Guest Blog from @fit_collective - on Reformer Pilates

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to an event at KX Pilates Red Hill by Jackie (founder & creative director) of Fire and Shine. The event was great and I really loved being there.

I have done pilates in the past. I used to do reformer classes quite a lot, but that was about 5-6 years ago now, before having my first baby. I was curious to try it again, as my own training has come a long way since then and I have a lot more body awareness and discipline now. I also feel that the pilates I had done previously was perhaps not being taught as well as it could have been and I ran into problems post the birth of my first bub. Whilst I cannot specifically attribute that to one specific form of training, I think the combination of what I was doing (including reformer) didn’t give me great results. Anyway, fast forward 5 years to now, and this CrossFitter (34 weeks pregnant at that) rocks into KX!

So yes, in many ways, pilates and CrossFit are worlds apart! The volume, the intensity, the loads, the class structures, the lingo (I could go on) are vastly different. This does not mean to say however, that they can’t coexist quite happily! In fact, I really believe that they compliment each other quite well. It’s all too easy to get stuck training in your preferred modality and not be open to other methods. But really, if you look around, there are many different varieties of activity/movement that go hand in hand. If you can do as many of these as possible then surely they all work together to make you a better mover/sportsperson/athlete/trainer/sweat addict!

For me, one of the big differences between a reformer pilates class and a CrossFit session, also becomes one of the big similarities. Of course the glaringly obvious differences are things like intensity, weightlifting, use of heavy loads and equipment (such as kettlebells), but all of this aside muscle recruitment is a big one! So in CrossFit, many movements are short, intense and require the athlete to ‘move large loads, long distances quickly.’ To do this, you are often required to recruit large and small muscle groups simultaneously throughout the body. In a reformer class, this is not so much the case. Often yes, you will be activating many different muscle groups, but the movements will be specifically targeted to an area of the body. Activation of exactly to right muscles at exactly the right time is pivotal here, and this is where I believe pilates and crossfit go well together! Sometimes large, big, weighted movements can be ‘fudged’ or ‘scraped over the line,’ but if the correct muscles are not begin activated and firing at the right time, then eventually you will most likely end up injured or not progressing with a movement. So, I really like that reformer pilates draws your attention to the more acute and precise recruitment of some smaller muscles which can get overlooked in a crossfit setting, resulting in sloppy movements.

I was also surprised in the reformer session at how ‘burny’ some of the movements became – I guess I’m used to training in an environment where the loads are larger, but the sets are shorter with fewer reps! Again, no particular right or wrong, just different, and if we respect the differences then we all have something to grow and learn from.

I felt really great after my session and the next day as well! I had a great workout. It was low intensity and catered to my every need as a heavily pregnant lass! I pretty much got a one on one session with a qualified reformer instructor who made sure I was safe and not causing any undue harm to myself or my little bub.

I would definitely recommend pilates sessions to other pregnant women, provided you are training with an instructor who is well versed and trained in the area of looking after pregnant ladies!

Thanks again for having me KX Pilates, and for putting on such a great evening Fire and Shine!

Love Caitlin (@fit_collective)