Does it seem like EVERYONE is going to reformer Pilates right now? It’s because… they are. Should we be, too?
Ok look. I’ve been thinking about starting Reformer Pilates for at least two years. Possibly three. I follow the studios on Instagram. I zoom in on the softly lit rooms, the calm faces, the matching grip socks, fully intending to book my own class. And then I don’t.
Because, let’s be honest, it looks a bit terrifying. The machine alone? Sorry but it looks like a medieval torture device designed by someone with a Lululemon discount code. The women in the videos? Effortlessly lengthened, while I’m still recovering from a brisk walk.
Part of it is timing. Part of it is money. But if I’m being really honest, a big part of it is intimidation and, one of my character flaws, not liking to do things I’m not good at. The machines look complicated. Everyone looks like they know exactly what they’re doing. I worry I’ll be the one who doesn’t understand which spring to change or which strap goes where. I worry I’ll somehow do it wrong.
And yet everyone is doing it and absolutely frothing it. Mates rave about how strong they feel. Acquaintances casually mention how Pilates has changed their backs, their sleep, their mood. Studios are popping up in every suburb. Even workplaces are installing reformer rooms. Reformer Pilates is no longer a niche thing, it’s a full-blown cultural movement.
And of course, now I feel left out because FOMO is most definitely another character flaw, so I’m in a real rock and a hard place here.
So I decided it was time to figure out what the big deal actually is. Why does reformer Pilates feel like the workout everyone has quietly agreed is superior? Why does it appeal so strongly to busy women, especially those of us in our 30s and 40s? And is it really as beginner-friendly as people claim?
To answer those questions, I spoke to three women who are right in the middle of the reformer boom.
Les Mills have got in on the action with their brand new Mind Body Studio in Newmarket – and demand for reformer Pilates has been immediate and intense. Summer Bradley from the Les Mills Creative team says the response has exceeded even their expectations.
“The response to this workout has been insane. We have had a hundred plus on our waitlists,” she tells. “Because reformer Pilates is already an industry name and is well loved by many people I’m not surprised there has been such a surge of people wanting to do this workout.”
This idea of reformer Pilates as an experience, not just a workout, comes up again and again. It’s not about racing through reps or pushing to exhaustion. It’s about how the class makes you feel while you’re there, and afterwards too.
But what actually is reformer Pilates, and how is it different to mat Pilates, which many of us have tried at some point?
“Les Mills Pilates (Mat Pilates) is an internal and mindful workout without the use of any equipment, whereas Reformer is an external and tactile experience through the use of the Reformer machine,” Summer explains. “The machine provides continuous feedback on your positioning and alignment. responding to the way your body moves.”
She says the machine itself is a huge part of the benefit. “It is an incredible tool for bringing more awareness to proprioception. You also have the strength benefits from the resistance of the springs which you can’t get in regular mat Pilates.”
In other words, it’s doing more than you think, even when it looks calm.
One of my biggest hesitations has always been that it looks complicated. All those springs. All those settings. Surely it’s not beginner-friendly?
According to Summer that fear is very common, but largely unfounded.
“Even if you’ve never touched a reformer bed you can try it. It is completely beginner friendly,” she says. “There is no pressure to get everything perfect the first time. Come along, give it a go, and your instructor will support you.”
That reassurance helps. So does the fact that reformer Pilates seems particularly popular with women who, like me, are juggling work, family and a general sense that their bodies don’t quite bounce back the way they used to (ok it’s more than a general sense, it’s just plain facts at this point).
“I think women in this age bracket are often extremely busy and need exercise solutions that not only give them a workout but also fill their cup,” Summer says. “Reformer is a kind way to give back to your body. It also has longevity as something you are likely to be able to continue to do for many years.”
That shift is something Auckland-based reformer instructor Sarah Templeton has watched happen in real time.
“When I first started reformer Pilates, I would tell people I did reformer, and they would ask if that was a CrossFit gym in Grey Lynn,” she laughs. “Now there’s a reformer studio in every suburb.”
Sarah’s own Pilates journey started super- young, but she’s only trained as an instructor over the last couple of years. “My first foray into Pilates was waaaaay back in about, ooh, 2007 when I was approximately 12 years old. Mum and I used to do her Mari Winsor Pilates DVDs together on the living room floor,” she laughs.
