What to Consider When Shopping for a Pilates Reformer to ...

So I received a fantastic inquiry about the BIG question &#; I want to buy a Pilates Reformer cheap!!!

Sooner or later, every avid Pilates student considers this option so they can stay consistent with their workouts and enjoy the ability to do Pilates day or night in the luxury of their own home.  The challenge then becomes, finding the best Pilates equipment for the space available, and evaluating to determine (a) If you&#;ll really use it at home, or it will become a drop zone for clothes and miscellaneous stuff.  (b) You feel confident with your Pilates program to work without supervision.

You can find more information on our web, so please take a look.

Here&#;s the question I received about this, and my recommendations:

&#;Aliesa, if you would be so kind as to help me I would really appreciate it. I am thinking about getting a reformer for my home. I can&#;t get one too big but also want one that would do the basics for me to keep up Pilates at home. There is a used one on Craig&#;s list under sporting equipment for $125. Would you tell me if this would work for me or you have a better suggestion. It&#;s not working to make it into a studio for regular lessons, this will hopefully keep me in Pilates. I&#;d love to know what you recommend.  Thanks!&#;  &#;Judy

Here&#;s My Reply:

Your question is a fantastic one!  Thrilled to get it!  You&#;re not the only one out there who is trying to find good, economically priced Pilates Reformers and equipment to use at home.

My first comment for you to consider&#;  You get what you pay for!

After years of working out on professional grade, high quality Pilates equipment in a studio, I think that you will be very disappointed with a home model that is selling for $125. Unless it was originally priced at $+ and they&#;re basically giving it away.

You really will be better served to invest in something that will last you a lifetime at home with little or no maintenance, then get something on the very low end of the market, that is designed more to sell than to use.

I know that it will cost a bit more, but think about how many years you&#;ve been doing Pilates and what you&#;ve spent to participate in private lessons and group classes 2- 3 days a week.  Then multiply that number out by the 25, 30, 40, or 50 years you&#;ve got left to use it!

For Example:

• Group Reformer Class 2 days a week at $25 = $50 week
• $50 a week x 4 weeks = $200 month
• $200 month x 12 months = $ year
• $ year x 20 years = and you&#;ve spent $48,000 to take 2 classes a week for a wonderful 20 years of great Pilates exercise!

Or spend $3,000-$4,000 on a good piece of equipment that you can use for the rest of your life at home and be on it 2, 3, 4 or more days a week!

Spending the money to invest in something that is well-made will be worth the money. Otherwise, you may find yourself like some of the other folks trying to get rid of stuff that they really can&#;t use (or won&#;t use) because it just isn&#;t sturdy, or safe enough, doesn&#;t feel right, or have adequate resistance like they are used to using in a Pilates studio.

A lot of the lower end machines don&#;t have springs, but are on giant rubber bands.  Some of the ones I&#;ve been on are tippy, and the foot bar is not solid, but wiggles when you use it.  They might be ok for the beginning basic exercises, but once you progress, you&#;re going to progress into needing a more sturdy Reformer.  Honestly, all of the people that I&#;ve talked to that have purchased lower-end equipment have been disappointed and aren&#;t using it like they thought they would.

Finding the Right Pilates Equipment Manufacturer to Buy From:

The major players that manufacture equipment all have home-models and some even sell fold-able reformers. These cost much more than the $125 bargain you&#;ve found on Craig&#;s list, but the difference in price for one of these from my perspective, still may not be worth the difference in quality of the feel of use when doing a workout on a regular studio reformer.

You might spend $1,000 &#; $2,000 for a high-end home Reformer, but the extra $1,000 -$ I would spend on a professional-grade piece of equipment, in the long run, just makes more sense to me.  Especially if I know I&#;m going to enjoy using it 3-4 days a week in my living room or basement for the next 20+ years.  But again, these comments are from my perspective.  Buying a good Pilates Reformer is like buying a good Treadmill.  If it doesn&#;t perform like the one at the health club, you might not be inclined to really use it.

