How often have you had a client checking their Apple Watch in a session, assessing if they are getting benefits from their reformer workout? You can tell from the look on their face that they are having a hard time trying to make sense of the very little data and information provided by their smart device. It doesn’t seem to match their experience of feeling taller and stronger than when they first walked in. They usually leave thanking you for the experience, and yet their activity trackers don’t tell them anything about why that workout felt so good.

The Founder & CEO of Flexia identified this opportunity to enhance reformer sessions by giving clients access to real-time data about their workouts straight from the reformer machine. She saw this gap in the market and jumped right in. If you haven’t yet heard of Flexia, Kaleen Canevari is making waves by revolutionising how we think and understand the data and science behind a Pilates workout.

Kaleen's journey from an active hiker and soccer player with chronic pain and ACL injuries to becoming a devoted Pilates practitioner and instructor is the foundation upon which Flexia is built. After tearing her ACL twice and dealing with chronic pain for years, her career as a mechanical engineer landed her a job with one of the largest reformer manufacturers in the United States where she discovered the healing power of reformer Pilates. "Within six weeks of taking classes, I felt the benefits and less knee pain and I was hooked," Kaleen recalls. This personal success inspired her to delve deeper into the practice, completing her teacher training while making a career move to support studios across the US as a reformer technician. This travelling business, The Fit Reformer, assisted Pilates studios with hands-on equipment maintenance and care, furthering Kaleen’s expertise of the mechanics involved in teaching Pilates.

"I heard countless stories from studio owners and clients about their issues with existing machines," says Kaleen. These insights into the limitations and potential of Pilates equipment sparked her vision for Flexia. "I wanted to empower the end user," she explains.

So in 2022 Kaleen raised $4M in seed funding to build out her concept for Flexia and ship the first units to customers, expand the content library, and further develop a personalized Pilates experience.

The Unique Vision of Flexia

So, what sets Flexia equipment apart? The Flexia Reformer is designed to provide immediate feedback during and after each class, measure progress, and help users decide what to do next in the Flexia Online Studio. "It's like having an accountability partner at home," Kaleen states. But she is quick to clarify, "It's not replacing instructors. I envision this technology someday alongside instructor-led classes in the studio to enhance what they are already doing."

Kaleen firmly believes in the irreplaceable value of in-person classes. "I don't believe a computer can teach better than a Pilates instructor. I strongly believe that talented instructors are worth their weight in gold. But most of us know our clients could get better, faster, if they had a meaningful way to practice outside the studio. What Flexia enables is an elevated at-home experience to keep folks accountable and motivated with data that actually correlates to Pilates," she elaborates. This approach not only benefits home practitioners now, but Kaleen envisions it complementing instructor-led, in-studio sessions one day, offering more data-driven insights for students and instructors alike.

A New Language of Pilates

Flexia is creating a new language for Pilates by introducing measurable behaviours within movement sessions. Kaleen emphasises the importance of this development: "When you think about professional sports, elite sports, every backroom training centre has a reformer. The thing is, the reformer is the only piece of equipment that doesn’t have any data associated with it. This lack of data makes it challenging for athletes and their trainers to see how Pilates can fit into their rigorous training schedules. Flexia aims to change this by designing a system that tracks and measures progress in a meaningful way,” said Kaleen.

At the core of Flexia's technology is the Movement Quality Score (MQS). This unique metric evaluates how well a user performs in each class, considering what the instructor asks of the student and comparing it to what they actually produced. "We could give my grandma and a pro athlete the same class, and while they might have different reformer settings or exercise variations, their scores will be comparable," Kaleen explains. A good MQS score ranges between 50 and 80 out of 100, with the goal being to work in the Zone of Progress—challenging enough to drive improvement but not so difficult as to cause discouragement.

Integrating Technology and Tradition

The Flexia Reformer comes equipped with sensors that provide real-time feedback. These sensors measure load, distance, speed, and acceleration, contributing to the MQS. "There are four real-time metrics we report to the user, including weight moved each repetition, a control score, a consistency score, and a speedometer so they know if they are moving at the pace we ask them to," Kaleen details. After each workout, users receive a report card that highlights their performance, identifying strengths and areas for improvement.

Despite these technological advancements, Flexia's goal is not to replace the human touch in Pilates. “Pilates teachers are highly trained experts with the ability look at an individual and make quick, critical decisions about their performance and decide in the moment what feedback to give based on the student’s goals, progress, and abilities. In many ways, consumer technology isn’t quite as sophisticated as an instructor yet. But what we can do is give really important feedback about the basics that computers are really good at measuring, like counting, comparing, and remembering. We leverage those technological strengths to make the biggest impact for our users.”

A Studio-Grade Reformer for Everyone

The Flexia Reformer is studio-grade and designed to fit a wide range of body sizes and shapes. "It fits more body sizes. It’s more intuitive to use and is made to feel like the professional reformers in a studio." Kaleen describes. The reformer has a shorter footprint than others on the market, but still achieves longer carriage travel, making it compact yet accommodating for larger torsos, broader shoulders and wider waistlines. It also stands upright, making storage convenient. “Inclusivity is a significant aspect of our design philosophy, ensuring that more people, regardless of body type or mobility level, can benefit from Pilates,” she said.

The Future of Pilates with Flexia

Flexia is not just about the present; it's about the future. Kaleen envisions a time when every reformer in a studio setting is equipped with sensors that provide data-driven insights to instructors. "Imagine if there was a shred of data that meant something in Pilates. Pilates would be unstoppable," she asserts. This data could inform instructors about the history and goals of each of their students, recommend exercises for their clients, and give students a report after each of their sessions, clearly demonstrating progress and enhancing the overall Pilates experience.

In a world where data literacy is key, Flexia is ensuring that Pilates keeps pace with the evolving landscape of fitness and wellness. "If Pilates doesn’t adapt, we will be left behind and we need to ensure that Pilates is a dynamic and effective practice for generations to come,” said Kaleen.

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Kaleen holds a B.S. Mechanical Engineering and is a comprehensively trained Pilates instructor, with deep roots in the world of product development having worked in the automotive, medical device, and fitness equipment industries. Prior to founding Flexia, she split her time between teaching Pilates in a local studio and travelling the country as an independent Pilates equipment technician.

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