As we age, staying active and maintaining mobility becomes increasingly important. However, many people struggle with finding the right exercise routine that builds strength without putting too much strain on their joints. This is where Reformer Pilates comes in—a low-impact yet highly effective workout that strengthens your core, improves stability, and supports functional movement for everyday tasks. No matter your age, Reformer Pilates offers benefits that help you move better, feel stronger, and enhance your overall quality of life.
What is Reformer Pilates?
Reformer Pilates is a specialized form of pilates that uses a piece of equipment called the Reformer. The reformer features a sliding carriage, adjustable springs with varying resistance, and a range of attachments that allow you to perform a wide range of exercises in multiple positions—lying down, sitting, standing, or kneeling. Building upon traditional mat-based pilates, the reformer adds extra resistance and variety, making it an excellent tool for building strength and increasing flexibility.
Strengthening Your Core for Long-Term Health
At the heart of Reformer Pilates is core strength. Every exercise on the reformer will incorporate using proper core activation through your abdomen, back and pelvic floor to ensure you get the most out of every exercise! Strengthening these muscles improves postural alignment, helps prevent injury, and provides the support your body needs for optimal movement throughout your daily routine.
- Why Core Strength Matters: Your core is more than just your abs. It’s a central hub of strength that stabilizes your spine, balances your body, and keeps you steady. A strong core makes bending, lifting, reaching, and twisting movements easier and safer. Over time, this becomes particularly important as muscle mass naturally declines with age.
- Combatting the Effects of Aging: As we age, we often experience a loss of muscle tone and decreased flexibility. By regularly practicing Reformer Pilates, you can keep your core muscles strong and flexible, improving your balance and reducing the risk of falls.
Supporting Functional Movement for Everyday Life
Functional movement refers to the ability to perform natural, everyday actions like walking, bending, twisting, and lifting. Reformer Pilates is unique in that it not only builds strength but also supports these functional movement patterns. The exercises mimic real-life movements, helping you improve coordination and balance, making daily activities easier to perform.
- Functional movement refers to the ability to perform natural, everyday actions like walking, bending, twisting, and lifting. Reformer Pilates is unique in that it not only builds strength but also supports these functional movement patterns. The exercises mimic real-life movements, helping you improve coordination and balance, making daily activities easier to perform.
- Joint-Friendly Workouts: One of the major advantages of Reformer Pilates is that it provides a low-impact workout that’s gentle on your joints. This makes it particularly beneficial for people who may have arthritis or other conditions that make high-impact exercises painful. By using the Reformer’s resistance and adjusting the tension, you can customize your workout to suit your current fitness level while still getting an effective strength-building session.
Benefits of Reformer Pilates for Older Adults
Reformer Pilates isn’t just for professional athletes or dancers—it’s also an excellent exercise option for older adults. Here’s how it helps:
- Improves Posture: As you strengthen your core, you naturally improve your posture. Good posture can alleviate back pain and reduce the strain on your neck and shoulders, which are common areas of discomfort as we age.
- Increases Balance and Stability: The reformer provides a stable yet challenging environment to work on balance. By practicing pilates regularly, you enhance your ability to stabilize your body during dynamic movements, which can help prevent falls—a major risk for older adults.
- Boosts Confidence in Daily Activities: Whether it’s getting up from a chair, walking up stairs, or carrying groceries, the functional strength and coordination you gain from reformer pilates can boost your confidence in performing daily tasks.
Getting Started with Reformer Pilates
If you’re new to reformer pilates, it’s a good idea to start with one of our beginner classes! Our qualified instructors will guide you through the foundations of using the reformer, and help you get acquainted with the terminology used in classes. Our multi-level classes are unique to our instructors, but always offer a range of options to regress or progress exercises for each individual! If you are looking for a challenge, our intermediate classes are the option for you!
Not sure if classes are for you? We also offer personalised pilates sessions that offer 1 on 1 guidance specialised to your specific fitness needs and goals!
Remember, consistency is key. By practicing reformer pilates regularly, you’ll start to see improvements in your strength, flexibility, and overall functional movement within a few weeks.