Over time, that early familiarity turned into a career, with Sarah completing her training through Balanced Body and now teaching regularly in Auckland.
And one thing she’s keen to clear up is the idea that Pilates is only for a certain type of person.
“Firstly I’d love to dispel any very prevailing rumours that Pilates is just for women. It’s for everybody!” she says. “I think Instagram and TikTok have a lot to answer for in presenting an image of Pilates only being for thin, white women who drink matcha and wear $300 exercise sets.”
In reality, she says, reformer Pilates is adaptable to almost any body. “I truly think if you have a body, you can benefit from Pilates.
“There’s something to be said for it to be total ‘me time’. It’s just you, on your machine, going through movements that you’re told by an instructor. You don’t have to run or jump; there’s no stress that you’ll be asked to partner up or do burpees. It’s quite meditative for a lot of people, especially when overstimulated from a day of work or parenting.”
Part of its appeal is the way it strips everything back. “It’s just you, on your machine, going through movements that you’re told by an instructor,” Sarah explains. “It’s quite meditative for a lot of people, especially when overstimulated from a day of work or parenting.”
As someone who spends most days toggling between screens, emails and noise, that sounds deeply appealing.
And while weight loss is often the first question people ask, Sarah is clear that it’s missing the point.
“The funniest thing to me is when I have people, usually women TBH, do a couple of classes and ask me, “When will I start to lose weight?”. I mean, if that is your only goal, a couple of Pilates classes a week probably won’t make too much difference, although any movement is better than none.
“But the benefits are so far-reaching beyond that. Core strength – and when I say core, I basically mean the trunk of the body, including the abdominals, the hips, the back. Building core strength helps us to carry heavy groceries and our children around, without getting injured. Spinal health and mobility is a massive one, so we don’t end up walking around hunched and frail in our old age. Brain coordination for longevity. Working smaller, stabilising muscle groups for balance so we don’t fall and break our hips. At Reform, we teach a contemporary dynamic style of class that involves weights, so you will gain muscle strength in our classes, although that’s not the same in every studio. But honestly, the benefits are so far-reaching beyond ‘losing weight’.”
Sarah’s favourite moments as a teacher come from watching people surprise themselves.
“I love my clients so much. The people make the studio: he tāngata, he tāngata and all that. I was working with a private client who had genuinely never exercised in her life, the concept of a lunge was completely foreign to her. Bending her knees was a struggle. Within two months, she was up on the platform, working through a light spring lunge with no support pole. I was dancing around the studio like an idiot, I was so proud.
“When I see clients take a more challenging spring option for the first time, and feeling pride at their strength improvement, that makes my heart sing. Also, I love when I see that sense of community building. My Friday evening clients have all become pals, and when I see them chatting and laughing outside the studio, I’m like a creep by the window, watching and smiling!”
Stories like that make reformer Pilates feel less intimidating, not more. They make it feel possible.
That sense of possibility is something Mibella Villafana, founder of Cora, has built her entire studio around. Cora is a design-led reformer Pilates and wellness space created exclusively for women and the LGBTQ+ community, combining Pilates with contrast therapy, sound healing, an IV lounge and an art gallery.
“The main goal is that the space we create makes people feel something in themselves they’ve never felt before,” she says. “Whether it’s feeling more energised, more alive, making new friends, feeling healthier, beginning to achieve their goals.”
For Mibella, reformer Pilates is part of a much bigger, more holistic approach to health. One that values connection, safety and alignment just as much as physical strength.
“To feel on top of your game mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally,” she says, when asked what health means to her.
Listening to all three women, a pattern does emerge – reformer Pilates isn’t about punishing your body into submission. It’s about learning how to move it well while creatig space in your day for yourself.
Which brings me back to my own hesitation which, let’s be honest, is very much the fear of looking stupid and not knowing what I’m doing. Buuut, it does seem that reformer Pilates seems to be designed for exactly this – the beginner.
As I head into 2026, with health and wellness resolutions already quietly forming in the backs of my mind, maybe that’s the real appeal. Reformer Pilates isn’t shouting at us to do more, it’s inviting us to do better.
