Some students wake up at 8:30 am, ready to start their day with a strength-and-stretch session on the Pilates Reformer, only to discover that their first act of strength is heaving a 120-pound machine into place just to begin class. And even after the workout, their final act of strength is dragging that same reformer back into the storage closet. It got tedious, fast.

“A lot of the dance clubs and dance team would come to use [Room 2221] to do their practices,” reformer instructor Alicia Fournier ’28 said. “We would have to share that space. Each class, we would have to roll each individual reformer out, set it up, and then lift the heavy machines back into the storage.”

At least, that was the story for the past few semesters. Now, the story has changed.

“With the help of the Strength & Conditioning staff, we moved the reformers over to [Room] 304 in August of this year,” Fitness & Wellness Director Anna Taggart said. “Participants can just pop in and sit down on a reformer versus getting there early to move it out of the closet.”

With a new room solely dedicated to Pilates Reformer came the need for more instructors. This past spring, Fitness & Wellness hosted a Pilates Reformer certification through Balanced Body, doubling the number of instructors from five to ten and allowing the program to serve more participants. But that’s not all.

“Having this dedicated space has also allowed us to launch Pilates Reformer Private Training and have a dedicated space for reformer instructors to practice and grow their skills,” Taggart said.

Pilates Reformer 1:1 Training is a new addition to Speciality Classes that Fitness & Wellness hosted this fall. In the Reformer room, certified instructors worked one-on-one with students, personalizing each session based on their health history and movement level.

“These personal sessions are great for participants who may be trying to gain mobility and strength back after an injury where they may have been in physical or occupational therapy,” group fitness instructor Novey Arrieta said.

If committing to a program feels daunting, students can ease in with a drop-in Pilates Reformer session. For $20 per session on Saturdays at 10:15 am, students can experience a taste of the full Reformer program in just one hour.

“Even for participants that don’t know if the package is right for them yet, they’ll be able to see what we can offer in these classes at any point in the semester so it’s an individual option for them,” Arrieta said. “Participants most enjoyed the low commitment option to still get in a Pilates class into their workout routines.”

Registration for drop-in Pilates Reformer opens seven days in advance, similar to Group RecXercise classes. However, unlike Group RecXercise, Specialty Class drop-ins are not included in the All Access Pass and are offered only as single-class passes.

After a successful first semester of implementing these expansions to the program, fresh opportunities for students to discover what Pilates Reformer is all about will continue into the spring.

“I really like the effort and development they’re putting into the reformer programs,” Theresa Terrones ’26 said. “It’s something a lot of people have wanted for a long time.”

Keep an eye on the Fitness & Wellness page for more information and be sure to register online for Pilates Reformer or Pilates Reformer drop-ins as classes and programs open next semester.

Written by: Angeline Nappoly