Reform with Reformer
Yoga and Pilates are so complementary. Where Yoga has descended from an ancient Indian philosophy, Pilates has derived from Western science. I personally don’t believe one excels over the other, for me, I need both to fine tune difference parts of my health and wellbeing.
In today’s blog I’m introducing the Reformer!
I remember when I first tried it, it looked so intimidating, almost like a torture rack! Very much the opposite. Pilates was invented by a German chap by the name of Joseph Pilates, who developed the system of body control exercises with the objective of achieving optimum alignment and strength.
What I love about reformer is that you can isolate specific focus areas (core, glutes, arms, shoulders, back etc.) and increase the resistance to build your strength in a very safe way. Similar to yoga, you’ll get longer, leaner muscle as opposed to short, bulky muscle the way body builders train.
The most important focus of Pilates for me is the core. By lying on a reformer bed, you can isolate the abdominals in an optimal postural position. Then by using the levers of your arms and legs, you build strength in your core*. *By ‘core’, I don’t mean the 6 pack muscles you see on body builders and gym junkies. The reality is unless you subscribe to a no fat diet, it’s highly unlikely we’re going to turn out 6 packs. I’m talking about the deep abdominals, whilst not so sexy, they ‘make’ you feel strong, kind of like how the roots of a tree hold it in place. These are the muscles you need when doing everyday tasks like carrying children and shopping. These are the muscles that help you not adopt poor, one sided or slouched posture, as they keep you upright. These are the muscles that prevent injury — and I’m speaking from experience here. This is where the real nugget of Pilates gold lies — by having a strong core it enables you to leap tall buildings in a single bound, well, perhaps not exactly a tall building, but lift 2 kids, 3 school bags and a bag of shopping let’s say, which is much the same thing.
Check out this video for Reformer Pilates in action. All Pilates teachers have been trained to (tie you to the torture bed) guide and adjust you on a Reformer bed so don’t worry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IveF0bYO-wM
Where do I sign up do you say? (No I am not being paid for any promotion!)
- I love @classpass for great access to Pilates studios across South West London. Their app is pretty intuitive.
- The folk @Bootcamp Pilates have a great network of studios across London including Fulham SW6, and I’ve found their teachers down to earth and push you just the right amount.
- Both The Pilates Clinic, Wimbledon SW19 https://www.thepilatesclinic.com/ and Pepilates, Clapham and Wimbledon SW19, SW4 http://www.pepilates.co.uk/ are run by well reputed Pilates trainers, and they also have their own teacher trainer centre so the teaching is of really high and consistent standards. They can also cater for injuries.
So, sign up for a beginner class if you’ve never been before, but I warn you, it’s terribly addictive.
