Your at home pilates routine just got an upgrade …
I was intrigued to try out the NordicTrack Pilates reformer machine, the Ultra 1, at Rathmines space Segotia last week. Segotia, by the way, is a beautiful studio and art space tucked away beside Bow Street acting school in Rathmines, with beautiful facilities and excellent coffee and treats in a shiny silver van outside (a v important part of the exercise procedure). There’s a full schedule of yoga classes on offer, plus soundbaths, meditation and cacao ceremonies, as well as other creative workshops, from calligraphy to life-drawing. What a lovely place to have on your doorstep.
The new-gen Pilates machines are the brainchild of Yvette McGaffin, director at iFIT and longtime Pilates expert, who has reimagined the bog-standard reformer machine and created something very chic for home use. This is a light, sleek reformer machine that would look good in a designer home, with its integral screen, wood panels and leather finishes. Expect to see this machine appearing in designer hotel gyms before long. McGaffin founded Reform RX in northern Ireland, where she lives, with the aim of designing the most advanced reformer Pilates platform on the market.
Suddenly you have a home gym studio, complete with LED lighting, that gives you feedback on how you’re working. It’s smooth, quiet and tactile – it feels good to be on and to use. It’s a bit like investing in a Dyson hairdrier – while your current one does the job, the upgraded version looks better, works better and is sleeker and quieter to use. Incidently, this is partly why that brand’s new sonic toothbrush just isn’t worth the spend, in my opinion – it doesn’t look good, it’s noisy and messy to use, and it doesn’t clean your teeth better, in my experience.
Sometimes, technology just makes something simple and straightforward into something over-complicated. Here, though, McGaffin aims to take away the “studio membership and the commute” while keeping the key aspects – “precision, progression and the sense that someone is guiding you. Technology shouldn’t replace Pilates. It should … make it available to far more people.”
The integrated touchscreen means you can access more than 10,000 workouts, which you can personalise. That should sort your glutes out. You’re not let loose on the machine in a random way – there’s guidance, whatever your level. Everything glides smoothly and efficiently here, and the springs are hidden, unlike in a traditional reformer machine, which feels sleeker and safer, and enhances the machine’s good looks.
If you’ve found a great Pilates teacher and a class you enjoy, that’s the best thing, and a home machine can never entirely replicate the personal input and guidance of a watchful instructor who can spot when you’re doing something ineffectually, or plain wrong. But if getting out to attend classes is tricky, and you prefer to work out at home, this is a luxurious option. If Gwyneth doesn’t have one, I’ll eat my yoga mat.
All this engineering comes at a cost. The Ultra 1 Reformer for home use is available at Intersport Elverys at €4,999 (or €165.26 for 36 months), plus €40 home delivery fee.
