Product Description

Train and strengthen your entire body the Pilates way with the Pilates Premier. Your ticket to a stronger, more flexible, healthier body! Originally developed in the 1920's to help dancers and professional athletes restore and build muscle tone and strength, the Pilates method of body conditioning engages the abdominals in engages the in each exercise, training your body to use them in every activity you perform. The Pilates Premier will help you develop tighter stomach and abdominal muscles, as well as shape and tighten your buttocks, hip and thighs. And the benefits don't stop there... the Premier also increases flexibility and coordination, helps you stand taller and move with more grace plus much more. The details on the machine: Performs 32 exercises to tone and shape the entire body; Low impact... easier on joints. Quiet, ultra-smooth rollers bear the weight of the sliding carriage as you move back and forth; Heavy-duty elastic cords provide 4 levels of resistance; Adjustable headrest, along with oversized high density foam shoulder pads, offer additional support; Comfortable padded cushion for increased comfort; Adjustable straps and hand grips to fit any user; Foot bar can be easily removed for storage. Folds for easy storage; has wheels for easy mobility; Non-slip frame caps keep the Pilates Premier in place when in use; Heavy-duty steel frame construction with warm wood accents; Includes informative workout video and full color workout chart; User height r

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97579 in Sports & Outdoors
• Brand: Stamina
• Model: 55-5510
• Dimensions: 17.00" h x 20.75" w x 86.25" l, 74.00 pounds

Features

• Pilates Premier XP includes a personal workout DVD featuring Pilates expert Marjolein Brugman
• Four heavy-duty, elastic cords provide five levels of workout resistance
• Adjustable headrest and oversized high-density foam shoulder pads offer additional support and comfort
• Convenient folding design for easy storage
• Adjustable straps and hand grips to fit any user

Customer Reviews

This machine is the argument against springs.
I have over 7,000 hours of experience teaching on studio quality, spring-loaded Pilates equipment. In the last years that I taught professionally, I cut down my insane teaching schedule by teaching group classes on these machines.

They are safer than spring-loaded reformers because of the bungee cords--springs snap back. Bungee cords will move, but not with the kind of propulsive, really dramatic force you see in springs. Over and over again, I watched students do things on these reformers that would have injured them on spring-loaded equipment.

In my own practice, lack of attention has caused a moment or two of real danger; the worst thing that happened was a flying bungee cord cutting the upholstery.

Safety aside, these provide enough resistance for a really good workout. They are big enough that anyone under 6'2" can do all of the exercises, with the exception of the Semi-Circle, which is a more intermediate exercise anyway. Students with knee and hip injuries reported that they were more comfortable on these machines, possibly because the bungee cords provide less resistance.

Also, these reformers do what reformers were designed to do: in two hour-long workouts a week, these machines increased flexibility, improved back pain and dramatically changed the shape of bodies, just like studio quality equipment would. (Yes, Virginia, there is a way to get rid of saddlebags without lipo.)

Finally, unlike some other pieces of non-studio quality equipment, I can unequivocally recommend these for even very fit men. The runners, bikers and hunters in my classes really found the machine workouts challenging.

Cons: I have never been able to get replacement parts. You will need two people or one man over six feet to move each machine. Attempt to fold them up again at your own peril. Lock them away from children, or vice versa--even bungee cords can cut.

Great Quality
A little larger and heavier than I expected, but a solid home Pilates reformer. As someone who has been taking classes in a Pilates studio with professional-grade reformers, this comes as close as possible -- and for about 10% of the price of a studio-quality reformer.

It's versatile, easy to use (once you figure out the sparse instructions on how to set it up) and the cords provide some serious resistance and a good, thorough workout.

The one complaint I have is that the wheels don't seem to be in the proper position to actually function. Then again, if the manual weren't so minimalist, I might have been able to figure out what, if anything, I'm doing wrong.

Good for a home studio
This reformer is good as a home reformer. It is easy to use and setup is easy. However, it is not a professional reformer. It is somewhat shorter than a professional one. It lacks a few features like an adjustable footbar. I had to purchase optional accessories like a stand, box, rebounder and pole. These cost a few hundred dollars, all together. It would be more cost effective to get one with a stand and rebounder. If you are tall or long legged, you will sometimes feel cramped using this one.