A guide to Pilates Reformer, how to find inner balance and strength

Reformer Pilates represents the evolution of conscious motion: an advanced method that works in depth on strength, flexibility, posture and movement control, accompanying the body towards a harmonious and lasting psychophysical balance.

In the vast and ever-expanding universe of disciplines dedicated to physical well-being and conscious motion, Pilates has always stood out for its ability to blend fundamental and complementary elements with harmony, such as strength, flexibility, posture and movement control, giving rise to a unique and profoundly transformative practice. A fluid and innovative approach, born from the pioneering vision of German teacher and entrepreneur Joseph Pilates, which since the early decades of the 20th century has gradually earned a prominent position as one of the most effective techniques for improving physical and mental balance and rediscovering mastery of one’s own motion.

While keeping its traditional roots and original principles, Pilates reinvented and renewed itself over time, attracting an increasingly broad and diverse audience of enthusiasts and promoting different alternative styles, like Light Pilates, or even more dynamic, complex and versatile variations, such as Pilates Reformer. A practice that leverages a specific machine made of a sliding platform, straps and bars, designed to offer a customizable training experience to precisely stimulate each muscle group and significantly improve strength, flexibility and movement control.

It is precisely this synthesis of innovation and tradition that makes Pilates Reformer a natural evolution of the classic method, and above all a unique and intense experience, even more so if enjoyed in exclusive places like the one offered by Forte Village in Santa Margherita di Pula, where well-being connects with excellent services of this five-star Resort awarded as “best in the world” for twenty-six times in a row, surrounded by the evocative beauty of the pristine nature of Sardinia’s southern coast.

Reformer Pilates: what is it and how it differs from the traditional Pilates?

While both methods are based on the same fundamental principles that characterize the practice developed by Joseph Pilates – such as movement control, postural alignment, coordinated breathing and activation of the “powerhouse”, that is the core of deep muscles including abdominals, lumbar muscles, pelvic floor muscles and glutes – traditional Pilates and Reformer differ in their execution, in the tools used and in the stimulation they provide to the body, defining themselves as similar, yet profoundly different training experiences on many aspects.

First, traditional Pilates is practiced exclusively free-body, usually on a mat (hence the name “mat Pilates”), and exploits body weight and gravity as its primary sources of resistance. The practice focuses on practicing precise and controlled movements, which emphasize the quality of muscle activation and spacial awareness of body. But while mat Pilates offers an effective and safe workout, it also has some inherent limitations primarily related to the lack of external support and the difficulty of progressively modulating resistance. This translates very often into a relatively limited range of motion and difficulty in adaption, depending on the practitioner’s individual experience and core strength. This is when Reformer comes in.

Unlike classic Pilates, this method uses a specific mechanical device, the Reformer, consisting of a sliding platform mounted on rails connected to an adjustable resistance system. It is also equipped with straps, bars and other accessories designed to work on multiple kinds of motion, including linear, diagonal and rotational directions, which are difficult to replicate with the same effectiveness on a mat. This variety of Pilates stimulates strength at first, but also coordination, dynamic balance and comprehensive joint mobility in a more complete way.

The Reformer also provides mechanical support that helps maintain proper body alignment and prevent incorrect postural compensations or overloading, making it particularly suitable for people with physical limitations, joint problems, or undergoing post-injury rehabilitation. Last but not least, it enables personalized training based on practitioner’s fitness level, making it particularly accessible to both beginners and professional athletes, as well as individuals with specific therapeutic needs.

7 benefits of Pilates Reformer for posture, strength and balance

The benefits of Pilates Reformer are multiple and manifest across many different levels, from the physical dimension to the mental one, allowing an integrated work that supports overall health for body and mind.

Here are the main Pilates Reformer’s benefits:

1. Integrated and balanced muscle strengthening

The use of resistance springs allows a personalized adjustment of the intensity of muscle work, promoting progressive and balanced strengthening for all muscles. This stimulates the visible superficial muscles, yet especially the deep and stabilizing ones (those that ensure stability for pelvis, spine and trunk) with greater effectiveness than traditional Pilates. The adjustable resistance makes possible to work on balance between agonist and antagonist muscles, avoiding overload and incorrect compensations that cause pain and dysfunction.

2. Improved posture and prevention of imbalances

The machine, providing mechanical support during practice, helps maintain the correct alignment of all joints to promote a natural and harmonious posture. This is key to correcting poor postural habits, typical of who spends long hours sitting or performing repetitive movements. In the long term, targeted work on postural control reduces muscle tension, improves spinal stability and prevents issues such as lumbago, neck pain and other painful conditions related to poor motion patterns.

3. Increased joint mobility in safety and control

Unlike free-body exercises, with the range of possible motion limited by muscle strength or coordination, Pilates Reformer allows to extend and vary movements thanks to the spring system and the smoothness of the platform. This allows to work on greater joint opening, stimulating elasticity, balance and flexibility with constant control, reducing the risk of injury or overload. It is especially effective for those recovering from injuries or wishing to safely and gradually improve their functional mobility.

4. Development of movement coordination and neuromuscular integration

Performing exercises on Reformer requires perfect synchrony of breathing, motion and muscle activation, which is essential for training the nervous system to practice more refined and precise control over body. This improvement in neuromuscular coordination produces more fluid, effective and less intensive moves, reducing unnecessary effort and holistically improving practitioner’s motion efficiency.

5. Injury prevention and rehabilitation

The ability to adjust resistance and use multiple accessories allows to customize training on individual’s specific needs, ensuring a gradual and safe progression. This makes it particularly suitable for people with joint issues, chronic pain or recovering from injuries, giving a controlled motion environment in which re-educating muscles and restoring functionality without the risk of overload.

