The Toughest Workout You’ll (Probably) Never Do

You remember the TV show Millionaire Matchmaker?

You know, the one where a single guy or girl were set up by some professional Cupid in LA and there was a “mixer” where the guy found himself in a room surrounded by 20 women?

And that’s where the similarity with a reformer pilates class will end: you in a room with 20 women. Fade to credits. The end.

Here, unlike the show, none of them want to talk to you because a) they’re just here to workout, and b) they’ve just seen how impossibly awful you are at pilates.

But, boy, you’ve just had a workout.

Why Pilates and Why Now?

Pilates, and particularly pilates on a “reformer” bed, along with “run clubs” and ice baths is hitting peak-health-and-fitness right now.

Reformer studios abound, both privately owned and as part of larger commercial gyms. They offer a relatively unique combination of difficulty, novelty and luxury.

There are even opportunities to own your own reformer studio as a franchisee for businesses like Strong. Expect to see an ever-growing number of Strong studios popping up, mostly in spaces previously occupied by F45 studios.

The model is (I’m guessing) virtually the same as F45 used to be. My fear is that in 3 or 4 year’s time, once the pilates sheen has lost a little of it’s lustre, these studios will end up as something else and the franchisees will be the ones left holding the bag.

Reformer’s are not new, nor is pilates.

Back in 2010, shortly after I arrived in Australia, I had some tricky bursitis in the left and right shoulder (damn you, Crossfit).

All manner of physio and cortisone injections failed to fix it and surgery was looking like a reasonable option. Luckily, a gym-owning friend (who’s own scarred shoulders (both of them), made him look like he’d been chopped up by a can opener), suggested a pilates instructor he was seeing for rehab.

And so, weekly on Thursdays at 6am, I’d traipse to the pilates studio for an hour of slow-moving torture on various devices that looked like they came from a medieval dungeon but with plush leather, one of which was the reformer.

At the time, my training consisted of a beach bootcamp 3/4 days per week and lunchtime Crossfit-style training 4 x per week.

The weekly pilates session was, without question, the hardest workout of my week. And it fixed the shoulder problem.

So I’m on board. I get it. It works.

And that’s why I jumped at the chance to do a One Week Trial at Elixir Health Clubs in Sydney recently.

The Trial – My Findings

I attended 4 reformer classes during my one week trial.

There are a few different reformer studios at Elixir, each with approximately 25 beds. Every class was full except for a the odd no-show. Many of the classes were fully booked (via the Mindbody app) way in advance – I chose mostly off-peak classes for this reason and also because I assumed (wrongly) that they’d be more empty.

The classes were standard reformer workouts (I think). I found them extremely taxing during the classes but afterwards my joints were sore in the way they can be after a strength workout. I also learned pretty quickly that whilst I’d consider somewhat “strong,” I am definitely not “pilates strong.” My core is relatively very weak.

I was the only male in all of the classes I went to. 

I have no idea how, but the instructors in each class quickly picked up on the fact that was a noob, and gave me regressions and pointers to help. Within a week I had mastered the basics of the reformer bed and the various cable attachments and pulleys.

The Outcome

So now I could go to classes in the wild and just about fend for myself.

I’d still spend most of the class sweating, swearing and shaking, but at least I’d know how to work the machines.

If you’re ever presented with the chance to try a reformer pilates class, I’d highly recommend it. If nothing else you’ll be like a guy at the beginning of a Millionaire Matchmaker episode, and sometimes, dear reader, it’s these small wins that are enough.

But in all seriousness, more men are flocking to pilates classes around the world, recognising the need to both lengthen AND strengthen their muscles, as opposed to simply strengthening and shortening them with typical strength training. Professional football teams are getting in on the act, too – incorporating reformer classes as part of their recovery and GPP (general physical preparedness).

But, based on what I saw, we’re talking a trickle rather than a flood. So, for now, at least, the classes will remain largely a female domain.

SFD