Discover a Reimagined Pilates Experience on Tonal

Pilates, Reimagined on Tonal

It’s time to go beyond the mat and experience Pilates like never before. Pilates on Tonal, featuring reformer-like resistance that adjusts as you get stronger, is here. Unlock a fresh (and growing) library of Pilates movements and workouts led by Tonal Guest Coach Kristin McGee, with new Pilates loops.

Order Pilates Loops

Whether you’re new to Pilates or looking to deepen your practice, it’s a whole new way to level up your all-around fitness and get even more from your Tonal membership.

What is Pilates?

Originally created by Joseph Pilates as a method of rehabilitation for imprisoned soldiers during World War I, Pilates later gained fans among dancers in the New York City Ballet who used the exercise method to prevent injuries and strengthen supporting muscles. Since then, it’s only become more popular with fitness enthusiasts and professional athletes alike reaping the mind-body benefits of this low-impact workout. 

“Pilates is rooted in six principles: breath, concentration, control, centering, flow, and precision,” explains Tonal performance manager Jenna Moore. “It’s designed to build strength, control, and mobility, especially through your core.” Pilates is all about moving with intention as you flow between low-impact movements. 

McGee, who brings her decades of fitness experience to guided Pilates workouts on Tonal, says it’s a common misconception that Pilates is “easy” or “just stretching.” Instead, she says, “Pilates is one of the most effective ways to build functional strength, improve alignment, and prevent injuries. It’s accessible for beginners but can be incredibly challenging for advanced athletes, too.” 

What Are the Benefits of Pilates?

Along with improving mobility, flexibility, and supporting joint health, “the mind-body connection that’s cultivated in the Pilates experience helps you improve overall body awareness which translates over to any other type of fitness that you’re doing in your life,” Moore says. That means feeling and performing better in daily life, in your lifting workouts, or participating in other activities including running, cycling, or team sports. 

“It challenges you to move in a more controlled, mindful way which will help you lift better, recover faster, and stay injury-free,” says Moore.

Research is also starting to back up why dancers and athletes have long relied on Pilates to optimize their performances. A regular Pilates practice can help improve your posture, strengthen bones, reduce injury risk among runners, and even boost your mood, according to recent studies.

How Is Tonal Reimagining the Pilates Experience?

While Pilates can be performed just with your own bodyweight on the mat, using resistance allows you to go deeper as you isolate small, stabilizing muscles. Typically, people use Pilates reformers that traditionally utilize springs to provide low-impact resistance. 

“The springs help you target muscles more precisely while also working through a full range of motion, building muscular balance across the body which is especially helpful for people who are trying to improve their performance in other areas or maintain resilience of their body,” says Moore. 

Tonal leverages advanced digital weight technology to take Pilates to the next-level with personalized, reformer-like resistance that micro-adjusts as you get stronger. “The digital weight mimics the resistance you’d feel on a reformer, but with added versatility,” says McGee.

On Tonal, there are 10 levels of Pilates resistance, each becoming progressively more difficult the farther the cable is pulled from Tonal. Moore compares the feel of Pilates resistance on Tonal to a rubber band that becomes harder to stretch out the more it’s extended. “The bigger the range of motion and the farther the cable travels, the more weight you’re going to feel at the end range of a movement,” she says. During a Pilates workout, you’ll see a resistance dial indicating your current resistance level instead of pounds on a weight dial like you’d see in a Tonal strength session.

Your initial Pilates resistance levels are based on your existing strength profile and your real-time performance, so if you’re already lifting on Tonal, you can jump right into any Pilates workout with personalized resistance. As you get stronger and develop competence in the movements, Tonal will add resistance to continue challenging you. This makes for a more personalized experience than a Pilates studio class with a one-size-fits-all approach to resistance. 

When you start a Pilates workout, all you need to do is tap the resistance dial and the resistance will automatically adjust from move to move. This allows you to seamlessly flow between moves so you can focus on your form and move with intention.

While Tonal tracks your volume, work, and total duration during Pilates workouts, the emphasis is on time under tension and range of motion. This helps you focus on slow, controlled movement with full range of motion, versus trying to complete as many reps as possible.

Pilates workouts do not directly impact your Strength Score, but over time the mobility, stability, and functional strength you gain in Pilates workouts can help you go heavier in your big lifts, thus raising your Strength Score. Because Pilates is designed to improve your movement patterns, these workouts will have the greatest impact on the Movement Quality and Functional Strength training goals. It will also build endurance, as many Pilates workouts feature long-duration sets. 

