Joseph Pilates developed his method in Germany in the early 20th century, but his technique did not become an international fitness trend until the early 1990s. The growing population of Pilates enthusiasts inspired exercise equipment manufacturers to develop their own versions of the Pilates apparatus. Prices range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Opinions about the best manufacturer differ among Pilates devotees, but experts at the Pilates Guy, a New York and California Pilates equipment repair company, suggest that Stott, Gratz and Balanced Body are the most reliable brands.
Gratz Pilates
Gratz, the original Pilates equipment manufacturer, appeals to Pilates purists. After Pilates' death in the 1960s, Pilates studio manager Romana Kryzanowska contacted Frank Gratz, a structural engineer. Gratz remained faithful to the original equipment design, but substituted aluminum frames for wood in some of the models. The company recently joined its competition by creating smaller home models of the Pilates Reformer and the Pilates Chair. It also makes a space-saving Pilates Cadillac frame, which attaches to the reformer, and a jump board for reformer plyometric exercises. Gratz is strictly an equipment manufacturer. It does not conduct certifications or workshops.
Stott Pilates
Professional dancer Moira Stott is a pioneer of the modernized Pilates method. She studied Pilates with Romana Kryzanowska to rehabilitate a dance injury. Stott found that the method was effective but limited. When she returned home to Toronto, Stott and her husband Lindsay G. Merrithew consulted physical therapists and sports medicine experts and revised the Pilates method so that it adhered to modern exercise and rehabilitation principles. She developed an updated Pilates instructor certification program, while her husband created a new line of Pilates equipment. The company offers customer support packages, which include equipment, instructor certification and continuing education and studio space planning. Stott makes reformers for studio use, stackable reformers for group exercise and smaller, folding reformers for home use. It also makes a rehab reformer, which is higher off the ground for easier mounting and dismounting. The Stott chair uses a split-pedal design, which enables independent leg action.
Balanced Body
Balanced Body's Ken Endelman began his career as a custom furniture designer. When a client asked him to design a reformer, he studied the existing designs and consulted Pilates instructors about potential improvements. Most instructors agreed that the new Endelman reformer was smoother, quieter and safer than the original design. As Endelman designed other types of Pilates equipment, he partnered with Pilates certification organizations to create Balanced Body University, which offers workshops and free, online Pilates podcasts. This was the first company to offer the foldable Allegro, which is a group exercise reformer. While the home and group exercise equipment has a steel frame, most of the studio equipment uses rock maple. Balanced Body is one of the only companies that offer more than 28 color choices for upholstery. The CoreAlign is its latest product. It supports standing Pilates, aerobic and balance training exercises.
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