Understanding Pilates Cadillac and Tower Spring Tensions
Alright, my Pilates, Cadillac, and Tower lovers, have you looked at this piece of equipment, and you’re confused on which Pilates Cadillac and Tower spring tensions to use? If you look at my springs, they have no color, yours have color, and they’re too heavy or too light. How do we deal with this? Well, this video is going to break down all that information for you so you can safely use your Cadillac or Tower and get the benefits you’re looking for.
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Hi, I’m Lesley Logan, co-founder of onlinepilatesclasses.com and I will never forget the day that I saw a Cadillac at a Pilates studio, is about 2005 when I walked into a Mat class and I thought that thing is scary, but then several years later, when I was becoming a Pilates instructor, was like, well, here it is, I have to know how to use it, and what I found is that it was pretty straightforward in that training environment, but today, now that there are so many different people getting into the creation of Cadillacs and Towers, it is confusing if you are buying one for your home or your studio, or you go to a new space, and it’s like, well, which spring do I use? How do I make sure this is working for me? So, I want to demystify everything and give you some clarity, so you can be doing your Pilates practice without spending so much time wondering which spring to use and whether you’re doing this right.
Comparing the Pilates Cadillac vs. the Tower
So, what is a Cadillac or Tower if you’re doing your research? Well, I’m sitting in front of a Cadillac, and I do have a Wall Tower. There are also Towers that are connected to Reformers, but a Cadillac – this is what Joe Pilates created. It was called the Trapeze Table. Some people call it the Trap Table. I don’t really like that title. The Cadillac, I think, is a better name for it, and it was called that because at the time it was the car with all the options, and the Cadillac really is the piece of equipment that has all the options. We have a trapeze that we can use, we can hang upside down, we have arm springs, we have leg springs, we have a push through bar, we have roll back bar, so the Cadillac has all these things that really help you understand in a very safe piece of equipment, because it’s nice and heavy, how to connect your legs to your center in Pilates, your arms to your center. Understand some of the more complicated Pilates exercises, and the tower. The Tower is basically a half version, so it doesn’t have the top poles. It won’t have one side; it will just have this side with a bunch of hooks and all the things you see here on one side, so it’s nice and condensed. It’s great for small spaces. If you’re wondering whether to use a Cadillac or a Tower, we have a great video that compares the Pilates Cadillac vs Tower to help you decide which is right for you.
Best Practices for Setup and Maintenance
So we have to set up our equipment first, because it matters, right? If you are about to sit down and do a workout, whether you’re following along with one of my Tower-Cadillac workouts here on this channel, or creating one of your own using my flashcards, you want to make sure that everything is where you need it to be, so that you have your leg springs on their hook, your arm springs on their hook, that your rollback bar is where it needs to be. If you have things kind of all around. One, it does mean that you have to hit pause a lot on any workouts you’re falling behind on, or it’s easier to get distracted, and I don’t know, check your phone right? So, you want to make sure you have everything you need at the tensions you want to use. And the next thing I also encourage you to do is every so many months, usually once a quarter, I would check and make sure that all of your springs and their clips are safe and fresh. You want to make sure the health of your springs is good, that your safety chains are good, that you have no squeaky bolts or nuts, because if anything is going wrong while you’re working out, that’s the last time you want to fail on you. So, checking to make sure that everything is safe and connected in the right place once a quarter will mean you get a great, efficient workout, so you’re not wasting time trying to find the springs you need.
Understanding Pilates Spring Tensions
So, let’s talk about understanding Pilates spring tensions, because that is the most important thing when it comes to doing your Cadillac or Tower workout, choosing the right Pilates springs for you. And here’s the deal: it’s going to change over time, depending on where you’re at in your practice, so I’d love to say it’s set-it-and-forget-it, but sometimes even I want to change my springs. So I’m going to go over the different springs on the Cadillac, how I use them in my practice, and how I use them to teach. So first of all, all Cadillacs and Towers have what’s considered a leg spring, so it’s a longer spring. It usually has a loop at the end, and it has a higher spring tension. Okay, it’s also going to be set at a nice height, so that is going to challenge your hips to stay on the Mat.
