Which Pilates Barrel Is Right for You?
Ever wonder which Barrel is right for you, whether it’s for your personal practice at home or for a studio? We’re going to discuss all the different types of Pilates Barrels that are out there, and how best to choose the right one for your goals or for your business.
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Hi, I’m Lesley Logan, co-founder of onlinepilatesclasses.com. It was a while before I found about the Pilates Barrels. In fact, I think it was probably around 2009 when I got to get on my first Pilates Barrel. And oh my goodness, the experience my body had, the wonders that it opened up in for my body and continues to in my practice, make me obsessed with them. Makes it hard for me to choose, but it also makes it easy for me to help you understand which ones you absolutely need, which ones are extra credit, and how to make sure you’re choosing the right one for your home, for your personal practice or for a studio.
The Best Place to Start: Pilates Spine Corrector
Alright, first, we’re gonna start with the Spine Corrector. This is truly the best Barrel to start your practice with. Start your collection of Pilates equipment with. You can see it’s got a nice hump and then a step. And what those two pieces provide, what those two parts or designs provide, is the ability to teach your spine to do extension, and also it can support in understanding the flexion. If you look at the tutorials we have here on this channel or in our Barrels flashcards, you can see how you can use one side of this hump to help you with a hundreds curl, how you can use the other side to teach you the longest extension. It is truly the most versatile of all the Barrels, because there are so many pieces, so many exercises you can do on it. In fact, you can even do a long, 50-minute workout on this Barrel alone. And so if you only have the space and investment for one Barrel, this is going to be the Barrel, because even if you are tall or fun-sized, there is a part of this Barrel that is right for you.
Also, we actually, at this house, like to hang them on the wall. It makes it so much easier to have easy access. You can put it on a Mat. If you got a studio, on a Cadillac. You can just put it anywhere on the floor. You can actually sit in that little step and enjoy watching TV if you want to. It’s quite versatile and all those things and it will be there for you if you’re a beginner, with the arm series and part of the leg series, as you become more intermediate, teaching you and challenging your swan, your swimming as you get more advanced, with leg circles onto the head and getting you ready for a big back bend that you’ll enjoy on your Reformer eventually, this Barrel will be with you wherever your level of practice is and take you to the next level as well. If you already have a Spine Corrector, we have an amazing 25-minute workout using the Spine Corrector here on this channel. It’s great to warm you up for your Mat practice, and it’s also amazing to do after one.
For Deep Stretching, Strength & Bigger Movement: Pilates Ladder Barrel
Alright, if you have a bit more space and a little bit more money, the Ladder Barrel is going to be an incredible addition to your Barrels practice. It has great exercises for beginners, but especially has some dynamic exercises to advance your practice, deepen your back bends and even get you upside down. You want to do a cartwheel? You can do it here. So with the Ladder Barrel, you want to find ones that actually, I love the Contrology one. That’s what this is. When it comes to choosing a Ladder Barrel. This is a Contrology one. When you want to find ones, you can actually change the distance, if at all possible.
So this one has a nice little pedal that I can move around, and you always want to measure based on the length of your femur when using it. You can see that the hump on the Contrology Ladder Barrel, originally designed in the spirit of Joseph Pilates’ Contrology principles, is the same as the Spine Corrector. The reason it deepens the back bends is allows your legs to be further away from the apparatus. And you can also practice for some amazing exercises on the Reformer here, so short box on the Reformer, you can do it on the Ladder Barrel. You can also start learning the big swan for the Reformer here in the Ladder Barrel, a more stable apparatus. So it’s definitely a jumping-off point for a lot of exercises you want to see as you advance your Pilates practice. If you’re choosing Pilates equipment for home, you’ll definitely need a bit more space, but it’s also incredibly useful to have towards your practice, especially if you’re wanting to make Pilates something you’re doing consistently and grow over time. And if you have a Ladder Barrel, or you’re getting one, and you want me to guide you through a mini workout, on there, we have a 20-minute Ladder Barrel workout that’s perfect for adding to any workout you’re already doing, whether it’s Pilates or beyond.
Simple and Supportive: The Pilates Small Barrel
Alright, let’s get into the Step Barrel (Small Barrel). So this Small Barrel has the same hump that you see on the Ladder Barrel and on the Spine Corrector, but obviously it is shorter to the ground, which makes it great for our fun-sized folks when it comes to Spine Corrector exercises like the arm series or people with tighter thoracic mobility, right? You might not want such a deep back bend through the Thoracic Spine when you’re starting out. So choosing the Small Pilates Barrel is really for you. If you are more on the fun size or on the tighter side, you are going to be limited on the exercises you can do on the Small Barrel. So you can do the arm series, the leg series, all the stuff balancing on top of the Barrel, even the absterious exercises that we have in our tutorials and our flashcards. But as far as like circles onto the head, or some of the exercises that happen with inside the step of the Spine Corrector, obviously, that’s going to be removed from this.
This is a great Barrel for you, though, if you fall into the categories I mentioned, and you’re wanting something that doesn’t take a lot of space. This can be hung on a wall, can be pulled down, easy to use, and put back away. It’s very affordable when it comes to purchasing Pilates equipment. So if you are a fun size or on the tighter side, and you’re wanting to add back bends into your body, this is going to be wonderful for anyone else. I would say it’s a bit redundant to the Spine Corrector. If you are taller, more mobile, more advanced. If you’re a studio, you need both, because there’s always gonna be someone who would benefit from the Small Barrel.
Pilates Barrel Comparison: Find Your Perfect Fit
So which Barrel is right for you? Which one should you choose? Well, like I said, the Spine Corrector is the go to. It’s the one I’m going to recommend for anybody who is looking for a small investment in Pilates equipment and doesn’t have a lot of space. If you have more space, or you’re trying to take your practice to the next level, there’s going to be some great work you can get out of the Ladder Barrel. And if you’re on the fun size, tighter side, you’ll want to use the Small Barrel. Now, if you’re wondering, what do I do when I get that Barrel? A lot of people get a little fearful. Am I gotta know what to do with it. We actually have all the Pilates exercises that Joe Pilates had created on the Barrels in our Barrels flashcards. So you’ll also see information on how to do the exercises, how they work together, how they relate to the Mat and Reformer. So if you have practice on a Mat, on the Pilates Mat, or on the Reformer at your home or at a studio, you’ll see how these are going to benefit you, and there’s bonus exercises on the C-Shaper as well. The C-Shaper isn’t a Barrel from Joe Pilates, but it’s a reverse Barrel. And we have lots of fun things we talk about when it comes to the C-Shaper. Check out the 10-min express Pilates Full Body Workout: Pilates C-Shaper.
OPC: Your Ultimate Guide to Pilates Barrels
Thanks so much for joining me. I really love nerding out about Pilates equipment with you, and I hope this is really helpful in helping you choose which Pilates Barrel is right for you. Feel free to put any questions in the comments below. I’m happy to answer them for you. Also at OPC, we don’t offer new classes every week or each month on these Barrels. However, I’m very open and honest with OPC members that sometimes, before I film or in my own practice, I often do the Spine Corrector arm series and leg series before I get on my Mat. And so I highly recommend having a Spine Corrector to help warm your body up, or, bonus, do it after your Mat Workout to give you the extra connections you’ll need for your next time you hit your mat. Thank you so much. If you would like to check out OPC, go to OPC YouTube, check out our amazing trial offer, and I’m happy to give you feedback on any Barrel exercise if you’re an OPC member, you can submit it in the community. Thank you so much, and have an amazing day.
