Reformer Pilates versus Resistance Training

[Southern1964]

So just that to be honest. I am Female, 47, in reasonable shape, not overweight etc and decided to start reformer 2-3 times a week in August last year. I have been pretty consistent with the reformer (2-3 times a week) but if I’m honest, I don’t feel like I am seeing much aesthetic changes. I did use a personal trainer a few years ago for resistance training and did see a lot more in terms of body changes.
Just curious as to what other people have experienced. Should I mix it up or stick with the reformer?
Thank you x

I’m a similar age and just started reformer, so following with interest.

I’ve been doing the same, consistent reformer 2-3 times a week and I do feel stronger and have built muscle and lost a bit of weight although I think the latter is through diet rather than Pilates. I’m just about to start with a PT as well so will see if that makes any more of a difference.

You need both. Pilates develops your functional movement - keeps you aligned, trains you to work in a balanced way, resistance training will help you keep your muscle mass. Also Pilates is much more than the reformer.

I am similar age to you and am very much focused on resistance training- heavy weights with progressive overload. You really need the weight lifting to maintain or grow muscle as you head towards menopause and beyond and it supports bone density.
Reformer is great for core strength and flexibility but won't have the same impact on muscle strength and size.

I would drop reformer to 1-2 times a week and add in 2-3 weight sessions

Pilates and weight training are different things. Pilates won't build much muscle, but it will help you to use the muscles you have effectively - it will make you think about your skeletal alignment, your breathing, your general filling of space, your posture, and your proprioception.

Resistance/weight training will actually help you build more muscle (and women over 40 LOSE muscle at a scary rate!) and make you strong. You can get really strong if you run a programme of progressive overload, sticking to a programme for 8-12 weeks or so.

I'm mostly dance trained so Pilates is a nice stretch out for me after heavy lifting, but Pilates can train dancer-like understanding of proprioception, and body alignment, which can help in resistance training.

It's all good, and it's not a competition.

Personally I prefer Mat Pilates over Reformer, as I found the machine classes too much faff and lacking in flow.
I also do a lot of other gym work. I think Pilates is great for balance , core and general stretching, as is Yoga.
But the biggest change for me comes from diet - more protein, yes, but generally balance in all things.

Perhaps you should keep the Pilates to once a week so you don’t lose what you’ve gained from that in terms of the movement patterns, flexibility etc and add two sessions of resistance training. Common advice is to have two days of resistance training.

Pilates for mobility, resistance training for muscle.

I tried reformer and thought it was a bit of a con tbh. Doing some tricky movements for no discernible reason. Do some squats and deadlifts and you will see results in no time.

Thank you, this is really helpful and reaffirms my original opinion of how important weight training is, maybe along side Pilates to enhance core strength.
Thank you for the detail, appreciate it.

Lots of things besides Pilates will give you mobility and alignment. Yoga, ballet , contemporary dance (those are what I do), or you can develop your own mobility routine for 10 minutes every day. Pilates is used by injured dancers, and it was developed by Joseph Pilates for use in confined spaces (he was interned). It's no more magic than any other consistent and thought-through mobility routine.

For core - well - proper technique with heavy weights needs & develops core strength - I know my core is amazingly strong from doing heavy (equal to my bodyweight) weighted barbell back squats - you have to brace before you hinge into the squat. Ditto deadlifts. Ditto overhead push - my PT coaches "Brace, brace!" like the airline safety talk <grin>

Also pull ups, and training pull ups by doing the hollow hold. Once you can hold a hollow hold for a minute, you can rule the world (ruling the world is easier).

Can you lift weights at home? e.g., I assume you'll need to keep buying heavier weights?

I've just started reformer, and even at the beginner's level, I have found it very hard. I honestly thought I would find it easy. Before I started, I did 2 hours of yoga and 4-5 hours of martial arts a week. I wanted it to help with martial arts. I have no idea how to incorporate weights into my routine.

I’ve done both and though I really loved reformer classes have found weights much better for both strength and core, and feeling a difference. Weights also much cheaper, even with sessions with a personal trainer and a local gym membership. I have injuries so do lighter weights and just have a few simple ones at home and use the gym.

I love pilates - mat and reformer. I feel stronger and more mobile. I love the breath work and emphasis on alignment and control. It's helped me so much after I had a serious injury - a spinal fracture - and is great for functional movement as we age. I also find it very grounding and calming.

As a classical Pilates teacher here, I can explain how the reformer is meant to be used to help change the body. Firstly "reformer Pilates" is like saying "leg running"...you do not need the word reformer as real pilates is a system that uses multiple pieces of equipment, and they all work together to help change the body.

The reformer is generally the first place to start with a client as the machine gives your teacher information about your body (misalignements, strengths, weakness ect..) then from that info your teacher will use the rest of the system to change, support, challenge ect...that's where and how the magic happens! There are so any other pieces of equipment that work alongside reformer.....towers, chairs, foot correctors, spine correctors, barrels ect....
If you are doing reformer only - you are missing out on the magic of the rest and the transformative power of a complete system.

Gyms and studios have clocked onto the marketing power of "reformer" and are now selling "reformer classes"...missing the entire point and brilliance of the huge system Mr. Pilates invented to truly change the body.

Get yourself to a studio that offers all the equipment: classical studios - not gyms and not boutique studios with reformers only....

Try it out and see the difference :)