Also, if you’re going to do overhead exercises, the springs are a good height to allow you to do that. So I typically use this regular leg spring. I have a controllogy Cadillac, and it’s just their regular leg spring. However, I have a client who’s six foot four and solid, so his leg itself weighs a lot, so I have a heavier leg spring for him, and this one is from their J-PAC line. So, what does that translate to if you’re looking at springs with different tensions? So, because I’m at a Balanced Body demo center and they sponsor our tours, I am familiar with many of their springs. The regular leg spring is kind of like their purple spring, where the heavy J-PAC one is more like their red. Typically, use the purple leg spring for most of my clients, as long as they are adults and have an average body size. I rarely use that red one, but, like I said, sometimes you have someone who needs the support, and what does that mean? It means that when I’m working with these springs, when I’m doing, for example, leg springs, you can check out our tutorials. This spring should feel like it becomes part of my body. It’s heavy enough that I can feel something, but not so heavy that it’s forcing me to arch my back or collapse into my lower back, or my leg is being pulled around right?
Expert Tips for Adjusting Springs
Now, what do you do for leg springs if you are in a smaller body, a shorter body, right? So, I typically take my heavy J-PAC arm spring. So, for those of you who are working with more contemporary springs, this might be more like the center line gray spring or even their blue spring, and I will use it as a leg spring. So, I try to keep my shorter body, my shorter clients at the leg spring setting, just with a heavier arm spring, right? If that height is wrong for them, I will move my regular leg spring to the arm spring setting. Why do I do that? Well, one, most people who are shorter can still work with this tension; they still need it. They’re doing the world, their life, out into the regular world, so they often need it. And if that is still too heavy, then I will do the heavy arm spring at the arm spring setting. So that is kind of how I pick the leg spring tension. What do you want to be thinking about when you’re picking your tension?
Well, if you’re doing exercises like leg spring or single-leg spring, then having a really supportive spring will help you learn how your legs move from your center without you being pushed around. If you’re doing leg springs in the air, it needs to be supportive enough to keep your hips up without making you feel like you’re overworking your arms or lower back. If they don’t feel supportive enough, that’s where that heavier leg spring is going to come into place, so you can be doing things like leg springs in the air or airplane, but if you choose too heavy, you’re going to feel like you’re being literally thrown across the room. We don’t want to do that. We want it to feel good. Now, for our arm springs, when I’m working with contemporary equipment like Balanced Body, I do like their center-line gray springs.
However, their short yellows will also work. I often have to move people further away to get the tension that I’m looking for. So, your arm springs are a little bit shorter springs; they’re lighter than the leg springs, and they’re here to help connect your arms to your back. So, again, you don’t want the spring to be so heavy that you have to arch your back or move with your shoulders; you actually want the spring to be at a tension that you can feel your whole upper back all the way down to your lower ribs working with you, and so that way you can find the strength that you need. However, if you’re doing staying arm springs and the springs are too light, when you go to lean forward, you might not feel the support to lean into the spring, you might end up using more of your back or your shoulders to create tension, and so you might want to work with a little bit heavier spring, like a blue or a light medium spring. So those are the ways you want to work with your arm springs.
Roll Back Bar and Trapeze Springs
Now, roll back bar springs, and a lot of brands use the same springs for arm springs as they do roll back bar springs, but my teacher, Jay, said that the roll back bar springs were actually a different tension than the arm springs, and so I like my roll back bar to be a slightly heavier tension than I often find in different spaces. So, if you’re working with short yellows, you might actually want to try a little bit heavier spring, like the center line gray. I would not do two blues, right? I would not use those springs if I’m working with a rollback bar, because it’s going to be too heavy and people can’t resist the pull. But you want the spring to be at a tension that allows you to find your articulation, your back, if you’re doing roll back bar exercises, or learn exercises like chest expansion, get support in your thigh stretch, but not be so overpowering that you can’t do the work that requires your arms to be behind your back. If the springs are too heavy, they’ll pull on your shoulders, so you want that for your roll-back bar springs.
I know there are still more springs to talk about. We have to talk about our roll-back bar springs. So, your roll back bar is actually one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment in your Pilates studio. When this bar is spring-loaded, it can hit anyone in the head, including a teacher. And so you want to make sure that, one, you are using it safely, and two, that the spring you’re working with is there to help you find your support. It’s heavy enough that you can feel the work that you need in the right places, but not so heavy that it’s pushing you around, because again, if you lose your hand grip on that bar, it will, it does, the spring does close, so you want to make sure that you have control over it. So this heavy spring is a Contrology. If I’m working with contemporary equipment, like Balanced Body, it is a red spring. I really like a red spring. I have one for the top and one for the bottom. And then finally, we have our trapeze bar springs. These are the heaviest springs that you’re going to find on your Cadillac. You will not find these springs on a tower. Everything we just discussed, all those rules apply to the tower, but for the Cadillac, we have the Trapeze, hence its original name, and you want these springs to be really heavy, because you’re going to put your body weight here, and you don’t want this thing to move or open or of any kind. And so you have these really nice, heavy-duty springs here, and you always want to make sure you check the spring’s condition so it doesn’t break while you’re using it.
