Even before I registered in Pilates Instructor Training, it was not lost to me that Pilates can feel overwhelming-from all different types of equipment for the price tag on studio classes. In the last few years Lagree or megaforms -classes) have exploded in popularity and sent the message that these classes are in some way better or more difficult than food pilates classes. But I am here to say that within this debate we versus reforms pilates, everyone lacks the point.
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Alycea Ungaro is the founder of Real Pilates and is a licensed physiotherapist and a nationally certified Pilates teacher.
In fact, Food pilates Was supposed to be the most difficult form of pilates – when you mastered the exercises with other equipment, including reformers, to move to the carpet was a sign of mastery. “The original food course plan that Joseph Pilates created was extremely rigorous. If you look at his book” Return to life “and imagine that as a” home recipe “it is almost alarming,” says Alycea Ungaro, who is the founder of Real Pilates And trained under one of Joseph Pilates’ direct protégés. “The level of mobility, strength and agility required to perform all 34 exercises is very high.” Reformers, chairs and other tools were later developed, at least in part, to help practitioners reach the level of the ability to “degree” to the carpet.
When I learned this, I never looked at a Reformer -Pilates class the same way again. While I personally love to practice both carpet and reformer pilates, I no longer believe that reformer is itself, the final form of pilates again.
“You don’t get any help on the carpet – that’s all you – which makes it challenging in a completely different way than the reformer, where you handle the interaction between feathers, straps, the moving trolley, the head piece and the foot bar,” says Ungaro. “For many people, the Reformer may feel overwhelming, while the carpet removes it back to the pure essence of control,” which is one of the most important principles for Pilates.
That said, a reformer class can be more challenging than a food class. There are so many variables in a class – including what movements you do, how you perform them, etc. And that does not mean that a reformer cannot help you reach goals related to building strength or becoming a better athlete. “Understanding the reformer as both a resistive and aid is the key,” says Ungaro. “This is what makes the device so versatile and so deep in its impact on the human body. The dual capacity is what allows the reformer to meet every student where they are – whether they rebuild strength after illness or press against top performance.”
In the end, I’m here to say: there doesn’t have to be a debate about what kind of reformer is best, or if food pilates is “harder.” At the end of the day, Pilates is about what feels best in your body, for your own life and goals. “My biggest takeaway from these years (of training) is that original Pilates was never meant to be astore-passing everyone,” says Ungaro. “The classic studio is filled with a wide range of (equipment) precisely because no two bodies are the same.”
Mercey Livingston is a writer and editor with eight plus years of experience covering fitness, health and nutrition for media and brands including well+good, form and women’s health. She was the fitness editor at Peloton and held editorial roles at Equinox, Shape and Well+Good. Mercey is a NASM certified personal trainer and women’s fitness specialist. She is also a certified holistic health trainer through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, with further certification in hormone health. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi
