HAMBURG — Cristiano Ronaldo has used it. Lady Gaga, too. You can count in Ariana Grande, Kendall Jenner, Harry Styles and Hailey Bieber as well. And let’s not forget all those less famous people who’ve called themselves a “Pilates Princess” on TikTok: They all work out on the reformer, possibly the most sought-after piece of fitness equipment at the moment.
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This 100-year-old machine originally comes from Germany — and in its classic form could also be found in a torture chamber or at a sex party without looking out of place.
Tony Rockoff’s Pilates studio, Powerhouse Hamburg, is located in a loft in a commercial center in Hamburg’s Hamm quarter.
More than 6 feet tall, with a strikingly upright posture, Rockoff has been teaching classical Pilates since 2005 — for more than 10 years in his own studio — and trains other teachers. He is well aware of the torture and fetish associations that the reformer and other Pilates equipment arouse: “The first question is always: what do you do with the studio after 9 p.m.?”
Aging equipment
The studio is full of historical-looking sports equipment made of wood and metal. Thick mats lie on the floor, a punching bag hangs from the ceiling and a model of a spine is displayed in a niche in the wall.
The ancient-looking equipment was invented by a boxer from Mönchengladbach born in 1883: Joseph Pilates, who was called Joe by many. His method, which he called Contrology and which is now known as Pilates, focused on strengthening and mobilising the spine — and not just on the mat, which today is associated with Pilates.
“At least 90% of Pilates, as Joe conceived it, takes place on the equipment,” Rockoff says.
In front of a wall with mirrors and explanatory panels three of the most famous of all Pilates machines stand side by side: the reformer. With its metal frame, the machine is reminiscent of a narrow bed, but not a comfortable one. In the centre is a movable, black upholstered platform on castors.
Original or not, the device looks damn uncomfortable.
This trolley can move back and forth on rails on the device. At the head end, the reformer has leather straps with loops and handles, and at the foot end four martial-looking steel springs that connect the trolley to the frame. And then there are two training accessories: a large box and a bar.
“This here,” says Rockoff, running his hand over the upholstery of the reformer, “is the original.” Pilates originally built the device himself out of wood. “Later, in the 1950s, he had it made from aluminum by the metal construction company Gratz. Exactly as it stands here today.”
What Rockoff means by this is that he trains on a reformer whose design has not changed for around 70 years and which was still manufactured in the spirit of its inventor. Many studios today have more contemporary versions of the reformer.
Original or not, the device looks damn uncomfortable. So why exactly does everyone want to do gymnastics on this thing of all things? “COVID-19 made people realise that it’s important to take care of their own health,” says Rockoff. “And of course social media. That’s a driving force, for sure.”
Social media hype
Many women on social media rave about the so-called “Pilates body.” A body that corresponds to the conventional ideal of female beauty: thin with visible but not too bulky muscles. And you’re supposed to get it from reformer Pilates.
On TikTok, women report “graceful ballet muscles,” a “tight butt” and “slimmer and more defined legs” that exercising on the reformer has given them. After Miley Cyrus performed at the Grammys in February, the platform was full of instructions on how to get “Pilates arms” like the singer.
In a viral video, a woman who introduced herself as a reformer Pilates teacher said that many people in her classes had exactly these arms: Those who dedicate themselves to this workout get a body like Cyrus according to the copy-and-paste principle.
But such promises are not only made on social media. The gym chain John Reed also declares that working out on the reformer to be an insider tip for “long, lean muscles.” And even Joseph Pilates himself, in a marketing brochure for the reformer, promised not only “the removal of unwanted pounds” but also “correctly proportioned muscles in the right places.”
Precision and control
It is difficult to say whether he was convinced of this or whether he mainly wanted to convince people: Pilates also claimed to be three years older than he actually was in order to prove the rejuvenating effect of his training method.
The complete original training series entails 81 exercises that Pilates developed for the reformer. Some of them are performed lying down, such as the “footwork” exercises, in which the feet are placed on a bar at the foot end and the carriage is moved back and forth on the reformer by stretching and bending the legs, against the resistance of the springs.
It is a workout that requires concentration.
While seated, there is a rowing series, lateral sit-ups, or the “mermaid” exercise, in which you stretch your sides and back, while standing there are splits and squats. There are push-up variations and acrobatic exercises such as the “high bridge,” which is similar to the wheel in yoga.
What all exercises have in common is that they should be performed with precision and control — and are often more strenuous than they look. If you want to breathe correctly, align your body precisely and perform the movement correctly, you can’t go through the shopping list in your head while doing it.
Moving to New York
Shortly before Joseph Pilates emigrated to the United States some 100 years ago, on August 28, 1924, he applied for a patent in Hamburg for a “physical exercise machine,” as he initially called the reformer. In the patent specification, he did not say anything about his machine helping people to lose weight.
Instead, he emphasised that his invention was particularly suitable for training at home and enabled people with a condition to train their bodies, such as people who could not sit or walk. He also claimed that the reformer would help against flat feet (this claim has not been scientifically verified to this day).
After arriving in the United States, Pilates opened a studio in New York. The New York City Ballet trained nearby and Broadway was not far away either. Pilates worked with many dancers, some of whom later taught his method themselves. One of the dancers, Romana Kryzanowska, continued to run the studio after the death of Pilates and his partner.
Many dancers still teach Pilates today. The fact that so many Pilates practitioners had the body of a ballerina from the very beginning certainly did not detract from the success of the promise that Pilates would give practitioners such a body.
More than a body
Today, German singer Shirin David raps about being late for Pilates. The French fashion house Celine, previously better known for its expensive handbags, is selling a Pilates reformer from October, covered in monogram fabric and trimmed with sheepskin details.
And on social media, young women are celebrating an entire lifestyle that includes Pilates: waking up very early, drinking very green matcha lattes, slipping very expensive leggings over their very slim bodies, which are then trained very effectively on the reformer.
These images are not just about the desirable female body, but about a desirable female lifestyle — which of course does not exist without the right body. The ideal woman does Pilates.
But apparently many people — mostly women — are prepared to pay.
This is also the essence of another Pilates meme. In it, a man explains that Pilates is the biggest green flag of all for a woman and advises: “If your girlfriend goes to Pilates, marry her immediately. Pay her the full gym membership every month. It’s expensive, but it’s worth it.”
Just under an hour of group lessons on the reformer costs around 30 euros. More than a cheap fitness studio per month. In some places, this is because lessons are limited to four or five participants. Elsewhere, there are a dozen reformers lined up. Pilates studio memberships cost 200 euros a month or more — and even at such prices, the number of reformer classes is often limited.
But apparently many people — mostly women — are prepared to pay. One Pilates reformer studio after another is opening, especially in Germany’s largest cities. Some fitness centres are now also setting up their own reformer classrooms. If you want to train at home on your own reformer, you have to invest several thousand euros in the equipment.
Conspicuous consumption
Perhaps the high price increases the hype surrounding the reformer even more. What is expensive must also be valuable.
For American historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, reformer Pilates is also a kind of status symbol. Petrzela, is the author of Fit Nation: The Gains & Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession, teaches at The New School in New York and is a part-time fitness trainer. In our video interview, she’s wearing sports clothes.
The reformer is actually the mat with help.
“Fitness is a form of conspicuous consumption, but in a socially acceptable form,” she says. “In certain circles, spending a lot of money on pure luxury like a designer bag or a great holiday is considered a bit tasteless. Showing off with something that involves effort and discipline, on the other hand, is fine.”
It’s also conceivable the other way round: If you can’t afford an expensive handbag or even a condominium, treat yourself to reformer Pilates at least once a week.
Yet the Pilates workout you get for the high price is no more challenging than on the mat — quite the opposite.
“The reformer is actually the mat with help,” says Rockoff. The device helps you to perform the exercises correctly. “You can use the reformer for other purposes and do other exercises on it. But that’s no longer in the spirit of Joseph Pilates.”