6. Improved muscular endurance and respiratory control

Although Pilates is not considered a traditional aerobic activity, alternating repeated exercises with adjustable resistance promotes increased local strength, especially in deep and postural muscle groups. Furthermore, the synergy between motion and diaphragmatic breathing facilitates better oxygenation and more conscious control of breathing rhythm, which is essential for standard daily activities.

7. Positive effects on mental well-being and stress management

The focus on breathing, motion control and body awareness typical of the practice with Reformer generates a beneficial response on the autonomic nervous system, facilitating relaxation and reducing muscle and mental tension. This mind-body connection, in addition to the meditative aspect of the practice, promotes a greater ability to keep daily stress under control and thus improves psychophysical balance.

Pilates Reformer’s practice: 7 fundamental exercises to learn

Pilates Reformer’s exercises are designed to simultaneously engage multiple muscle groups, improving strength, flexibility, balance and coordination, while still maintaining precision and fluidity that are fundamental for the method itself, even in its traditional practice.

Following, the main Pilates Reformer’s exercises to perform.

1. Footwork: designed to warm up body and prepare lower limbs for training. Is performed by pushing with the feet against the reformer bar, keeping pelvis stable and spine aligned. Different foot positions (parallel, externally rotated, on toes or heels) allow activating different muscle groups such as calves, quadriceps and hamstrings, improving proprioception and balance.
   
2. Leg Circles: a fundamental exercise for increasing hip joint mobility and flexibility of stabilizing muscles. Typically performed with straps on feet, motion must be controlled and fluid, forming circles of varying sizes to stimulate the entire muscular and joint system involved. The focus is on keeping pelvis firm and stable, while developing high neuromuscular control, improving movement coordination and preventing postural issues. This exercise helps strengthen adductor and abductor muscles, essential for lateral stability.
3. Hundred: reformer’s adaptation of one of the iconic Pilates practices, this exercise aims at strengthening core, the deep muscles of the trunk. With the body positioned on the platform, legs raised at various angles and arms performing small rhythmic movements, this exercise stimulates controlled breathing and muscular endurance. Using the machine enables greater support and precise control in motion, reducing the risk of fatigue and improving activation of deep abdominal and lumbar muscles.
4. Short Spine Massage: fluid and articulated movement focused on lengthening spine, promoting mobility and releasing tension along the back. Is performed from a supine position with legs strapped to the floor, extending and then flexing spine in control, almost like “rolling” and “unrolling” it over the platform. This exercise stimulates also abdominals and hamstrings, facilitating a decompression effect on lumbar and cervical vertebrae and improving postural awareness.
5. Long Stretch: advanced exercise requiring a high level of postural control and muscle strength, particularly in trunk and shoulders. It begins in a plank position over the sliding platform, with hands resting on the front bar and feet on the moving platform. The challenge is to keep a straight line from head to heels while moving the platform back and forth, developing isometric power and dynamic stability. Thispractice requires perfect coordination between breathing, core activation and motor control.
6. Knee Stretch: performed in a quadruped position with knees resting on the sliding platform and hands on the front bar. The exercise entails pushing the platform backward and forward, keeping pelvis stable and core active. This dynamic stimulates the strength and stability of abdominal muscles, glutes and thighs, while developing dynamic balance too, very important for motor control and injury prevention.
7. Elephant: an exercise focused on lengthening the posterior chain and spinal mobility. In a prone position on the reformer, with hands on the front bar and feet on the sliding platform, the pelvis raises and the platform moves forward and backward with flexion and extension movements of the lower limbs. The exercise requires particular attention to breathing and maintaining proper alignment, helping improve posture, reduce lower back muscle tension and promote blood circulation to back and legs.

Pilates Reformer at Forte Village: elegance, well-being and innovation in an exclusive place

Within over fifty hectares of Mediterranean nature, next to the white sands of some of the most beautiful beaches in Sardinia, Forte Village is a top destination for those seeking a profound, authentic and personalized wellness experience. In this refined setting, conscious motion becomes a form of art, thanks to a well-being plan encompassing disciplines like Pilates Reformer and Antigravity, at the renowned Acquaforte Thalasso & Spa, known worldwide for its prestigious thalassotherapy programs.

Reformer, practiced with innovative equipment and under the guidance of highly qualified instructors, is one of the most interesting experiences for who wants to enjoy Pilates and its harmonious improvement in posture, flexibility and muscle tone. Classes are held in welcoming and fully equipped spaces, where each exercise is tailored to individual needs and aimed at achieving a deep balance between body and mind. Thanks to the use of the Reformer, every movement gains precision and control, for a complete and safe muscle training suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

To best enjoy the program dedicated to movement and postural balance, Forte Village also offers Antigravity sessions, a hanging technique that blends elements from yoga, Pilates and aerial dance. With the use of special elastic hammocks, this practice allows to lighten the load over spine, improve flexibility, strengthen core and rediscover the pleasure of motion through inverted gravity.

But the precious Resort’s offerings for those who want to stay fit even in summer don’t end there. The facility also houses over twenty top-class sports academies dedicated to teaching as many disciplines, including padel, swimming, fencing as well as tennis, basketball and pole dancing.

For further information about Forte Village’s sports offer or for booking a Pilates Reformer class, please call to +390709218818 or send an email to holiday@fortevillage.com.

Do you want to try the benefits of Pilates Reformer and experience a dream holiday in a true paradise? Discover Forte Village Resort in Sardinia