What Is Reformer Pilates: The Equipment, the Method, and What to Expect

In forty years of working with bodies, first as dance teacher and then as a Pilates coach and personal trainer, I constantly come back to the value of working with the Pilates equipment. There is so much talk about the Reformer at the moment (in 2025, Pilates reservations rose 66% year-on-year according to ClassPass's Annual Report, with 15 million bookings worldwide), but it is vitally important to understand that this is only one piece of the jigsaw. That said, with its huge popularity at the moment I feel it is time to take a look at its true value, especially in terms of what it makes possible that a mat and a set of weights cannot.

Most articles about reformer Pilates describe the machine and list the benefits. This one tries to explain why it works the way it does, and why it can be such a good choice for women who are returning to exercise or navigating the changes of perimenopause.

What the reformer actually is

The reformer is a padded frame, roughly the length of a human body, with a sliding carriage mounted on it. The carriage moves against resistance created by springs, which attach to the frame and can be added or removed to adjust the load. A foot bar at one end and a set of straps at the other allow the body to push, pull, and stabilise from multiple positions.

What makes the reformer different from a weight machine or cable stack is the nature of the resistance. Joseph Pilates, who designed the machine, was working from a specific principle: that strength should be developed through full range of movement, with the whole body engaged continuously, not isolated at a single point. Spring resistance varies continuously through a movement, creating a dynamic load that challenges muscles differently across the range of motion rather than at a single fixed point. It challenges the muscles through the arc, not at a fixed moment of peak effort.

The horizontal and semi-reclined positions reduce spinal compression and allow the joints to move through patterns that standing or impact-based exercise cannot easily access. This is not a compromise. For many women, it is the precise thing they have been missing.

The most common observation I make in a client's first session is that often stability is harder to achieve than strength, and it is also the key to finding further strength. The reformer asks the deep postural muscles to work continuously throughout each movement. For women who have spent years training the global muscles but not the stabilisers, this is often genuinely new information about how their body works.

What actually happens in a session

A good reformer session does not feel like a gym session. It is more precise than that, closer to being coached through a movement assessment than working through sets and reps.

Exercises might be performed lying, seated, kneeling, or standing on or beside the carriage. The instructor adjusts the springs for each exercise and for each client. A beginner works on different settings from someone who has trained consistently for two years. That adjustability matters because the machine meets you where you are, not the other way around.

Sessions typically run 50 to 55 minutes. Most studios in the UK offer classes of between five and ten people. If you have never used a reformer before, a short conversation before you book makes the first class considerably more productive. At Shaw Lifestyle, Liz offers a free discovery call for exactly this reason.

Why it works particularly well for women in their 40s and 50s

This is the part of the conversation most reformer articles skip.

In 2024, a systematic review and meta-analysis published in PMC analysed 11 randomised controlled trials involving 1,005 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. The findings were significant: bone mineral density (standardised mean difference 0.41), sleep quality (SMD −0.48), anxiety (SMD −0.80), and depression (SMD −0.80). These are consistent, peer-reviewed effects across more than a thousand women, using Pilates as the primary intervention (PMC, 2024).

The reformer suits this group for a reason that goes beyond the research outcomes. During perimenopause, oestrogen decline affects joint laxity, muscle recovery, and the body's stress response. Exercise that loads the system heavily, whether through high impact, high cortisol, or high training volume, can work against recovery rather than supporting it. The reformer's adjustable load and absence of impact allows intensity to be calibrated precisely. A session can be genuinely demanding without being depleting.

In 2025, a randomised controlled trial published in BMC Psychology followed 54 women with chronic musculoskeletal pain through a six-week reformer Pilates programme. Researchers found large effect sizes for pain reduction (Cohen's d up to 1.45), fatigue (d = 0.75), and sleep quality (d = 0.81) (PMC, 2025). These were women whose bodies needed something measured and specific. The reformer delivered it.

How cortisol affects training during perimenopause.

Reformer vs mat Pilates

Mat Pilates uses the body's own weight and gravity as resistance. It is accessible, portable, and a solid foundation for understanding Pilates principles. The reformer adds resistance through the spring system, which changes the demand on the body and expands the range of exercises available considerably.

Neither is better than the other. They work differently. Many of the women I train do both: mat sessions between studio appointments, reformer sessions at Shaw Lifestyle. What the reformer offers that the mat cannot is the ability to work against resistance through a full movement arc, in positions that are frequently more joint-friendly than the equivalent mat or floor-based exercise.

The comparison most beginners want answered is this: if you are starting from scratch, is one easier than the other? With proper instruction, no. Without it, mat Pilates is probably more forgiving in the first few sessions. With instruction, the reformer is often where things click faster, because the feedback from the spring resistance tells you immediately whether you are working correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is reformer Pilates hard for beginners?

No. The spring resistance is fully adjustable, and a qualified instructor sets the machine to your starting point. The first session focuses on understanding the equipment and how it responds, not on intensity. Most beginners find it more manageable than they expected, and more interesting.

How many sessions before you see results?

Most clients notice changes in posture awareness and core engagement within four to six sessions. Measurable strength and movement improvements tend to become more apparent between eight and twelve sessions. Research supports significant improvements in pain, sleep quality, and anxiety within six to eight weeks of consistent practice.

Is reformer Pilates good for perimenopause?

The evidence is strong. A 2024 meta-analysis of 11 randomised controlled trials involving 1,005 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women found significant improvements in bone mineral density, sleep quality, anxiety, and depression. The reformer's adjustable-load, low-impact format is well suited to the hormonal context of perimenopause.

Do I need prior Pilates experience?

No prior experience is needed. If you want to understand what you are getting into before you commit, Liz offers a free discovery call where you can ask questions and work out whether it is the right fit.

Is reformer Pilates worth the cost?

Reformer sessions cost more than mat classes because the equipment, studio space, and qualified instruction all have real overhead. Whether it is worth it depends on what you need. For women managing joint issues, returning to exercise after a gap, or looking for sustainable strength work that fits around a full life, the investment tends to justify itself within a few months.

What happens next

The reformer is not a trend. Joseph Pilates designed it as an integral part of his method, not a premium studio add-on. The fact that it is now fashionable does not change what it does or why it works.

If you are in Ealing or West London and want to find out whether it is right for you, book a free discovery call. It is a short conversation, not a sales pitch, just a chance to ask questions before you commit to anything.

Liz Shaw is a Master Personal Trainer, Comprehensive Pilates Instructor, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Nutritional Advisor, and Mental Health First Aider based in Ealing, West London. She runs The Willow Studio (Pilates) and The Everstrong Gym (strength training).

Sources

- ClassPass Annual Report, Fitt Insider, December 2025: https://insider.fitt.co/pilates-tops-global-fitness-trends/

- IBISWorld UK, Pilates and Yoga Studios Market, retrieved 2026-05-31: https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/market-size/pilates-yoga-studios/6091/

- Sport England Active Lives Survey, cited in SW Londoner, March 2025: https://www.swlondoner.co.uk/sport/20032025-pilates-and-yoga-exceed-pre-pandemic-participation-levels

- Systematic review and meta-analysis, mind-body exercise in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, PMC, 2024: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11465887/

- Randomised controlled trial, reformer Pilates and chronic musculoskeletal pain, BMC Psychology via PMC, 2025: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12296691/

- Randomised controlled trial, Pilates and menopausal symptoms, PMC, 2025: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12150949/