Reformer Pilates at Home Without Equipment
Hey, Reformer lovers. Are you looking to do Pilates without Reformer but still get the same benefits? This video is going to help you with that. There are some exercises you can do with a few simple props without a Reformer at all.
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Hi, I’m Lesley Logan, co-founder of onlinepilatesclasses.com, and I’m really excited to talk about Reformer exercises on the Mat because, first of all, I fell in love with Pilates on the Mat. I didn’t even know what the Reformer was. I did Mat work every single day, and then when I went to a studio and got in a Reformer, honestly, I thought I was gonna fly off of it. It scared me and intimidated me a little bit. But as I started to learn more about it, and I started to understand to understand the study and study it, what I also wanted to do was learn how to practice it without a Reformer. Because I didn’t have space for a Reformer in my apartment in LA, I didn’t have the money to buy one. Can you do Pilates without a Reformer? Absolutely! And so whether you’re like me and you’re looking to save space or save money, or you just want to have more time doing your Pilates at home, this video is for you.
Pilates Reformer on the Mat History
Now, I do want to go into some things about the history of Reformer exercises on the Mat while we’re talking about it. Joseph Pilates did not actually create exercises like he did not have a Reformer on the Mat class. That wasn’t a thing. When he went to his studio, that wasn’t a thing, okay? However, in Romana’s studio, Reformer on the Mat did become a thing because she didn’t have a ton of Reformers, and her princesses needed to study, and they needed to have time to do this. So Reformer on the Mat was kind of born from a need to practice the exercises without having access to a Reformer. So let’s talk about that. But before we get into that, if you’re wondering who Joe Pilates was and the history of all these different people, we actually have a video for you, and I hope you check it out, because it’s important to know who the person was who created the workout that you’re so excited about. It really does help set the stage of why the exercises are the way they are.
What is the Reformer?
Alright, let’s go with what a Reformer is first, just in case you might have stumbled upon this video and are curious, a Reformer is a piece of equipment that Joe Pilates created for us. It has a carriage. Some people call it the bed, and it has springs, and those springs are attached to that carriage. And when you push with your arms or your legs or use the handles or the straps, it can open and close, you get this resistance training with the springs and the pulleys and the straps. It is a full body exercise piece of equipment. You are going to work all the spine shapes in your body. There’s five of them. We can talk about that later, but there isn’t a part of your body that’s going to be under worked or overworked when you’re doing Pilates, and that includes when you’re doing Pilates on the Reformer. And if you’re curious about other pieces of equipment that Joe Pilates created, check out this video. It’s every single piece of equipment that we had that Joseph Pilates has created for his modalities, and it’s really fun to go through, because Reformer gets a lot of attention, but really, there are so many other pieces that you could be using to do your Pilates practice at home or in a studio.
Reformer Exercises Adapted to the Mat
Alright, one of the first exercises you can do on the Mat that’s similar to the Reformer is Footwork on the Pilates Mat. It’s very similar to doing Double Leg Stretch in Pilates, but you can work with the point of the toes, parallel, on the arches and the heels, and do a fun tendon stretch. It starts off like, “Oh, this is something I can do”, and then it has a great burn. The next is – the Mat already has a Hundred exercise and you can do The Hundred on the Mat, just like on the Reformer. No, you don’t have any straps or pulleys going against you. But if you wanted to pull on a theraband or hold some light weights, you could do that to mimic that feeling. And then you also can do Rowing exercises with small hand weights. When I say light weights, I mean really light. I mean one or two pounds. And you can actually do the Rowing series on the Mat using light weights. It’s really a lot of fun. If you are sliding around, I highly recommend using a strap on your Mat or getting a magic circle around your feet to keep you from doing that, but it’s a full-body workout. A great way to practice Rowing for the Reformer, because then you don’t have the straps or the moving platform.
Next up, I highly recommend you do the Pull Straps using light weights for added resistance. You just take those weights when you’re rowing and you lie into your stomach, that’s going to get you a little bit of extension. That’s also going to help you work your arm and back connection in Pilates while also facing against gravity. Then if you can get onto your knees, you don’t need any props for this one. This is Thigh Stretch for hip flexor mobility. I love this one. It happens on the Reformer as well. Really amazing. If you have a pole, it’s going to make it even better. But it’s a great way to open up the front of your hips and strengthen the back of your legs. And lastly, doing Single Leg Circles using a Theraband for controlled mobility. It’s going to mimic doing Single Leg Circles with a strap on the Reformer, also the circles that you would do with Tree exercise on the short box. So you’ve got two exercises on the Reformer being mimicked on that one.
