What to Expect in Your First Pilates Class

A first reformer class is more intimidating than it needs to be, largely because the equipment looks like it requires instructions nobody gave you. It does not.

What to wear

Fitted rather than loose. Baggy clothing makes it difficult for an instructor to see your alignment, which is most of what they are there for. It also catches in the reformer springs and straps.

Grip socks are required for reformer classes and are useful for mat. Avoid zips and hard buttons on anything that will be against the carriage.

Tie long hair back and take off dangling jewellery. Watches are fine.

What to bring

Water. Grip socks if you have them, though most studios sell them at the desk. Nothing else — mats and equipment are provided.

Arrive early and say something

Ten minutes early on a first visit. That gives time to set the reformer up for your height and to have thirty seconds of conversation.

Tell the instructor about injuries, surgeries, pregnancy, and anything that hurts. Not as a disclaimer — as information they will use to give you alternatives in real time. This is the single most useful thing you can do.

What the equipment does

The reformer is a sliding carriage on springs. The springs provide resistance and, counter-intuitively, also assistance — lighter springs are frequently harder because they support you less.

The footbar, straps and shoulder blocks all adjust. Your instructor sets them; you do not need to know how yet.

Nothing on the machine will move unless you move it.

What the class will feel like

Slower than you expect and harder than it looks. Pilates works in small ranges with high control, and the fatigue arrives in muscles you did not know were involved.

You will be given a great many corrections. That is the service, not criticism, and everyone in the room is getting them.

You may shake. That is normal and it is not a sign of doing it wrongly.

Afterwards

Expect to feel it in your abdominals and the sides of your hips for a day or two, particularly after the first few classes. That settles quickly.

Sharp pain during class is different from working hard, and it is worth mentioning immediately rather than after.

How many before it clicks

Most people find the vocabulary and the machine stop being distracting somewhere around class five, and start feeling the difference by around ten.

Two classes a week is the pace at which progress is obvious. One is enough to maintain and slower to build.

We are on W 135th St in Overland Park, open early — contact page.

All notes

Browse the full range in the shop, read the frequently asked questions, or contact us — Pilates of Kansas City, Overland Park, KS.