Maximise the benefits of Reformer Pilates and elevate your practice

Pilates continues to grow in popularity as a highly effective form of resistance-based exercise, helping to improve core stability, muscle tone, and balance. After teaching Clinical Pilates for over 20 years, I’ve seen that a supervised Pilates program offers specific benefits that go beyond a simple workout.

Building your core stability and stabilising muscle groups

When we think of Pilates, core stability is often the first thing that comes to mind. However, while Pilates does enhance abdominal muscle control, stability isn’t limited to just that area. Joint stability is achieved when small stabilising muscle groups are activated and strong enough to support the normal movement patterns of each joint.

For example, in the lower back and pelvis, both the deep abdominal muscles and the multifidus muscle group play essential roles in maintaining stability. Additionally, Pilates, particularly Clinical Pilates, strengthens major stabilisers throughout the entire body. Specifically, this includes:

• The small rotator muscles around the hips (e.g., quadratus femoris and hip internal rotators)
• The muscles around the pelvis (gluteus medius and maximus) responsible for controlling side-to-side and forward-backward movements
• The quadriceps muscles around the knees
• The shoulder blade stabilisers for upper body and neck control

Task-oriented and functional exercises

One reason Clinical Pilates is so effective is that the exercises are task-oriented and functional. Rather than isolating specific movements, your brain remembers and engages with tasks better. Moreover, these exercises often incorporate:

• Closed chain movements – where weight passes through the entire arms or legs, stimulating co-contraction and improving joint stability.
• Controlled balance challenges – Exercises that work in one or two planes of movement, promoting balance adaptation without overwhelming the body.

All these factors combine to make Pilates an excellent tool for improving control, stability, and balance.

Pilates can be adapted to anyone’s needs

Another benefit of Pilates is its adaptability. With the guidance of a skilled instructor, Pilates can be tailored to suit anyone’s needs, whether you’re a beginner or more advanced. Especially with the reformer, Pilates becomes a versatile tool for achieving both strength and functional fitness goals.

The difference between an effective Pilates program and a random mix of exercises lies in the choice of movements. Exercises typically start in low-impact or minimally weight-bearing positions, allowing beginners to build strength without excessive strain. As you progress, exercises can increase in complexity, incorporating:

• Heavier resistance
• Greater balance demands
• Enhanced coordination and control

How do you take your Pilates practice to the next level?

The answer is simple: combine Pilates with strength training

As your core and pelvic stability improves through Pilates, you can transfer these skills into other types of training. I’ve found that once people have built a solid foundation of joint stability through Pilates, adding strength training with compound exercises such as:

• Deadlifts
• Squats
• Bench press

…can take strength and functional control to new heights. In fact, the combination of Pilates and strength training is where many people achieve their long-term goals and often exceed their own expectations.

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