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I came to reformer pilates a little desperate. My lower back had been talking to me for months — not screaming, just a persistent low-level reminder that I was not twenty-five any more, and that spending hours at a desk, no matter how senior the role, was taking a toll I could no longer ignore.
Around the same time, a Jetset Pilates studio opened up close to my house in Wellington. I had set up a ClassPass account a few months earlier — partly out of curiosity, partly because I kept telling myself I would try something new. I had been working my way through spin classes, barre, yoga — things that were fine but never quite clicked. Jetset came up in the app, it was five minutes away, so I booked it.
I did not expect much. I left that first class wanting to come back the next day. There is something about the way Jetset is structured that suits me particularly well — the teachers do not push you beyond where you are, the pace allows you to be intentional rather than just keeping up, and the progression feels genuinely earned. I have been going ever since, building strength at a rate that suits my body rather than someone else's timeline.
This post is not about telling you what to do. It is about what I have learned, what the research supports, and why I think reformer pilates is something worth seriously considering once you are in your mid-thirties and beyond.
per year after 35
to see real change
you feel the difference
Why Exercise Matters More, Not Less, After 35
From your mid-thirties, your body begins to lose muscle mass at roughly one to two percent per year — a process called sarcopenia. Bone density starts to decline. Oestrogen, which plays a quiet but significant role in joint health, mood regulation, and fat distribution, begins its slow shift downward well before perimenopause arrives in full.
This is not something to fear. It is something to know. Because once you know it, you can train with intention rather than habit.
Muscle loss: Resistance and weight-bearing movement are the most effective counter. Reformer pilates qualifies on both counts.
Bone density: Weight-bearing exercise signals the body to maintain bone. Evidence supports pilates for this, particularly standing reformer work.
Posture and spinal health: Prolonged sitting shortens hip flexors and weakens the posterior chain. Pilates directly addresses this imbalance.
Core integrity: Not the aesthetic six-pack — the deep stabilising muscles that protect the spine and pelvis. This is what pilates trains.
Stress and cortisol: Low-intensity focused movement activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the opposite of a stress response.
What Reformer Pilates Actually Is
The reformer is a spring-resistance machine — a sliding carriage on a frame, with adjustable springs that provide either resistance or assistance depending on the exercise. This is what makes it so different from mat pilates, which uses only bodyweight.
The springs mean you can work at precisely the right level for your body. A session moves through the whole body — legs, hips, spine, shoulders, arms, feet — always with the core engaged as the foundation. You finish feeling as though you have genuinely worked without the sense of having been broken down. That balance matters enormously at this stage of life.
No two studios are identical, and this is worth knowing before you commit. Jetset Pilates, where I train, has a particular energy — the teachers read the room carefully, and there is no pressure to perform beyond where you genuinely are. If you are not sure which studio suits you, ClassPass is a genuinely useful way to try several before you decide. That is exactly how I found Jetset.
The Benefits I Have Experienced Personally
I am not going to tell you I dropped two dress sizes and developed a six-pack. What I can tell you is this: my lower back pain is now almost entirely absent. My posture has measurably improved — I stand taller without thinking about it. My core is functionally stronger in a way that carries over into everything — carrying grandchildren, long-haul travel, long days on my feet at events. I sleep better on the days I train. I feel calmer.
I also learned, the hard way, what happens when you ignore all of this. My daughter came to a class with me once — she is fitter than she lets on — and I spent the entire session quietly trying to keep up with her. The next morning I could barely walk. Two full days of not being able to move properly, all because my ego decided that one class was worth abandoning everything I had learned about working at my own pace. It was not.
"The reformer does not care about your ego. It cares about your alignment, your breath, and your intention — and it will absolutely let you know when you have forgotten that."
— Anjie, Style & Soul 35+The research does support these outcomes — particularly around chronic back pain, postural improvement, and stress reduction in women over 35. You may want to verify the most current clinical studies if you are making a health-based decision, as evidence in this area continues to develop.
Getting Started: Practical Guidance
Use ClassPass to explore first: Try several studios before committing. That is how I found Jetset — reformer was the one that made everything else feel like a warm-up.
Work at your pace, not anyone else's: I paid for ignoring this with two days of not being able to walk. Your class, your springs, your pace.
Commit to six sessions before deciding: The first couple are orientation as much as exercise. By session five, you will feel the difference.
Wear fitted clothing: Your teacher needs to see your alignment. Loose clothes hide what they need to observe — this is where what you wear actually matters.
Tell your teacher everything: Past injuries, current niggles, hours at a desk. A good pilates teacher works with your history, not despite it.
Aim for two sessions per week: Once a week maintains. Twice a week transforms.
