Matwork vs. Reformers

Most People combine mat and machine classes for the best results. Mat work challenges your agility, power and accuracy of motion. The Reformer trains specific muscle activation and correct range of motion.

The Reformers were first developed by Joseph Pilates for rehabilitation, not conditioning. During WW1 Joe worked in a German internment camp in the UK, assisting wounded soldiers. Men were immobilized indefinitely and little attention was paid to rehabilitation or even basic movement. Joe was horrified by the soldiers’ physical decline, and decided to rehabilitate them while they lay in hospital beds. He devised simple exercises that could be done laying down-in traction if necessary. Someone for example, with a broken leg was encouraged to wiggle his toes, and press into the traction sling to strengthen the muscles of his injured leg. Joe gained quite a reputation as the resident “inventive physiotherapist”, who reveled in the potential use of found objects as exercise apparatus. So began the development of the renowned Reformer. A man named Joe Pilates saw the rehabilitative and movement potential of the very pulleys and straps used to immobilize the injured.

For total body conditioning Joe used mat exercised as the benchmark. Mastering Mat Work was his test of true strength and integrated movement. Simply put, there is no assistance from straps of springs when you are on a mat. Your body is the resistance, and you are in charge of every aspect of every exercise. You can cheat, But when you truly master Pilates Mat Work, your physical condition-strength, flexibility, and overall movement-improves dramatically.

Most people use a combination of mat and machine for the best results. Mat classes are designed to challenge your entire body, exercise after exercise. Especially at the advanced levels, you can move for the entire class without taking a break. In the reformer classes, you work against resistance for precise activation of muscles, and correct range of motion at your joints. An hour on the reformer is a great workout, and you make the strength gains that help propel you to the expert levels of Mat Work.

• You work on a mat and the floor
• Your body provides the resistance
• You control your movement
• Intended as a full body conditioning

• You work on a machine
• Springs provide the resistance
• Pulleys and straps guide your motion
• Intended as a full body conditioning that helps to perfect the Mat Work