Five Things To Know Before Starting Pilates

1. What is Pilates

Pilates is a method of exercise designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body. Developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, its practice focuses on postural symmetry, breath control, core strength, muscular flexibility, and cohesive movement. Pilates is often used in rehabilitation, for general health and well-being, and as a complement to other fitness programs.

2. What kind of workout is Pilates

Pilates is a well-rounded workout that includes all four pillars of fitness. In a single Pilates session, you may incorporate strength training, mobility, balance, and cardio. While some classes are focused on one or two pillars, you’ll find that breath control and core strength are the key characteristics that make a workout a Pilates workout.

3. Types of Pilates equipment

Yoga mat

If you’re doing mat Pilates, you’ll need a yoga mat. Mat Pilates is the most accessible type of Pilates because it doesn’t require large, expensive equipment.

Reformer

A Pilates reformer is a specialized piece of equipment used in Pilates workouts to provide resistance and support for a variety of exercises. It was designed by Joseph Pilates, the founder of Pilates, while he was at an internment camp during World War I.

Many patients at the internment camp hospital were bed-bound, so Pilates turned their beds into rehabilitation equipment. The patients were able to do resistance training for rehabilitation without leaving their cot. This is why Reformers are about the size and shape of a twin bed.

Cadillac or Trapeze Table

The Cadillac is a low bench, about the size of a Reformer, with a structural frame on top. Various springs and attachments connect to the frame to support a variety of exercises and movements. It is useful for beginners, but can also help advanced Pilates athletes achieve complex skills.

Megaformer

The Megaformer is a departure from traditional Pilates equipment. Most gyms that use Megaformers wouldn’t claim to be teaching Pilates at all, but if you’ve done classes on Reformers and Megaformers, you’ll notice the similarities. And if you’re interested in Pilates, you’re probably also curious about these things.

The Megaformer was invented by Lagree Method founder, Sebastien Lagree. He’ll be the first to tell you that Lagree is not Pilates, and the Megaformer is not a Pilates reformer. But similar to a reformer, it consists of a carriage that slides across a stationary frame. The carriage is attached to the frame by a series of adjustable springs, which is the source of the resistance. The handles are used in similar ways to the reformer foot bar. There are also straps, which transfer the resistance from the carriage into a device that can be used like a pulley machine.

Pilates Chair

The Pilates chair is one of the smaller pieces of Pilates equipment. While the Reformer was designed from a hospital bed, the Pilates chair was inspired by an armchair. It is essentially an upholstered wooden box with a foot rest (more like a foot bar or pedal) suspended by springs. You can do all kinds of exercises by pressing down on the foot bar with various body parts and positions.

Ladder Barrel or Barrel

The Ladder Barrel is a stationary piece of equipment that consists of an upside-down U shaped barrel and a vertical ladder. It’s great for a myriad of core exercises.

The Somato

The Somato is a device that exists somewhere in-between the Pilates reformer and the Megaformer. It is designed to have all the benefits of both devices in a much smaller, user friendly package.

The Somato has a carriage that runs along the frame, and a variety of springs for adjustable resistance. The straps tuck neatly in the back of the machine, disappearing to stay out of your way when not in use. The resistance is easily adjustable with the dials on the front platform. The footbar can be adjusted to 45 or 90 degrees. It weighs less than your checked airplane luggage, and the entire thing folds in half for storage.

4. What to wear while doing Pilates

You can wear whatever you want to do Pilates, but you’ll probably be most comfortable in form-fitting stretchy clothes (think yoga pants, sports bra, and a tee shirt that’s not too loose). Loose clothes can snag in the equipment if you’re on anything but the yoga mat. Whatever you wear, just make sure it’s stretchy enough to give you freedom of movement.

If you’re going to a class in a studio, bring socks with grippy bottoms. Traditional Pilates is practiced barefoot, but more and more studios are requiring grip socks.

5. Types of Pilates classes

Classical Pilates

Classical Pilates, also known as traditional Pilates, strictly adheres to the original method developed by Joseph Pilates. Classes follow a specific sequence of exercises to engage your full body and range of motion. The sequences begin with basic movements that get increasingly complex as you warm up, connect to your body, and engage your strength. Each movement and transition is choreographed, making it a more holistic, seamless workout. You’ll find the Classical Pilates workouts are slower and more mindful than Contemporary and Lagree-type classes.

Contemporary Pilates

Contemporary Pilates draws from outside fitness influences to create new exercises and movements. Accessories like the Pilates Ring, weights, resistance bands, and balls are often incorporated into classes. Contemporary classes may be faster paced than Classical classes, sometimes even getting into HIIT territory.

Lagree, Solidcore, BodyRok, SLT, Core40 etc

These newer methods of exercise take their inspiration from Pilates, but are a significant departure from Joseph Pilates’s Classical sequences. You’ll be doing your workouts on a Megaformer, or Megaformer-type apparatus. Breathing and form are generally secondary to intensity. In these high-octane studio classes you’ll find loud music, fast transitions and hard core, sweat inducing workouts.

Somato

Like its equipment, Somato exists somewhere in-between Classical Pilates and Lagree. The equipment is versatile, and can accommodate both types of exercise. If you download our app, you’ll find mindful, choreographed classes similar to the Classical Pilates method, classes with the creative twist of Contemporary Pilates, and the heart pounding, sweat dripping workouts inspired by Solidcore and BodyRok.