By saying “basic tools” I do not mean to imply that you cannot get one of the most amazing workouts of your life with just a mat, a pilates exercise ball, and a few videos for motivation and direction. Pilates in any form will change your body for the better, increase your overall health, and give you new energy each and every day. These are the tools that will carry you through the first couple years of pilates and create the core of a new fit person.

So what is the pilates home equipment that you absolutely cannot live without?

Your mat and pilates exercise ball are two items that we’ve previously discussed, so I’m not going to go into much detail here. Needless to say, they are the foundation to any home equipment for pilates. Review those previous posts for tips on your pilates fitness equipment basics.

In addition to those items, you will need to add pilates flex bands and a pilates magic circle. With these tools, you will be able to add some resistance into your training and see great results.

Pilates flex bands can be used to add several new movements to your routine, which will keep it interesting and effective. They can be wrapped around foot for stretching or strength exercises. Also, flex bands can be hooked overhead to simulate pull up motions and work the muscles of your back.

The pilates magic circle was developed by Joseph Pilates as a focused muscle toner. It is used to target hard to work areas like the inner and outer thighs, as well as the upper arms and chest. Since they typically measure around 15 inches in diameter, they are very light and easy to store.

The last necessary item will be pilates dvds and videos that will help keep you focused and motivated. Sometimes the hardest part is just showing up everyday to do your workout. Dvd pilates training makes it fun and makes you want to keep coming back for more.

That is all you need to complete your pilates home equipment. Let us know what your favorite exercise equipment for pilates is by leaving a comment.

What is a pilates reformer? Excellent question, I’m glad you asked. Your pilates reformer equipment usually consists of a padded bed that smoothly glides within a wooden frame as you perform your pilates workout. Various bands, cables, and springs allow for differing resistance levels and movements as you move through your motions.

The appeal of pilates reformer equipment is two fold.

First, the reformer is a more comfortable piece of fitness equipment. It allows you to get off the floor and onto a padded surface so that you do not have to worry about the discomfort on the spine or back when performing your workout. Instead your entire focus is on each move.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, the addition of resistance while performing your pilates moves allows you to increase your level of fitness drastically. At some point in your pilates career you will experience a plateau in your fitness due to the use of only your own body weight. If you want to achieve a better pilates workout, it is necessary that resistance be added into the equation.

In addition, pilates reformer equipment allows you to add new exercise moves into your workout. This will keep your workouts from becoming boring, since they can be mixed up between floor and reformer workouts. Also, the introduction of new moves wakes the body back up and makes it work harder again.

Most fitness enthusiasts understand the need to shake up their workout from time to time. Your body will adjust quickly to an exercise, so that within a few weeks it takes much less effort to complete the same routine. You must be consistently adding new moves to your workout, so that the body stays confused and your workouts do not lessen in intensity.

That it is it for our Pilates Reformer Equipment review. Let us know your own experiences with reformer equipment for pilates by leaving a comment and stay tuned for information on the best Pilates home equipment.  And as always, let us know if there is another type of pilates exercise equipment that you would like reviewed.

My answer is that pilates provides the base for which all movement and therefore all exercise begins and improves.  Pilates improves your entire bodies health and strength by utilising your natural movement.

Through the use of controlled fluid movement and breathing, pilates allows you to continuously improve your body in a safe and effective manner.  By using your normal body movements for the exercise routines, your chances of injury from improper form is greatly reduced.  This means you can perform pilates during all stages of life, whether young or old.

And while pilates is enough on its own, it real benefit for athletes is that it improves and balances out their other workout routines.  Weights strengthen the major muscle groups, but leave your core weak, which leaves you more vulnerable to injury.  Cardio attacks the legs and circulatory system, but does not tone the upper body.  By adding pilates and balancing your upper bodies strength to match the lower, you will be able to run longer and pedal harder than you ever have before.

Pilates is perfect for athletes that are trying to break through any fitness platuaes.  The breathing technique in pilates matches the in the nose and out the mouth required on the athletic field.  By strengthening the smaller core muscles of the stomach and back, athletes are able to move faster, perform better, and reduce injury risk better then weight and sprint training alone.

With so many benefits to adding pilates into your life, we wanted to create a site that helped take your pilates to the next level through advice on the best pilates equipment.  We hope the information is helpful and will have a new post coming soon on pilates home equipment.

First off, a pilates exercise ball will get results fast. The same exercises that you have been doing on the ground have a much greater difficulty because the ball adds a need for balancing and allows additional leverage. This allows you to use the same motions as before while getting twice the workout and results.

It should be noted that the exercise ball was not invented by Joseph Pilates and not a part of his original Pilates workout. It was much later that the technology of the exercise ball was developed. The strength, lightness, and flexibility of the exercise ball helped it to gain a quick popularity among workout enthusiasts, including the Pilates community. The exercise ball is now considered an essential part of your pilates home equipment.

Pilates has always been known safe and effective way to sculpt and tone the body by developing the core muscle groups. The Pilates exercise ball takes the workout to the next level by targeting the smaller stabilizer muscles that surround the spine.

As you complete your workout the stabilizer muscles go through micro pulses of contraction and expansion. These minuscule micro pulses feel like a light internal message around your skeletal system and have dramatic results in your overall fitness and health.

Want to quickly increase the amount of weight you can lift? Use your Pilates exercise ball.

Want to reduce or even eliminate chronic back pain? Use your exercise ball. Just remember to check with your doctor first before starting any workout and start with small steps.

Want to improve your performance on any field, court, or rink? That’s right, use the ball.

And while doing all this, you even get to have little fun. The exercise ball adds variety to your workout. You’ll get up off the hard floor and get a little spring added into your Pilates workout, literally.

We hope this in depth look at the Pilates exercise ball has helped you in better understanding the importance of adding pilates fitness equipment to your workout. If there is another machine for pilates we haven’t mentioned yet, please leave us a comment and we’ll do a formal review.

Basic Pilates Home Equipment

The Pilates exercise mat is the starting point for all Pilates equipment.  You will use your pilates mat more than any other piece of equipment.  Your pilates floor mat provides the cushion you need while performing the various core exercises perfected in pilates.  While it is possible to exercise without the mat, it is not recommended.

The Pilates exercise ball is essential for taking your pilates workout to the next level.  It is also an inexpensive first step in purchasing the right pilates fitness equipment to achieve dramatic results.  The pilates exercise ball adds a need to balance while doing your core exercises.  This balancing creates a deeper core workout that incorporates the hard to target smaller muscles around the stomach and spine.

Advanced Pilates Machine

Pilates Reformer equipment takes your pilates beyond the workouts of the standard home equipment.  Often confused as a type of rowing machine, a pilates reformer focuses on building torso stability and improving the posture.  While the gliding motion of the reformer provides a deceptively difficult workout, it provides the added bonus of being easy on the joints and thus providing a safe, no impact workout.

This concludes our intro to pilates fitness equipment.  These are just a few of the various pilates machines that are out on the market.  We will go into further depth in the future on these and other pilates exercise equipment.  If there is a specific pilates machine you would like more information on, please let us know.

If there is information about equipment for pilates that you have questions about, just let us know.  Thanks again for joining us and make sure to check in often for new information on pilates equipment.