Founded by Joseph Pilates, Reformer Pilates specifically was originally created to rehabilitate wounded soldiers in WW1. He designed a ‘footbar’ at the end of hospital beds for support and a set of spring loaded straps at the bedhead to assist patients with their exercises. This was the conception of ‘Reformer’ Pilates. The full history is fascinating – we’ll write about it in our blog.

Originally only afforded by elite athletes and professional dancers, Reformer Pilates has become a mainstream way of achieving a full body workout. Using the resistance of the springs, the support of the carriage (flat bed-like component) and comfortable soft straps for your hands and feet, Pilates Reformer emphasises body alignment and form throughout every exercise. Pilates is renowned for being safe for long-term joint health.

How does Pilates give better and lasting results to a ‘normal’ gym workout or PT style exercises?

Due to the moving nature of the springs, the reformer ‘carriage’ and the feedback through the feet and hands via the straps (and/or other pilates props we often include), the brain receives more information throughout each exercise. This continual feedback helps create lasting neuro-muscular connections.

For a ‘normal’ or traditional gym-stye or personal training style fitness and strength session, the brain has just one reference point – ie, the ground and you performing the movement. Think of this as a 2-dimensional workout. The brain receives less information throughout the whole movement and session. There is only ONE reference point.

Reformer Pilates offers a continually shifting reference point for the brain whilst the body performs movements – and with the body being in 100% correct alignment throughout. Usually a normal gym workout, a person is performing the function for the sake of the function but not maintaining correct form or spinal position.

Pilates exercises are not performed mindlessly to get them done. Reformer Pilates is typically carried out in a mindful manner – coordinating the breathing and the movements whilst engaging your core, your pelvic floor and having proper joint alignment.

You will FEEL the difference once you attend a session. It usually takes a few sessions for people to improve their proprioception (where the body is positioned in space). Therefore, we see clients who start from the gym can feel ‘uncoordinated’ upon commencing initially.

Unlike a normal workout, Pilates includes foot work  – even the tiny muscle fibres underneath the feet get a good workout. These are crucial for good balance and stability, preventing falls and slips – and having more agility and saving yourself during a stumble when bushwalking or getting around. This applies to all ages, not just older people!

There is a lot more information we can detail on how Pilates workouts are different to classic gym workouts.

Did you know?

Asymmetry in the body is one of the biggest culprits for clients attending regular gym or PT, because you’re inadvertently often exacerbating their dominant side tendencies, reinforcing dysfunctional movement patterns – even if only mild they can become more pronounced.

Our small group sessions are designed to help bodies which do not necessarily have perfect functional movement patterns. They are suited to those with asymmetries, old injuries, various compensatory patterns and those with joint pain, stiffness, those prone to shoulder issues, back pain and knee issues.

Bear in mind, we have clients who do not have any issues per se, but they simply want to keep it that way – training in a well supported manner, ensuring preservation of long-term joint health.

Since the body thrives on diversity of movement, Pilates Reformer is the perfect modality. There are literally hundreds of different exercises one can do with the Pilates Reformer – in addition to adding small props for further variation. It is no surprise once you’ve tried pilates reformer sessions with us, to learn that worldwide, both Sports Physiotherapists and Rehab/Injury Physio’s use the Pilates method.

In the past, Reformer Pilates was only afforded by elite sportspeople or those who had endured injuries – prescribed the pilates modality by their surgeon or doctor.

We are lucky in Australia to be able to have the reformer pilates method as a general fitness and exercise regimen as it is sustainable for longterm strength and movement, backed by science and provides a mindful form of exercise coordinating the breath with the movements. The breath pattern is different to what you may be accustomed to in yoga or other sessions. Some pilates studios such as the franchises don’t necessarily apply all of the above, so it’s a good idea to check with your physio, or current clients or see the difference yourself between the various sessions offered!

PS – our Reformer pilates sessions are one hour. If you’re following the the gold standard in exercise guidelines, you will want to make sure you’re getting a sufficient duration in your workouts. If you’re doing just 3 x 40 miunte workouts per week and wondering why you’re not getting results, this might be part of the why!

Joseph Pilates, the Founder of the Pilates method, is famous for these words ‘In ten sessions, you’ll feel the difference. In twenty sessions, you’ll see the difference. In thirty sessions, you will have a whole new body‘.

There is definitely something to be said about this and why it has become such a well renowned quote.

What we are seeing in the studio

Attending 3 x 1 Hour Pilates Reformer sessions per week will have you feeling and seeing results. Add in your ‘exercise snacks’ which is incidental exercise during the day (taking the stairs, going for a 30 minute walk after meals to reduce lipase which is at its highest straight after eating).

The most dramatic changes we see in clients, are those who do atleast 3 x 1 hour reformer sessions per week and a 4th or 5th session of some type- whether it’s another reformer session, guided weights, mini trampoline or their own vigorous walk outside of the studio.

Our guided weight sessions are particularly popular and take your strength and fitness and movement range to the next level.

One of the best guages of progress we see in the studio is a client’s range in unilateral movements. We use reformer pilates to hone in on anomalies and asymmetries in the body – then look at the joy those people experience when we progress in our guided weight sessions with deeper range, ease of movement and reduced or eliminated pain! Big sighs of relief and for many, disbelief that they’ve made so much change.

What your local GP is saying

In line with the Australian Government exercise guidelines, your local GP is most likely telling you to accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or
75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an
equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
They are saying we must do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

With this in mind, note that our small group sessions are all 55 minutes- 60 minutes duration. You will not necessarily get this from other pilates studios, your gym or other fitness offerings!

ALL our Reformer pilates sessions are minimum 80% of MUSCLE STRENGTHENING – the rest of the session may be stretch only. Using the reformer, your body is more supported and body alignment and form gauaged to the millimetre for SAFE long-term joint health.

