How Reformer Pilates can help you achieve your Weight Loss Goals
Don’t be fooled by the gentle, controlled technique – pilates packs a punch when it comes to helping achieve your weight loss goals. But if you really want to take it up a notch? The benefits of reformer pilates for weight loss can be extraordinary!
If it’s feeling like a bit of a stretch (pardon the pun) to trim those pesky kilos and stay healthy, we totally hear you.
When paired with a balanced diet, and regular cardio exercise – reformer pilates might just be the perfect addition to your overall weight loss strategy (1). And you may see the results more quickly that with many other exercises, including mat-based pilates!
So, what is ‘reformer pilates’?
A hundred years ago, physical trainer Joseph Pilates began rigging springs to hospital beds, enhancing the rehabilitation of his bed-bound patients so they could still exercise against this resistance. This innovation led to the development of the first rudimentary reformer.
Today’s pilates reformer is a custom-built carriage on wheels within a frame. A set of springs on one end allows you to adjust the level of difficulty of the workout to suit.
Despite the fact you’re lying down (mostly) during a reformer pilates session, you’ll be working on important muscles that rarely get a look-in. Hello, fitness goals!
How does the pilates reformer benefit weight loss?
- Burns calories faster than mat-based pilates, meaning more immediate results, largely due to the ability to manipulate the intensity on the reformer.
- Strengthens your body. Reformer pilates is a great form of strength training because it uses your body weight for resistance. Strengthening your body allows you to advance to more intense and dynamic workouts, which of course equals even better results!
- Increases muscle tone, creating a leaner, fitter body. Muscles are metabolically active, so, the leaner your muscles become, the more calories they burn while you’re working out.
- Builds core strength. We all know our core is the key to a more toned waistline!
- Small group sizes We have just over half a dozen reformer machines for our Cleveland-based studio classes, which means a more personalised experience where we can focus on guiding and supervising your sessions, so you gain the most benefits possible.
What else makes it great?
- It’s inclusive to all ages and abilities. Being low impact, and with the capacity to modify the intensity of your machine, it’s suitable for elite athletes and office workers, as well as those who are pre-natal, post-natal, post-rehab and more.
- Mindfulness. It’s great for enhancing breathing technique and overall mind, body and soul.
- Improves overall flexibility, coordination, and balance.
How many weekly sessions do I need to do to see results?
It all depends on your weight loss goals and availability, but the key is consistency.
We recommend at least 2-3 sessions per week where possible if you want to experience how the pilates reformer benefits weight loss.
Keen to give it a try?
If you’ve never tried pilates before, we advise trying a few mat sessions first before diving into reformer. If you have dipped your toes in, or you’re already a mat pilates-pro, dive away!
And the good news? New Dawn Pilates and Yoga offers a FREE first session if you’ve never been to our studio before!
If you live or work in the Redlands, and want to find out for yourself how reformer pilates can help your achieve your weight loss goals, get in touch with us today.
Dawn x
Reference:
- Ruiz-Montero PJ, Castillo-Rodriguez A, Mikalački M, Nebojsa Č, Korovljev D. 24-weeks Pilates-aerobic and educative training to improve body fat mass in elderly Serbian women. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2014;9:243-248. doi:10.2147/CIA.S52077.