How do strength training and pilates work together?
At Armature a devoted Strength Training venue lives next door to Armature Reformer. Reformer instructors also coach Strength Training and can sing the praises of both.
Reformers are amazing for building postural strength, full-body, challenging exercises and sometimes “going to failure” with muscle groups.
Strength Training lifts heavy stuff off the floor and pulls bodies upwards on bars or rings, etc. It has movements and positions that just can't be done on the reformer (no matter how much we try to mimic them.)
Both are amazing, but they work the body in different ways and put it under different physiological and coordination challenges.
That is the beauty of having both in the business. While reformer Pilates is on everyone’s lips, so now is strength training, thanks to all the media and doctors’ referrals encouraging strength training to fight the effects of aging and conditions like osteoporosis and menopause.
Resistance training is overloading muscles to make them stronger over time. Results come from building on the same movements and improving on both form and load.
We do consider these concepts in Armature Reformer as well – with many instructors specifically programming for sets/reps and loading to fatigue within the reformer repertoire possibilities, especially in Reformer Strength style classes.
But it isn't quite the same as the Strength Training.
Firstly, we program eight weeks of a periodised Strength Training cycle.
This builds confidence to increase load and increase soft tissue, joint tolerance, mobility and lift heavier each week. Movements include variations of squatting, hinging, pushing and pulling, using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, etc.
Clients become comfortable with this equipment and can progress their weights slowly over time, so they feel their amazing results (and many are increasing their bone density numbers too!)
This takes consistent and repetitious programming and planning. And not being afraid of “boring” the clients with the same class as last week.
The coaches make sure the client is loading the right amount and under enough duration. Then it’s rinse and repeat, adding small variations from week to week, to elicit physiological change.
This is different to reformer class programming with all its variety of repertoire and flow. It’s also different to inserting exercises into pre-programmed mat class formats that never change in intensity or duration. These classes have great benefits but differ from pure strength training.
How do we get clients to consider doing Strength Training?
Well, the GPs and social media sell it for us. Plus, Armature is established and has great word-of-mouth referrals. Everyone seems to now know that we do strength training, as we have been delivering and refining our offerings for years now.
Armature’s five strength coaches are all women in their late 40s/early 50s. That is also our client demographic.
We run a five-week introduction to Strength Training Course that has self-contained sessions covering the main positions (squat, hinge, push, pull) for people who want some orientation before starting in the classes.
We also do 1:1 sessions (just like we do for clients entering the personalised pilates studio) for clients wanting those.
We name the Strength Training classes Basics or Open. We run the same programs in both. The Basics name is less scary and more friendly and seems to bring new clients to classes! Once they come, they generally continue.
Strength training is scalable and, honestly, easier to modify than a reformer class, so we can incorporate most clients into the Strength Training environment. We start conservatively, often with just body weight to get patterning on track. The coaches methodically provide technique feedback and recommendations for weight progressions.
How does Armature do Strength Training classes?
Armature is lucky to have a devoted strength venue, with capacity for up to 15 clients per session. We run two different programs in a week, both cover the whole body (upper and lower) and include two large compound movements done as strict sets (complete all sets before moving onto the next exercise).
Compound lifts include variations of deadlifts, squats, chest press, rowing, pull ups, often, but not limited to, using the barbell (if the client has progressed to that).
Our 60-minute classes include:
· Warm Up
· Compound lift 1 Strict (Example: Chest Press)
· Compound lift 2 Strict (Example: Conventional Deadlift)
· Conditioning Supersets (incorporating load in coronal and transverse planes and usually higher reps and lighter percentages than the compound lifts).
· Mobility throughout the session in warmups, rest periods and cool downs
Clients can do one or both programs per week. Many clients also do reformer, mat or mobility classes or other cardio training.
It’s manageable to incorporate a new person doing bodyweight squats (maybe 4 sets of 12 reps) alongside a more experienced person on the barbells working heavier (maybe 4 sets of 6 reps).
Armature has a consistent clientele, so we can build trust and rapport with them. Regulars are empowered, through the repetition from week to week, to know their program and start their exercises without too much explanation. This means more time to focus on and integrate newer participants.
Pilates, Reformer, Strength - the whole trifecta!
Armature is 19 years old and started as a bespoke clinical studio, followed by an extensive mat work timetable, reformer venue in 2013 and finally the devoted strength training facility in 2017.
We opened as Armature Pilates. Today we are Armature as we are so much more than just Pilates. These days, many clients come for Strength Training first and find Pilates later.
Pilates is amazing for all its glorious detail and possibilities, the intrinsic mixing with the extrinsic. Armature Reformer is a great option for clients to combine Pilates principles with resistance training. Or as a gateway to Strength Training.
And while reformer training is strength training and Pilates mat is also bodyweight strength training, there’s no substitute for the tried-and-true science and methodology of traditional Strength Training.
It’s this practice that is now Armature’s biggest growth area and taking our multi-faceted business to the next level.
Stephanie Sibel is the founder and director of Armature and Armature Education in Brunswick, Victoria, Australia. With fifteen years in pilates instructor training, she is now a faculty educator for National Pilates Training and regularly presents to industry. She has a long history of teaching group fitness alongside all aspects of Pilates and strength training. In another capacity, she freelances as a dance reviewer, a role she had at the Herald Sun for twenty years.
FAQs
1. How do Reformer Pilates and Strength Training complement each other at Armature?
Both offer unique benefits; Reformer Pilates builds postural strength and full-body endurance, while Strength Training focuses on heavy lifting and movements that can’t be replicated on the reformer, each challenging the body in different ways.
2. What makes the Strength Training sessions at Armature unique?
Strength Training at Armature focuses on heavy lifts, pulling motions, and positions that can't be replicated on the reformer, offering a distinct experience that targets muscle groups in ways other workouts can't.
3. How do Reformer Pilates instructors integrate strength training principles?
Many Reformer Pilates instructors at Armature incorporate sets, reps, and loading to fatigue into their classes, specifically programming for strength development within the reformer repertoire, blending both worlds.