Reformer Pilates on the Mat Workout
There are so many other exercises, by the way, that we could talk about. In fact, on onlinepilatesclasses.com one of our teachers actually created a workshop which has the Reformer exercises on the Mat using all different types of props. But if you’re looking for Pilates without equipment, you’ll be happy to know that many of these exercises can be done using just your body weight, making Pilates accessible no matter where you are. And so if you really want to nerd out about this, you can. Also, over on OPC, we often bring a little switcheroo, a little freaky Friday, where we do the Reformer exercise on the Mat and the Mat exercises on the Reformer. And we love to do that at least a couple of times a year. So if that’s something that really intrigues you and interests you, you want to be a member, because you never know when it’s going to come up.
Recreate Reformer Pilates on the Mat
So I want to give you some tips on creating Reformer exercises on the Mat that you love, because I gave you a few, and there are certainly so many more. But what if there are exercises that you have done on Reformer that you want to mimic at home? I’d like to give you some tips and tools for how to make that happen. First of all, you want to have some props, and these are going to be something you have to buy, but they’re, they’re really essential in making that Reformer-like feel. A theraband. I really like the heavier one. So like, think of a black theraband or gold theraband, a heavier, resistant one that is going to be able to mimic handles or springs. That’s gonna be really great. Light weights, one or two pound, like I said, those are really essential for mimicking what you would have handles in your hand. A magic circle is really amazing for mimicking when your feet are in a strap. That’s super effective for that. Bolsters. Bolsters can be really effective for helping you find a supported back bend so you can practice doing your back bends that you do on your Reformer. If you’re looking for Pilates exercises without equipment, you can modify many of these moves by using just your body weight and control to create resistance.
Transform Your Pilates Without Reformer
You might even find a slider disc could be really great for practicing doing the Side Split or Gondola on the Mat, right? There can be some excellent things there. So a pole is really amazing. We use a pole on the Reformer when you’re doing your Short Box series. So you can use a magic circle on your feet, have a dowel in your hand, and you can mimic your Short Box series right there. Put a bolster behind your back, and all of a sudden you’re going to a back bed. It’s quite fun. In fact, the world is your oyster when it comes to recreating your favorite Reformer exercises on the Mat, one that you’ll hate me for, but it’s quite fun is get a foam roller, put it on your shins, have your hands on the floor and do some Knee Stretches. I know you hate the Knee Stretch on the Reformer. You’re not going to like them on the Mat. And if you don’t want to buy a foam roller for that, just do some mountains and climbers, you know, get in the plank, put one knee into your chest and the other and go fast. That’s like doing knee stretches right there. So if you are wanting to fall in love with a Mat practice, because you don’t have access to a Reformer at home, I highly recommend you go to opc.me/challenge. We have a four-week challenge on the Mat, there’s also one on the Reformer, that will help you build up your accountability and your habits of making your Pilates practice something that is consistent for you.
Benefits of Practicing Without a Reformer
Now, look, I know you love your Reformer. I do too, but truly, there’s actually a ton of benefits of doing Pilates not on the Reformer. First of all, Pilates is a system. The Reformer is one part of that system. It’s not the king or queen of that system. It’s a part. They’re all amazing parts. So it’s Cadillac and Tower and Chair and all these things. The Mat is what was created first, and what we’re all trying to build up to. So doing Pilates on the Mat is actually going to, first of all, increase your accessibility to your Pilates practice, because as long as you can lay on the floor, you can do your Pilates practice, right? Second, the Mat exercises are actually going to help you work your tall back, your extension, your flexion, your side bending, and your twisting, all key components for having amazing posture, incredible mobility and equally balanced strength.
So when you do a consistent practice, you actually are going to get the Pilates benefits. If you’re always waiting till you have access to a Reformer class, you’re going to feel that amazing high after a Reformer class. But if it’s not a consistent practice, you’re not going to get those benefits. That’s why incorporating Pilates without Reformer into your routine can help you maintain consistency and still experience all the benefits Pilates promotes and boasts, right? So doing the Mat work in addition to your Reformer practice, or because you can have more access to having a more consistent cadence is actually going to get you the benefits that Pilates promotes and boasts, right? So if you want to do the Reformer workout that we have on OPC, you can check out the link in the show notes. We actually have a literal workout where you can follow one of our teachers along doing the Reformer order on the Mat with the props I talked about. It’s really fun. So if you don’t want to nerd out in the workshop, you can nerd out with her. And get your move on the Mat with Rachel over at OPC.
Reformer Pilates on the Mat with OPC
Thank you so much for joining me. I hope this video was helpful. I hope it gives you the freedom to have more Pilates in your life and also some permission to play with some other things. If you have any questions, feel free to put them in the comments below. I answer every one of your questions when I go live on Sundays at 9 am Pacific Time. If you would like feedback on your form, or you have more questions you want to nerd out about, please consider joining OPC at OPC YouTube, so that we can nerd out in the community. I do answer those questions there every single day.