Safety Protocols and Equipment Setup
Alright, so this is our rollback bar, and you can see that my clip isn’t straight. You always want to make sure that before you start any exercise, your clips are perfectly straight so your bar works even better. Checking the health of your spring: my roll-back bar rolls because the exercises I do in Pilates require it to roll. If you drill straight into the bar, that can change how an exercise feels in your body. You’re gonna want to make sure that the spring supports the exercise choice that you’re making. Leg springs, so our leg spring height will be different from our arm spring height. You’ll see that in a moment. You want to make sure that your long leg springs have their appropriate clasp for the tension that’s going to get pulled on them, and of course, a loop for your feet when you are ordering leg springs, make sure that the company is sending the clips themselves. You don’t want to buy your own clip, because it won’t have been tested for the tension being put on the clip from the spring, when working with your push-through bar. If the spring is coming from above, there is no need for a safety chain. You just want to make sure that your chain, your spring, is completely clear for movement. You don’t want anything to get caught in it, and you also want your clip to be on straight and appropriate for the tension this spring will be using.
If you’re doing springs from below with your push-through bar, make sure you put your safety chains on before the spring. I know you’re like, “Oh, I’ll remember”, you might not, so always put the safety chain on first, and then you can spring from below. If the company gave you two, you use both. If they gave you one, you use one, but always use the one that came with the equipment that is going to make sure that you’re using the appropriate safety chain for the exercises you are doing with the spring that is on the equipment. If your equipment has a way to put your push-through bar away, it’s ideal because you don’t have it hanging when you’re working with the equipment. All right, for your arm springs, again, making sure you have the appropriate clips into your arm springs, and that your arm spring health is nice and equal, and even, you know, we even if you’re using them for a while, and you see nothing, at one point they could have been stored a certain way that caused them to get bent or pulled. And then you want to look at the handles. Ideally, you want to work with handles where this part of the handle moves, so the spring can move with your hands and body while you’re doing the exercise. If it doesn’t move, you have to move, and that won’t help you get the exercise benefits.
Working with your trapeze bar, I like to keep mine stored up and away, so it’s ready for me to use, but also making sure that you have your sleeves that cover the spring, so when feet are near this and they’re not touching the springs, you don’t have to worry about anything getting caught in there, and then also making sure that your trapeze strap has no twists in it, that the clips are nice and healthy. You also want to make sure your strap length is appropriate for the exercises you’ll be using it for. One last safety check is to make sure that your push through bar bolt can tighten and hold the push through bar in place at any time, if that becomes stripped, then this isn’t going to lock into place, and it can move while you’re using it, and then also that it’s easy to unscrew to get out of the way. If all this felt like a lot, I know. It took years of personal practice and understanding the exercises I was asking these springs to do to have this information, and also going around and trying it out on different types of Cadillacs and towers. However, I’ve made it really simple for you. I have a great cheat sheet in the Cadillac Flashcards Deck. Yes, the Cadillac Tower Flashcards Deck has how to set up a Pilates Cadillac, which spring tensions to use, and on each and every exercise, it says which spring it is, and you can translate that for your practice. Remember, sticking with the ideal to start filling it in your body, and then going, “Oh, that feels a little too heavy, or “That actually doesn’t feel heavy enough”, and making those adjustments will allow you to have the best workout for you.
If your equipment is new to you, make sure you’ve done the Pilates apparatus safety check I talked about, that the health of your springs is good, and that you’re using the right clips. Here is the deal: these clips look like something that you would just get at a hardware store, but please don’t do that. You want to make sure that the clips you’re using for your springs come from the manufacturer of your equipment. The reality is that, when talking about safe Pilates equipment use, the Cadillac was very easy for us to set up ourselves. The tower, I definitely hired someone who’s professional and experienced in making sure it’s bolted to the wall so it won’t pull off when I’m using it. So, there are times when you want a professional working with you, but you still need to make sure you understand how to check the safety and health of your springs, clips, and safety chains. Setting aside a calendar you can do consistently will help make sure you’re safe when you’re working out and that your equipment is safe. In most places, there are people who exist in your area who can come and check the health of your equipment from time to time. You might want an annual visit. And for those of you who are studio owners watching this, you will want an annual visit. You will want someone to ensure that the health of your equipment is solid and safe for the Pilates apparatus maintenance tips that you carry. If you’ve got your tower or Cadillac set up, you’ll want to check out one of our workouts on this channel. They’re free. We have a 30-minute tower workout that can also be done on your Cadillac, and we have a 15-minute one. And may I just say, we also do Cadillac workouts with our OPC membership.