Order Pilates Loops

Discover Pilates Moves

Pilates on Tonal features a versatile library of new movements for your core, upper, and lower body that you can experience in guided sessions or add to your own Free Lift or Custom Workouts. “You’re going to see classical moves that are very traditional to the Pilates experience, but also moves that are the foundation for setting you up for success down the road,” says Moore. The library includes Pilates classics such as the hundred, draw a sword, and serve a tray—with even more movements joining in the future. 

Unlock the Experience with Pilates Loops

To access Pilates movements and workouts, you’ll need Pilates loops. Made exclusively for Tonal, this new, comfortable accessory provides the wrist and foot stability necessary for Pilates movements. These premium loops are made from recycled plastic bottles and feature a water and oil resistant neoprene lining. Their integrated T-locks connect to Tonal in just one click so you can get started seamlessly. 

Tonal’s new Pilates loops also feature a longer and shorter loop for more movement versatility. “Your coach will always give you a recommendation of what loop to use for a movement,” says Moore. “However, having the option of another loop opens up the ability for you to progress or regress a movement very seamlessly.” 

For example, if you’re doing a movement with the shorter loop but it’s starting to feel too challenging, switch the larger loop, which decreases the end range of resistance.

Order Pilates Loops

How Should I Incorporate Pilates Into My Routine?

Think of Pilates as a complement, not an alternative, to traditional strength training. You’ll get the most benefits from including both in your weekly routine, and Tonal makes it convenient to do both on one device from the comfort of home. 

Tonal Pilates workouts are also approachable, even if you’ve never tried Pilates before. In intro and beginner workouts, your coach will offer detailed cueing and form tips as you become acquainted with this new way to move. If you have an established Pilates practice, you’ll appreciate the advanced workout options as well as instructions on movement variations and progressions to continue challenging yourself. 

“Think of Pilates as the foundation and strength training as the building blocks,” says McGee. “Pilates helps you create stability, core strength, and proper movement patterns, while strength training layers on load and intensity to build muscle and resilience. Doing both ensures you’re strong, aligned, and less prone to injury.”

Pilates also helps support your lifting. Adding Pilates into your weekly routine could help open up your hips so you can go deeper in your squats or build overhead range of motion so you can lift heavier with your upper body.

Here are just a few ways to fit Pilates into your weekly routine to get all the benefits: 

• Tap into a 15-minute Quick Fit or create a Custom Workout with Pilates movements as a warmup to fire up your core before lifting. 
• Add a Pilates workout after a strength workout as a finisher to burn out smaller muscles. 
• Add Pilates as a form of active recovery between strength days.
• Try Pilates when you want a lower-intensity, lower-load workout.
  

“It’s all about choosing what supports your training and how your body feels at the time,” Moore says. With targeted, guided workouts for the core, upper, or lower body, along with longer full-body sessions—plus the ability to add Pilates movements to Custom Workouts—you can make your Pilates practice on Tonal work for you.

Order Pilates Loops

How to Add Pilates Loops to Your Tonal

To unlock new moves and workouts, add Pilates loops to your Tonal by selecting Tonal > Accessories > Pilates Loops. Then, read and acknowledge the safety waiver. Tap “Add Accessory” and you’re all set!

Explore Pilates Workouts

Check out the new Pilates workouts on Tonal. All led by McGee, these include options for targeted training and full-body sculpting, along with sessions designed for both beginner and advanced members. More workouts and programs featuring Pilates will be coming soon. 

Intro to Pilates on Tonal
18 min
Discover how Pilates can help you build strength, stability, and body awareness in this low-impact, core-focused session. Learn to use Pilates loops, and dial in your form in foundational exercises. 

Upper-Body Pilates Flex
17 min
Sculpt your upper body and fire up your core in this dynamic workout that targets your triceps, shoulders, lats, and rhomboids.

Quick Fit: Pilates Core Control
12 min
Experience the targeted power of Pilates core work in minutes as you hit your abs and obliques from every angle in this time-saving session.

Full-Body Focus Pilates
23 min
Follow a traditional Pilates flow, connecting with your breath and seamlessly transitioning between movements to challenge your posture, coordination, and core strength. 

Mixed Mat Pilates
22 min
Mix up your practice with this session that starts on the mat to establish control and alignment before transitioning to Tonal for a deeper burn. 

Advanced Full-Body Pilates Flow
33 min
Rise to the challenge of this full-body Pilates flow that uses advanced variations of classic movements to get your muscles quivering.

Order Pilates Loops