Is this home Pilates machine worth the investment? We asked Pilates expert Anna Frankland, founder of Reform Pilates in Blackrock, for her take …
Anyone who’s had back issues will know the refrain: you should try Pilates. Most physiotherapists recommend it as a way of building your core strength. The Reformer machine, invented by Joseph Pilates early in the 20th century, has long been a way to intensify the exercises, featuring buildable weight resistance. If you’ve tried classes with a good teacher, you’ll know how effective it can be in strengthening and toning the body. It all feels very Gwyneth Paltrow – but it works.
Classes are an investment, costing around €25 per session (less with a package). And sometimes the stress of getting to a class on time negates the positive benefits of the class itself. So we were interested to see that Irish entrepreneur Hannah Joyce, from Mayo, has come up with a new home Pilates machine. But is it worth the investment – and do Pilates experts rate it?
Joyce’s Flexera machine looks a bit different from other home Pilates machines. In cream and pale wood, it’s designed to look like high-end furniture, and it completely folds away, so you don’t need a dedicated room for it – who has the space? It’s priced from €2,000-€2,399, including accessories and twelve months’ access to the accompanying Flexera Studio App.
Joyce reckons her model pays for itself in under a year. Alternatively, you can rent a machine from €39 a week (minimum six months) – a good way to try it out first (the shortest rental time available is twelve weeks, at €45 per week; deposit required). NB: Note the €150 delivery fee. Joyce was recently named one of the Irish Times “Innovators to Watch” in 2025.
I asked Anna Frankland, founder and owner of Reform Pilates in Blackrock, for her objective take on these machines. I didn’t expect a studio to endorse a home machine (it feels a bit like a hairstylist endorsing home hair colour), but I knew Anna would give me her honest opinion.
“A few of our clients have Flexera reformers and one of them asked me to come and see hers last week. Here’s what I thought. It’s a brilliant business idea that seems to be very professionally executed. I love the rent before you buy option, or just continue renting!
“If I had one, I wouldn’t want to have to fold it up after every use, as it is heavy and slightly cumbersome to do so (this is the trade-off when you have such a sturdy reformer). You need space, not just for the reformer but also around it to get the most out of what you can do on it.
“They are only suitable for those with Pilates reformer experience. I wouldn’t suggest that anyone buy or rent a reformer having never been to classes with an experienced instructor: there is a risk of injury if you don’t know what you are doing. Not only do you need to have experienced the exercises, but also you also need to understand the implication of adding or taking away resistance (in the form of springs) from an exercise. I wouldn’t advise relying on an app for this. Our clients still come to classes and then do their own practice at home on the Flexera based on what they have learnt. In the right hands, it is a brilliant piece of apparatus to have at home.”