Our Guided Weight Sessions are also good for getting in your muscle strengthening activities.

Download the government guidelines exercise fact sheet for adults, click here

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This is such a common questions. The human body is not naturally ‘flexible’ per se.

Your mobility and flexibility will be greatly enhanced taking up Pilates. Using the support of the carriage, the feet and hand straps in addition to the varying tension of the springs and other props, get ready to be stretched, feeling supple and more limber.

Inflexibility (and lack of movement) will lead to long term side effects such as hip, knee, lower back, neck, shoulder problems and poor posture.

Our Reformer Pilates sessions will get you moving your whole body with focus on safe joint movement and relieving tight muscles.

Relieving tight areas in the body also gets lymph moving throughout the system for better circulation improving health on a greater level.

Did you know?

Have you ever wondered about those ballet dancers or people doing yoga who can leap around and look like a graceful swan? The ones who can contort their bodies and arch their back or perform the splits whilst gracefully taking their arms overhead in a long-held pose?

Those bodies have hypermobility. It means they were born with their ligaments slightly too long for the joints. This kind of body is prone to injuries. Hypermobile bodies can not feel the same ‘stretch’ as those without it. Therefore they can over-extend or ‘hyper-extend’ their body parts and do damage.

By the by, pilates is great for those with hypermobile joints as alignment and form are emphasised throughout every session.

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You do not need to be on a Membership to join any of our sessions. We offer packs (5, 10, 20 & 30-class packs) and single-class session. These all have a 12 month expiry. We have NEVER seen a client NOT USE all of their group session passes.

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We kindly ask for atleast 12 hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule a class. You can cancel your class anytime outside of the 12 hour window via your schedule on our app.

For late cancels, you might forfeit the session as there are others who might miss out if they’re on waitlist or others who don’t book thinking it is full.

Just text us if there are extenuating circumstances and we’ll try to allocate your session to a different suitable time slot.

Memberships are 12 weeks on Auto-pay. After the 12 weeks, they do not ‘auto’ renew. You need to re-purchase it if you want to continue.

Memberships suit those who need to be kept accountable to attend each week. If you miss a session one week, the missed sessions do not accumulate. Each week, the number of sessions re-sets.

If you go away on holiday or travel for work, you can pause your membership for $10 per week.

Other than that, there are no establishment or admin fees or exit fees. It’s very much a ‘WYSIWYG’ arrangement. For those of you who don’t remember what this is, or the younger generation who haven’t heard of it…it’s ‘What You See Is What You Get!’

The session packs provide more flexibility. They have a year long expiry. Some weeks you might do 2 sessions per week, then another week you might do 3 sessions or 4 sessions.

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We are a welcoming, family friendly community with classes of 55-60 minutes – suitable for women, men, teen’s and grandparents. All ages, levels of experience and fitness (or lack thereof!).

Personalised Attention

We’re small for a reason. With limited class sizes, you get hands-on corrections, real-time feedback, and instructors who know your name (and your body).

Community, Not Crowds

No frantic antics. Just a welcoming space where you’re part of our community, not just a number. Our regulars are down to earth, humorous, fun and hard working in our sessions (most of the time)!

Expert-Led Classes

Our instructors are all senior, ie, have many years of hands-on experience. We’re either rehab pilates trained, or worked with physios and chiros for years, and we have one resident physio who also takes some classes. We’ve worked with all sorts of bodies and are confident, passionate and equipped to help you achieve your goals.

Refined Alternative to Traditional Fitness or Gym’s

Every class is designed to be low impact for long-term joint health. Our aim is to give you strength and resistance training in a safe way emphasising proper alignment and form. Our clients all report consistent progress without the burnt-out or wiped-out feeling.

Clean, Serene, Fresh-Air and Uncrowded 

We have lots of operable windows, with natural ventilation, fans and air-con plus natural light! No fluorescent lights burning your eyeballs. The studio is kept spotless and is spacious – we have not packed in too many reformers for the space unlike many other studios – both small and large.

Our studio is for:

• Down-to-earth people who need to get strong, fit, improve movement patterns and feel great in daily life
• Those looking for Low Impact Exercise that will get you Results
• People NEW or returning to exercise
• People who are aware of the importance of joint friendly workouts
• People with shoulder, hip and ankle issues and those who get back pain
• People not after a cookie-cutter workout
• Anyone who wants quality
• People who dislike closed-in areas and want lots of natural ventilation
• Anyone preferring natural light during the day time, and soothing night lighting adjusted appropriately
• People who want Results you can feel and see
• People who aren’t really getting the results they’re after in their current workout regime
• People looking for a community where they’ll feel supported and included

Pilates Reformer : up to 8 participants: 1 senior instructor. Not all sessions are full. You’ll find the afternoon and evening sessions less busy up this end of Willoughby

Stretch : up to 8 participants

FAT Burner (low impact cardio on mini rebounders) – nb this is NOT Pilates : 12 participants. Great for lymphatic system and cardiovascular health.

For hygiene purposes, please wear socks in the studio. It is preferable to wear grip socks to prevent slipping whilst using the equipment. We also sell a range of grip socks in the studio.

Comfortable active wear is appropriate and ideally leggings or shorts so that positioning and form is visible to the instructor, particularly your knees are what we need to see.

Bring a Pilates Reformer mat if you have one, or a small towel. We also sell Grippy reformer mats in the studio and have studio towels incase you forget yours.

Bring your water bottle – we also sell refrigerated spring water in the studio.

BOUNCE/FAT BURNER – wear sneakers and shorts or leggings. For women, the minimiser sports bras are often preferred and for Men, wearing bike shorts underneath regular shorts is also a common preference.

NB: For the comfort of others, please no strong perfumes