Starting out on a fitness journey is amazing, if you’re new to fitness. Reformer Pilates at home is a wonderful way to build strength, improve flexibility, and improve your well being without a fee. Whether you want to tone up your muscles, improve your posture or just diversify ways to stay active, these five beginner-friendly reformer pilates home workouts will get you going!
Basic Footwork on the Reformer
How to Perform:
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Set Up: Lying on the reformer with your feet on your foot bar, hip-width apart.
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Alignment: Make sure your spine is kept neutral and your core engaged.
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Movement: Extend the legs by pressing through your heels while straightening them without locking the knees.
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Return: Bend your knees gradually to come back to a standing position.
Benefits:
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Firms lower body and core.
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Improves circulation
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Helps in coordination as well as balance.
Leg Circles
Leg Circles make the stabilizing muscles around your hips and lower back stronger and work to improve your hip flexibility. This exercise works great to give you a great motion range, and get the foundation to practice more intricate movements.
How to Perform:
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Position: Support your foot on the footbar of the reformer while one leg is extended to the ceiling.
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Stabilize: Your core should be engaged and your hips square to the reformer.
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Circle: Use the extended leg to make a circular movement, slowly extending and retracting the leg.
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Reverse: After going around several circles to one side, switch to the other side.
Benefits:
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Increases hip flexibility
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It strengthens your core and your lower back.
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Improved coordination and disturbance control.
The Hundred
The Hundred is a traditional Pilates exercise that increases your heart rate while strengthening your core. It’s a great way to build endurance, firing many muscle groups at the same time.
How to Perform:
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Position: If you’re comfortable, put your legs in a tabletop position for your calves.
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Pump: Start pumping your arms up and down, taking in five, then exhaling five.
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Repeat: Repeat this process 100 times.
Benefits:
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Makes the abdominal muscles stronger.
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It improves breathing and coordination.
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Cardiovascular endurance booster.
Short Spine Massage
The Dynamic Pilates move ‘Short Spine Massage’ is packed with spinal flexibility and back and core muscle strengthening. It is great for helping with overall posture and releasing tension from your back.
How to Perform:
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Set up: Place your feet on the foot bar & lay your arms over your head.
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Lift: lifting your hips off the carriage and rolling your spine up one vertebra.
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Press: Keep pressing and keep your legs reaching to the ceiling, your core strong.
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Return: Control your spine back to the starting position slowly.
Benefits:
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Enhances spinal flexibility
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Strengthen muscles of the back & core
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Helps to improve posture alignment.
Elephant
It helps improve body coordination and promote shoulder stability.
How to Perform:
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Position: Sit on the reformer’s face.
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Engage: Hinge at the hips while keeping your legs straight and reaching your torso forward while keeping a neutral spine.
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Return: For this one, you will use your glutes and hamstrings to pull yourself back to the starting position.
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Repeat: Smoothly move with good, steady breathing.
Benefits:
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Strengthens hamstrings and calves.
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Stable with the core for stability.
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Strengthens and co-ordinates shoulders
Getting Started with Reformer Pilates Home Workout
Invest in a Quality Reformer
It might sound like a tall order to have your own reformer at home, but then again, it allows you to have convenience and schedule whenever you want to practice. Find a model that is right for your space and budget.
Create a Dedicated Space
Find a space in your home where you can work without distraction, and set it aside. Make sure you are free and safe to move around.
Follow Instructional Videos
There are countless online resources and instructional videos teaching each exercise. Also, knowing their form and technique will be tremendously helpful for beginners.
Stay Consistent
Seeing results relies on consistency. For fitness of the entire body, aim to include reformer Pilates about three times a week.
Why Choose Reformer Pilates at Home?
Opting for reformer Pilates at home offers numerous advantages:
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Convenience: No need to travel out to a studio to practice, you can fit it in at your convenience.
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Customization: Take advantage of personalized workouts that match your needs and your fitness level.
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Cost-Effective: In the long run you save on gym memberships and studio classes.
