Whether you’re a Pilates newbie or a veteran, you need to find the best pilates reformer machine that you can rely upon to provide you with a high-quality Pilates workout. There are a number of Pilates reformers on the market that claim to be the best. Today we are going to focus on the Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer. Could this be the answer to your home Pilates workout search?
The Pilates Story
Pilates is a form of exercise that works many muscle groups at the same time in a series of smooth, fluid movements. It places an emphasis on proper breathing technique, correct spinal and pelvic alignment and fluid, controlled movement. With Pilates, the quality of the movement is paramount.
Pilates is a great way to develop a strong core, develop long, lean muscles and enhance flexibility.
What is a Pilates Reformer?
The Pilates Reformer was invented by the founder of this form of exercise, Joseph Pilates. It is a bed-like frame that has a movable carriage on it. These are attached to the base with springs. They provide different levels of resistance as the carriage moves up and down the frame.
There is a foot-bar on the spring end of the machine. There are also long straps with handles on them that are attached to the ends of the bar. The reformer machine can be adjusted to suit different user heights.
Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer
Key Specs:
Solid Frame
The frame of the Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer is made from sturdy aluminum. The telescoping frame uses lever locks to easily lengthen for use or shorten for storage.
The boards that make up the frame are wider than many competitors. The parts of the frame are also jointed tighter for extra strength.
Five Spring Resistance
The Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer features a 5-spring resistance system. The nickel-plated springs are extremely strong. There is one light spring, three medium springs, and one heavy spring. In total, you get 46 different exercise configurations. This makes this reformer versatile enough to be used by people with any experience level. It also allows for continual progressive resistance.
Advanced Carriage Design
The carriage of the Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer is lightweight yet very strong. The carriage system sits upon a single-piece rail and comes with an 8-wheel tracking system. It also has 4 adjustable side wheels to provide a very smooth glide system.
The carriage of the reformer is padded with heavy-duty vinyl. What’s more, you get to choose between a whopping 51 vinyl colors.
Library Wheels
The Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer is fitted with ‘library’ wheels. This allows for ease of transport and storage, with the machine able to be stored in an upright position in a cupboard.
Adjustable Carriage Distance
A unique feature of the carriage system of the Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer is that it has five-stop levels at the head of the frame. This allows you to customize the distance of the carriage to match it to your height.
Foot Bars
You get to choose between a range of foot bars and spring bars when you purchase this Pilates reformer. You have the option of a Revo foot bar with a non-slip cover and four locking positions, the Classic foot bar with three positions, three heights and two supports, or the Infinity bar which has superior padding, four vertical positions, and thirty-two horizontal positions.
You also have the choice between the Revo spring bar which is integrated with the carriage and the no-roll spring bar with two positions, and optional carriage extension and return stoppers.
Workout Videos
Your purchase of the Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer comes with access to a series of professional workout videos to take you from novice to confident Pilates reformer user. You can access the workout video library here.
Assembly
The Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer is pretty straightforward to assemble. You get clear, easy to follow instructions, along with all of the hardware you need to put the machine together. Keep in mind, however, that this is a large and quite bulky machine. For that reason, you will probably want to have a friend with you to help with the assembly.
Warranty
The Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer provides you with a two-year warranty.
What Customers Are Saying About This Product?
There are a large number of reviews online for the Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer. Quite a few of them make mention of the excellent customer service they have received from the Balanced Body people. Many others were impressed with the portable nature of the machine and the ability for it to be stored upright. The quality performance of the machine, its great versatility and its ability to adjust to the height of the user were also highlighted. Many people also spoke well of the huge range of resistance levels that you get with this reformer.
Some reviewers made mention of the length of time it took to put the machine together. A few mentioned that the machine was noisier than they had expected.
Final Thoughts
The Balanced Body Pilates IQ Reformer is a high performing, versatile machine which is great for people of all heights and abilities. It is one of the more expensive options available, but for that money, you get a huge amount of performance, all wrapped up in a machine that looks as good as it performs!