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Private Reformer Pilates in Toronto

The reformer is the piece of equipment people are most curious about and most nervous about. Here is what it does, why it is often easier than the mat, and what a private session on it is actually like.

What a reformer actually is

A sprung carriage that slides along a frame, with a footbar, straps and a headrest. You lie, sit, kneel or stand on it. The springs are changed between exercises to alter the load. It looks intimidating from across a room and stops looking that way about four minutes in.

Why springs are not the same as weights

A dumbbell is heaviest at one point in the movement. A spring builds resistance progressively through the range, which trains control on the way back as much as on the way out. That eccentric half is where most of the strength and most of the joint protection comes from.

Why the reformer is often easier for beginners

The counter-intuitive part: springs can assist as well as resist. A roll-up that is impossible on the mat becomes achievable on the reformer because the spring supports the weight of your torso. People who have failed at mat Pilates often succeed here.

One to one, not a class of twelve

In a reformer class the settings are called out for the room. In a private session the spring tension, the footbar height, the strap length and the tempo are all set for your body, and changed the moment they stop serving you. On a machine that adds load, that difference is not a luxury.

Who it suits

Desk workers with stiff hips and a tired upper back. Runners and lifters who want mobility without losing strength. People coming back from injury who have been cleared to move and want someone watching. People who find the mat unforgiving on the knees or wrists.

What it costs

A private reformer session in the downtown studio is CAD 110 before HST, or CAD 70 each as a duet. Reformer work happens in the studio, since the machine lives there — home sessions are mat-based. The full price list is here.