Buying Pilates equipment for home?

Written By Olga Harkola

I’ve got some tips for you…

A lot of my students have been asking where and what kind of Pilates equipment they should be buying. Since I have bought many pieces of equipment throughout my career:  used, new, from different manufacturers, for myself, and for my home studio, I wanted to share some of what I have learned and found helpful in making the decision.

A couple of notes, before we start…

  • I’m a Classical Pilates Teacher, so the resource list is mainly focused on classical Pilates Equipment.  If Contemporary Pilates is your thing, the resources won’t help you, but check out the tips around making a buying decision.

  • I have no affiliations with any of the manufacturers or organizations mentioned in this post, just sharing my personal experiences.

OK, you are ready to buy your next favorite Pilates piece of equipment, but where to start? Here are some of the things to consider…

Price

Pilates equipment prices could range from $150 to $7,600. Generally, the larger the piece the more expensive it is. Smaller pieces like magic circle, breath-a-sizer, toe and foot correctors, neck stretcher, sandbag, etc. – these accessories usually stay between $25 and $300.

Classical equipment is usually sold by specific equipment manufacturers – see the links at the end of the post.

Amazon and some manufacturers offer home versions of the equipment that could be significantly less expensive.

Home or Studio version?

There is always a question whether home versions of a reformer or chair are ok to buy.

The answer really depends on your preference. Generally, if you are used to working on a classical equipment, home versions won’t feel the same, but that may be ok.

I like to think of it similar to how I think about my skincare products:

  • There is an option that is affordable and available in grocery store and then there is a salon option.
    Some products are completely fine to get at Walmart, for example my favorite eye makeup remover is Neutrogena – cheap, effective and I can get it at any grocery store

  • My hyaluronic acid is from PCA skincare.

What product gives you best result, is it worth the investment, etc.? I think similarly about Pilates equipment.

Whatever the piece is, consider taxes and shipping charges. Shipping can be as expensive as 25% of the cost, so definitely shop around.

If ordering from the Pilates Equipment manufacturer, make sure to ask for discounts. Ordering online will not give you an option to ask for a discount, so reach out to the manufacturer via email or phone.

What is your budget?

Space

Now that you know how much you are willing to spend, make sure you have enough space.

  • Larger pieces are very heavy and are not easy to move around – Reformer, Cadillac, Raised Mat, High Chair, Ladder Barrel.

  • Some pieces require bolting to the ceiling – Guillotine, Tower Units.

  • Wunda chair and smaller barrels are usually most compact.

Is your space upstairs or downstairs? Although not impossible (my hubby and I did it), but not as easy to haul Cadillac to the attic😉 This is more for planning, if you end up needing help carrying things

How much space do you have?

Usage

Knowing how much you will most likely use it may help you determine what quality/type of equipment you may want to consider.

To get the most of your equipment:

1.       Schedule your workouts on the calendar

2.       Join live classes, private/semi-private sessions

3.       Check out on-demand subscriptions like Pilatesology.com and Pilatesanytime.com. They usually have free trials and free workouts.

What piece should you get first?

This is a very subjective and personal choice. Everyone has an opinion and reasons for one piece of equipment over the other. I’m going to share my choices, but please consider this question to be a question with no wrong answer. No matter what you get it will be the right choice for you.

Here are my choices😊

  • Barrels

I use Barrels ALL THE TIME. The barrels are amazing at opening the chest, shoulders, hips, etc. Barrels will help with posture, shoulder, hip, back pain, especially in the world of computers and phones. Plus, the barrels are cheaper, more compact and there are plenty of options for classes.

  • Pilates Stick/Springs

Although not classical piece, Pilates Stick works great if you don’t have Tower/Cadillac. Pilates Stick or Springs are cheap and versatile.

  • Wunda Chair

My next favorite piece to start with is Wunda Chair. It was the piece of equipment that Joe Pilates designed for small New York apartments as your “home reformer”.  Normally, that’s not the piece of apparatus I go to first when I’m teaching my clients, because you need proper form as it is more challenging piece of equipment. That said, I think the intent of Joe was for us to use it at home to get stronger.

Wunda Chair is compact, looks like a piece of furniture, not as expensive as other pieces and gets you the results of a good/hard workout right away.

You can even attach springs to your chair and make it tower like for some exercises.

  • Reformer/Cadillac

I would consider Cadillac and Reformer once I have other pieces.  This is just my preference, although I can definitely make a case for working on the reformer first.

This brings me to the last point. If you have a teacher that told you that your body needs a certain piece of equipment – I would start with that one.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then don’t worry about it and go with what you like using the most. This will significantly increase the chances of you actually doing the work and enjoying your equipment.

No matter what you decide, you are right!

Used or New?

Now that you know what you want, should you get it New or Used?

Depending on the manufacturer of the equipment, the price difference between New and Used pieces can vary significantly. This is similar to making a decision about buying a new or used car– what do you prefer?

Consider the following and reach out if you’d like me to help you with buying used equipment.

  • What are you savings?

  • Where is it? Can you save on shipping by picking it up? Note, shipping on new pieces can be as high as 25% of the cost

  • Who is the manufacturer? Equipment from pure classical manufacturers hold value better.

  • How old is it? Was any maintenance done? Did the springs, straps, wheels get changed and how frequently?
    How often was it used? Home pieces are usually used less and may not have required as much maintenance, where studio equipment usually has higher traffic and may need a lot of maintenance.

  • Do you like what is available for sale? For example, Gratz barrels are hardly ever available for resell…

Where to buy?

Here is the list of known manufacturers of Classical Pilates equipment. There are others, but here are the ones I had personal experience with.

Balanced Body

·         One of the largest manufactures of Contemporary and Classical studio and home Pilates equipment

·         Fast shipping

·         Limited selection of pure Classical pieces

·         Cheaper options

Gratz  

·         Specializes in Classical Pilates equipment only

·         Faster shipping

Pilates Designs

·         Specializes in Classical Pilates equipment only

·         Slower shipping

Peak Pilates

·         Specializes in studio and home Pilates equipment

·         Cheaper options

·         Fast shipping

Legacy Pilates

·         Classical Pilates manufacturer in Turkey, specializing in Classical Pilates equipment only

·         Slower shipping

Pilates Lineage

·         Specializes on the small apparatus (foot corrector, toe corrector, etc)

All produce excellent quality apparatus and have great customer service. Let me know if you would like more information on these manufactures or any specific pieces you are considering😊

Have fun shopping!

xxx

Olga

P.S. Let me know if this was helpful and what other topics you’d like to hear about -olga@pilatesfocused.com or DM me on IG @olgafetisovaharkola.

Olga Harkola