Why mat Pilates belongs in your routine (even if you love the reformer)

There's a conversation I have fairly regularly at Rise.

Someone has been coming to reformer classes for a while, they're feeling stronger, moving better, properly hooked - and then they glance over at the mat Pilates room and ask: "Is that worth doing too, or is it basically the same thing?"

The honest answer is: it's not the same thing at all. And yes, it's absolutely worth doing.

Here's why.

The reformer does a lot of the work for you (that's the point - until it isn't)

The reformer is brilliant precisely because of its feedback and support. The moving carriage helps you feel where your body should be. The springs provide assistance or resistance depending on what you need. It creates an environment where building foundations feels safe, controlled, and genuinely effective.

But that support also means the reformer is quietly helping you more than you might realise.

On the mat, that scaffolding disappears. It's just you, the floor, and gravity. Suddenly your body has to organise itself entirely on its own - no carriage to guide the movement, no spring tension to lean into. Muscles that were getting a little help on the reformer now have to step up completely.

That's not a criticism of the reformer. It's actually the whole point. The two work together beautifully.

Mat Pilates builds the kind of strength that travels with you

The strength you develop on the mat is deeply functional. Because you're working without equipment, every exercise has to be earned through pure body control. Your core, your stabilisers, your postural muscles - they all have to work harder to create the same movement.

This is the strength that shows up in real life. Getting off the floor, carrying the shopping, sitting at a desk for hours without your back giving up on you - mat Pilates trains the body for all of it.

It also means mat work is something you can take anywhere. On holiday, in your living room, in a hotel room at 7am before a long day of meetings. Once you know the movements, they come with you.

It keeps you honest

This might be my favourite thing about mat Pilates, and also the reason some people find it unexpectedly humbling.

You cannot hide on the mat.

Compensations that have been quietly sneaking through on the reformer tend to reveal themselves pretty quickly. A hip that likes to hitch. A side that's working harder than the other. A tendency to grip in the wrong places when things get tough.

This isn't something to be embarrassed about - it's useful information. And working through those imbalances on the mat often translates directly back to better, cleaner movement on the reformer too.

It's more accessible than you think

Mat Pilates has a reputation for being the "beginner" option - a stepping stone to the reformer. But that's not quite right.

Mat classes at Rise range from genuinely accessible for newcomers all the way through to seriously challenging. Classical Pilates exercises like the Hundred, the Roll Up, and the Teaser are no joke. Plenty of experienced movers find mat work harder than reformer in many ways.

At the same time, if you are brand new to Pilates, the mat is a wonderful place to start. No equipment to get used to, no springs to adjust - just focused, mindful movement and a good instructor to guide you through it.

Two classes a week, different things entirely

If you can manage it, pairing a reformer class with a mat class each week is one of the best things you can do for your Pilates practice.

The reformer builds and challenges you with the support of the apparatus. The mat strips it back and makes sure you truly own the movement. Together they create something more complete than either can offer alone.

A lot of our members who've added mat into their routine tell me it's changed how they feel in their reformer classes too - more control, more awareness, less relying on the machine to sort things out.

That's the combination working exactly as it should.

Ready to give it a go?

If you've been reformer-only up to now, I'd genuinely encourage you to try a mat class. Come with an open mind and don't be surprised if it feels different to what you expected - that's entirely the point.

And if you're completely new to Pilates and wondering where to start, mat is a brilliant first step. You'll leave with a real sense of what Pilates actually is, and a body that already feels better for it.

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Rise Pilates is based in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. We offer mat Pilates, reformer Pilates, half barrel, wunda chair and jumpboard classes for all levels - in a studio that genuinely welcomes everyone.