we have it paced fast and with constant intensity, as seen in typical bootcamp classes, we are no better than a general fitness class where it's about the workout, not the movement.  When we take the intensity down a notch or two, by slowing the pace, we can place importance on movement quality rather than busting through the workout.  I tell my workshop teachers, learning to program athletic reformer classes to slow the pace of the class down in order to ensure that each student is focused on balanced and thoughtful movement rather than just working out. Its the same in a Pilates reformer class where the emphasis is the workout not teaching movement.  My goal is to be the voice for the Athletic Pilates movement and stress that the principles of movement are equally important as they are in a traditional pilates class.

Sean began his Pilates Journey back in 2005 after suffering a serious skiing accident in 1991. In 2007, he moved to Palm Springs in California and opened Ecore Fitness. Sean received his Pilates certification from Polestar Pilates. Sean teaches regular weekly group and private classes and believes continuing education is key. His next workshop Progressive and Athletic Reformer will be held in Palm Springs in October 2024 – you can find out more here.