I would love to hear what users who have actually purchased designed-for-home-use Reformers and foldable models have to say.

Here are a few links to go shopping for Pilates equipment:

Peak Pilates

Stott Pilates

Balanced Body Pilates

Gratz Pilates

Basil Blecher

Other manufacturers:

For more information, please visit gymfrog.

Teague Pilates

Home Equipment Manufacturer:

Stamina

There are probably quite a few other companies selling home equipment, but I really can&#;t with a clear conscious recommend them for purchase.  (Not sure I&#;d recommend everyone on the list above, but wanted to you have a variety of options to compare.)

• The difference in quality between professional grade and a $1,000 or less model is HUGE.
• I can&#;t recommend something I haven&#;t personally had a chance to use, to really see how they feel and work.

Since I haven&#;t been on every model out there, it&#;s a tough call.  I am partial to springs vs. bungee cords, and leather straps vs. ropes and risers.  I also prefer a foot bar that has several height adjustments.  Some manufacturers sell everything you need for your Reformer as a package, and other companies sell the reformer separately from the long/short box, handles, stick, and other accessories you might need to use.  So when comparing prices, you need to also compare the accessories that are included, or what you might have to spend extra money on.

Home Reformer Disappointments

I do know that while I was in Italy, I had the chance to get on a home model reformer that is being manufactured in Argentina.  It has promise for being a good lower-cost option, but the model we were on was a prototype and it was great for basic things, as soon as we progressed through a workout there were issues in keeping the carriage gliding evenly.  And we were only on it for 5-10 minutes.  Can&#;t imagine how it would hold up under normal use.  So I&#;m waiting and hoping that they will be able to get the bugs out, before I can recommend it, because it had great potential.

I also have a past client and teacher who ordered from Teague, because their prices are soooo much lower than everybody else.  But unfortunately, she was not thrilled with what she got.  But perhaps this would be a more economical option for you as they usually run some great specials on their equipment.

I would love to hear some comments from folks who are using Teague equipment to let the rest of us know how it compares to the big 3 manufacturers (Peak, Stott, and Balanced Body.)

Finding good used equipment is a challenge &#; if somebody posts good stuff, it usually sells very quickly. There are a few discussion boards and Pilates sites that do advertise used equipment for sale.

Here are two resources to shop for Used Pilates equipment that I know of:

The Pilates Guy

Pilates Connections Discussion Board (head to forums &#; Pilates Classifieds)

Yes, possibly on craigslist and eBay.  But the good stuff goes fast, and generally it holds its value &#; so a good slightly-used reformer won&#;t be much cheaper than buying a new one.  You might expect to pay  ½ price (plus or minus) for a well-used commercial grade reformer, even if it&#;s 20 years old!  (Plus shipping)

Final Thoughts

I Know that a $125 Pilates Reformer on Craig&#;s list sounds like a great bargain&#;but I&#;m just not sure you&#;re going to be happy with what you get. I do agree that it would be really good for you to have equipment that you can use at home to be consistent with your Pilates program.  You have demonstrated your commitment to yourself and your health by sticking with your Pilates workouts for so many years.  Shop around and spend your money wisely. I&#;m confident that, if, and when, you purchase something you will get your money&#;s worth and be using it regularly!

It&#;s always a big decision.  You&#;re not out much to spend $125 and try it!  But I will be curious to hear feedback from you if you do.

Hope this helps.  Let me know if I can assist you with anything else, and give me some feedback on the equipment you get when you make a decision and purchase a home Reformer.  Best of Luck finding the right equipment for your home Pilates workouts!

And to those of you that have already taken the plunge and purchased a reformer to use at home&#;

I&#;d love to hear your comments about the brand and model you&#;ve purchased:

• What Brand and Model did you purchase?
• Do you like it?
• Do you use it regularly?
• What are the pros and cons from your perspective!

Please share your thoughts so the folks that are still shopping can use your experience to make a great buying decision!

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