Pilates classes were designed to increase focus, remove stress and tension from the mind and muscles and also improve one’s life through basic exercise by developing controlled movements from a strong core. Joseph Pilates originally developed his method in 1945 as mat exercises and used various devices to help people improve their inner and outer image by feeling and looking good. Each piece of apparatus has its own set of movements and exercises and focuses on certain aspects of the body.

A Pilates studio uses a wide range of apparatus, most of which are for resistance training, allowing you to choose how hard you want to work based on your fitness level and strength. A spring is used to apply progressive resistance, so the more the spring is stretched, the more resistance there will be. The most used device is called a Reformer and it is probably the most important. Pilates classes will also have devices such as the Cadillac or Trapeze Table, the High or Electric Chair, the Wunda Chair, the Baby Chair, the Ladder Barrel, the Spine Corrector or Step Barrel and the Small Barrel.

All of these devices come with specifically designed exercises and routines that target certain aspects of the body that you want to improve and strengthen. In contemporary Pilates, other props are used, such as small weighted balls, foam rollers, spinning discs, and resistance bands. As technology improves, more and more equipment tends to change, but the basic principles laid out by Joseph Pilates tend to stay the same. However, today there are 2 different types of Pilates, the classic/authentic Pilates, which tries not to vary from the original teachings of Joseph Pilates and builds its equipment according to his exact specifications. Classical instructor training also dates back to Joseph Pilates himself or one of his protégés. Modern/Contemporary Pilates varies its exercises from lesson to lesson and uses most modern equipment and exercises from around the world with basic principles.

So whether you choose classic or modern Pilates, both are designed to tone the body and mind to work more effectively and efficiently, increasing focus, energy, and overall well-being. Each Pilates studio has its own methods, classes, and apparatus that the instructors have stockpiled or sometimes built from the teachings of Joe Pilates. Finding the right exercises and places to go is hard these days because in today’s life the options are endless and there are studios and workouts from all over the world that are offered to us with weird gadgets with names that put a smile on your face.