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If you have ever watched any of the old horror movies, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Pilates Reformer fitness machine actually appeared in some of them. Far from being a bit part player in a horror movie, the Pilates Reformer is an star performer in many fitness gyms around the world.

I could try and explain what the Pilates Reformer actually does, but it wouldn’t make much sense without an understanding of Pilates itself. So in order to explain the former, I had best explain the latter.

The definition of Pilates is the balanced development of the deep and superficial muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body, especially the abdominals and muscles of the back, which many fitness teachers might also refer to as core strength. core strength looks beyond the superficial, and sometimes cosmetic, outer appearance, and looks at the power of the internal muscles.

This definition is further broken down into the following principals that govern Pilates. Centering, Concentration, Control, Precision, Breath, and Flow. Let’s examine each of these in turn. Incidentally, I should point out that these definitions were not actually stated by the creator of the Pilates system, but were rather inferred by instructors at a later stage.

Centering refers to bringing the focus of the exercise to the centre of the body between the lower ribs and pubic bone. Energetically, Pilates exercises are sourced from this centre.

Concentration is as the name implies. Focusing 100% attention to the job in hand. It goes without saying that if you can do that, you can get excellent results from Pilates.

Control means undertaking the exercises in a controlled manner and not flinging yourself into them willy nilly.

Precision means carrying out the exercises exactly as outlined by the instructors without any deviation.

Joseph Pilates emphasized using a very full breath in his exercises. He advocated thinking of the lungs as a bellows to pump the air in and out of the body. Most Pilates exercises (as is common in a lot of exercise regimes) coordinate with the breath, and using the breath properly is an important part of Pilates exercise.

When referring to flow, Pilates means that your actions should be smooth and even rather than jerky. Again, any deviation from this principal will impact on the benefit that you receive from doing the exercise.

These basic principals actually apply to many forms of exercise, although all six together are pretty unique to the performance of Pilates. They are also pretty much common sense, and if applied correctly, will help give you the maximum benefit from your workout.

Now that we have an understanding the basic principles and core strength philosophy of Pilates, we can better understand how the Pilates Reformer can help us with our Pilates workout. It has been designed to make each of the principals as easy to carry out as possible, with its fine tuned resistance and smooth operation. Used properly, the Pilates Reformer can dramatically improve your core strength, which is after all, what Pilates is all about!

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