Pilates exercises can be performed on an exercise mat, but there are also hundreds of exercises that are done on specially-designed equipment. Authentic Pilates equipment offers designs that copy or comply to the original designs of Joseph Pilates. Joseph Pilates was the creator of Contrology, the method that is now simply known as the Pilates method. The three major pieces of original equipment are named the Reformer, the Wunda Chair and the Trapeze Table.
Reformer Exercises
The Reformer is a piece of equipment that features five springs of varying resistance mounted underneath a carriage that glides along two smooth tracks. There are two cords on a pulley system at the back end of the Reformer that are attached to loops that can be put on the hands or the feet for additional resistance.
Reformer leg exercises include those in which you lie on your back on the carriage and place your feet in different positions on the footbar, bending and straightening your knees you would in ballet plies. You can also perform leg circles, thigh adduction and kick downs with your feet in the loops attached to Reformer cords. Abdominal exercises are frequently patterned after Pilates movements done on the mat. The Hundred is an exercise which features pumping arms over the floor while you hold a crunch position with your legs in the air. On the Reformer, it is done with your hands in the loops, giving your arms more resistance as they pump.
Wunda Chair Exercises
The original Wunda Chair, also called the Combo Chair or simply, "The Chair," was designed as a box seat of sorts, with a detachable back and springs that attached under the seat on to a large platform pedal. The design has been expanded upon over the past several decades and popular versions of the chair now include no back, split pedals and up to 36 spring positions for varying resistance.
Classic Wunda Chair exercises include simple pumping motions for legs and arms on the pedals, and back extensions from prone position with your hands on the pedals. Tendon Stretch is a challenging favorite. You'll place your feet on the pedals and your hands on the seat while you bend over the chair, head down, in the shape of a candy cane. Draw up on your abdominals to bring the pedals up off the chair base, then tuck your tailbone down and use your low abs and back to return to the floor.
Trapeze Table Exercises
The Trapeze Table looks much like hospital bed with traction attached. Springs and trapeze type bars are attached at various positions above and below the body on the table. Loops for feet and hands are also attached to springs to allow for literally hundreds of exercises to be performed while you are seated, lying or even standing on the table. The Roll-Up is a traditional matwork move that is performed on the table as you hold on to the end of a trapeze bar attached to springs. Using your abs, roll your spine down and up off the table bed below you. Leg exercises like side thigh circles and bicycling thighs use loops attached to the springs and placed around your feet like stirrups. Arm exercises include many you would do in a standard gym, such as lat pull-downs and chest presses.
References
- "Return to Life Through Contrology;" Joseph H. Pilates and William J Miller; 1945
- "The Pilates Body"; Brooke Siler; 2000
- "PMA Pilates Certification Exam Study Guide," Pilates Method Alliance, Inc., 2005
- Pilates Reformer Workout: Pilates-Back-Joint-Exercise.com
- Pilates Chair Workout: Pilates-Back-Joint-Exercise.com
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