Refomer or Mat Pilates?

Reformer Pilates has absolutely exploded in popularity — and I completely understand why.

But I think there’s an important part of the conversation that’s sometimes being forgotten: Mat Pilates.

Reformer is exciting, it’s challenging, it builds strength, and yes — it can become slightly addictive!

But I’m often asked, “If I’m doing Reformer, do I really need to do Mat Pilates as well?”

And my answer is — ideally, yes.

Because they give your body different things.

On the Reformer, we have the springs, the carriage, the straps and the footbar. We can use resistance to build strength, but the equipment can also give us support, assistance and feedback.

It helps us understand where our body is in space. It can help us find muscles we perhaps haven’t been using properly, and it allows us to progressively increase the challenge as we become stronger.

But then take the Reformer away.

Now it’s just you, your body and gravity.

And that’s where Mat Pilates becomes so important.

On the mat, you have to create your own stability. You have to control your own body weight. There’s no carriage underneath you and no straps or springs helping you.

And sometimes an exercise that feels quite manageable on the Reformer suddenly feels completely different on the mat.

Mat Pilates develops incredible core control, balance, coordination, mobility and body awareness.

And there’s another really important benefit.

You can take Mat Pilates anywhere.

The strength and control you develop on the mat transfers into everyday life — getting up from the floor, bending, lifting, walking, climbing stairs, playing sport and simply moving your body well.

So I never want people to think:

“I’ve moved on from Mat Pilates because now I do Reformer.”

You haven’t moved on from it.

They’re two parts of the same Pilates system.

Think of Reformer as giving you resistance, feedback and progressive strength work.

Think of Mat Pilates as teaching you to control and support your body when that equipment is taken away.

Put the two together and you have a really powerful combination.

You’re building strength.

You’re improving mobility.

You’re developing balance and coordination.

You’re learning better movement patterns.

And importantly, you’re creating a body that doesn’t just perform well on a Reformer — it performs well in everyday life.

So if you absolutely love your Reformer classes, keep doing them!

But try adding a Mat Pilates class into your week as well.

And if you’re already doing Mat Pilates but you’ve never tried Reformer, come and experience what adding resistance can bring to your Pilates practice.

It doesn’t have to be Reformer OR Mat.

For me, the magic is in doing Reformer AND Mat.

Because Pilates was never really about the equipment.

It’s about what you teach your body to do when you step away from it.

Move. Strengthen. Rebuild.