Troubleshooting Pilates Equipment and Common Mistakes
So, some troubleshooting Pilates equipment mistakes I would love for you to hear, so you can avoid them: one, never forget your safety chain when you’re using your push-through bar sprung from below, and if they gave you two, use both. Next is making sure the health of your springs is clean and clear and ready for use, and they’re in the right place, and that the hooks don’t somehow hook on themselves, because you don’t want to be putting pressure on the spring, and then the hooks unhook from it, it’s just a little jarring. The other mistake people tend to make, often and too often, is that they are using the wrong spring tension for themselves. They mistake heavy for a harder workout, or light for the right spring for them, because they want to feel tension in their body. You really want to make sure you’re working in the spring that fits you. And if you want to know other mistakes to avoid in Pilates, check out our video, Eight Mistakes to Avoid in your next Pilates class.
Integrating Cadillac & Tower into a Holistic Pilates Practice
So, how do you use the Cadillac and Tower as part of a holistic Pilates practice? Like, where does this fall into the system? Well, first of all, this is one of the greatest places to introduce springs into your practice. I know a lot of people are introduced to Pilates on the Reformer first, and that’s great. It is part of the system. The Mat work is one of the safest places for you to understand the movements, because there’s no spring tension, there’s no moving platforms, but the Mat work is one of the hardest things that you can do. And the reformer is very supportive, very helpful, but because of the moving platform, some of those exercises are quite dangerous to learn there. However, the Cadillac and Tower allow you to have the opportunity to understand how to move your arms and your legs from your center without overdoing it from your shoulders or overdoing it from your lower back or your quads. Right, these springs become the help and support you need to stay in your body, and so when you understand that, it allows you to use the Cadillac and tower to improve your Pilates practice with springs, but also teach you the skills that you’re missing. You know, those exercises you like to avoid, you like to avoid them because they’re hard. Well, the Cadillac can help. So, for example, if you don’t like teaser on the Mat, good news: you would actually spend a lot more time doing teaser with the poster bar to develop the strength and stamina you need to do it there. However, you can also learn how to do swan on here, and then combine the swan and the teaser to do teaser on the Reformer, right?
If your hip clicks when you’re doing exercises on the Mat or the Reformer, your leg spring practice is actually one of the best things you can do to support the muscles around your hips and make those connections stronger, so the hip click disappears. If you’re tired of feeling all this tension in your shoulders, the arm springs are going to help you. So no longer are you just circling your arms in the air like it’s choreography, but you’re circling it from your whole center. And so, the Cadillac and Tower really become essential parts of your practice. It’s also a great place to start with Pilates Cadillac for beginners, if you’re returning to Pilates after an injury or a long break from movement. This is where a lot of the rehab work Joe Pilates would do would start. Now, that doesn’t mean this is easy. By no means is it easy. It’s actually quite challenging, but it’s because the springs, when chosen correctly for your body, are so supportive that they allow you to learn the moves you need to take the practice that you love on the Mat and Reformer to their next level. If you would like some more support when it comes to the spring choices that I discussed, because I know I did say them quite fast, and it feels overwhelming to learn. The good news is that when you’re an OPC member, you can actually get support for that. First of all, we have a new 45-minute tower workout that can beat on any Cadillac that comes out every month, and it’s part of a theme that goes along with the Mat, Reformer, and Wunda chair classes, so you can really see how the Cadillac and tower support your Pilates practice. But the other thing we do that’s unlike any other online platform is that you can submit a video of you doing an exercise on your Cadillac or tower and get my personalized feedback on whether that’s the right spring choice for you. You just have to be an OPC member. So, go to onlinepilatesclasses.com/youtube and join us.
Final Thoughts and Resources
Thank you so much for watching this video. I hope this was really helpful. This video came about because of comments left with questions on other tutorials. This channel has over 1000 tutorials that help you access and understand the purpose of the exercise Joe Pilates gave us. So I truly hope this video helps you use those tutorials even more, the workouts we’ve given you, and, of course, our flashcards. So take another listen through, ask any questions you have. I go live every single Sunday at 9 am Pacific time to answer your other questions. Thank you, and have an amazing day.
