How To Adjust the Straps on a Pilates Reformer

When you first look at a Pilates Reformer, you may be confused on how to even use the machine, let alone adjust the reformer straps to suit your individual exercise needs. But with a little practice and know-how anyone can learn the many ways to adjust the straps on a Pilate’s reformer. Follow this guide to learn some of the most basic adjustments.

It is quite easy to adjust the straps on a Pilate’s reformer. There are various settings you can use that depend on which Pilate’s exercises you plan to do on the reformer. However, you must at least keep in mind the proper amount of resistance you will need to maintain on the machine, since you do not want to adjust your Pilates reformer only to find that the resistance is too difficult for you.

• To begin, lie down on the floor facing up. Hold on to the handles on the reformer straps. Using a threading-like technique, place the strap loops through the openings of the handles. To do the Pilates exercise known as the Short Spine, you will need to put one strap on each foot.
• In order to adjust the reformer for the Pull Straps exercise, begin by lying on the floor facing downward. Position the box upright onto the Pilates reformer and remove the straps from their posts. Slowly and evenly inch your hands up the straps as far as you can go. For the next part of this exercise, position your hands on the extreme ends of the loops. This will allow you to adjust the reformer every time you go backwards.
• To adjust the reformer straps for the Teaser, keep the box on the reformer and stand in front of it. Hold the reformer straps in your hands, pulling them away from you with a far reaching motion.  Take your black straps and fasten them using the straps on the Pilates reformer. To do this, loop each of the straps through both the loops and handles. Once you have completed that, continue to adjust the straps by lying on your back, and then position the black straps over top of both feet.
• When you are ready to do sidekicks, like on either your left or right side and put the strap loop on your uppermost foot. Stretch your leg towards the far corner of the reformer in order to adjust it.

Now that you have learned the basic ways to adjust the straps on a Pilate’s reformer, you can experiment with new moves and techniques that will allow you to discover new ways to adjust the straps for new exercises. As your strength improves, you can begin to increase the level of resistance on your reformer in order to do more advanced exercises.