They say bad things come in threes, but if you’re a fan of tough reformer workouts, rowing machines, and HIIT with weights, then you’ll think STRONG Pilates is heaven on Earth.
The Australian fitness brand has recently launched in the UK, opening studios in London and Leicester with big plans to soon be in cities all over the country. Their classes are just 45 minutes long and promise a heart rate boosting, muscle pumping, limb stretching and core-quivering workout. I couldn’t wait to give it a go, and aimed to go two or three times a week (which is the recommended attendance for best results) for a fortnight.
Is Strong Pilates suitable for all fitness levels?
Right now, I am not at my fittest. I pretty much had to have a whole year off from exercising while I waited for investigations into debilitating symptoms of Ménière’s Disease (an inner ear malfunction which causes sudden vertigo, temporary deafness, crippling pressure headaches, nausea) triggered by covid in 2022. I have since been diagnosed with eustachian tube dysfunction, and now that’s under control – and I can stand up without thinking I’ll either throw up or fall down – I am ready to get active again.
Furthermore, I have some joint and mobility issues in my left leg due to a deformed patellar groove and a 2014 ankle dislocation which resulted in a lengthy hospital stay, and my broken fibula and tibia being surgically repaired with pins, screws and plates. Six years later I needed to have all the metalwork removed as it was causing me a lot of pain – I had a bumpy ridge down one leg where the screwheads were poking into my skin, it reminded me of a crocodile’s back. On the advice of my surgeon, I needed a year to recover from that op, to let the holes left by the removed screws naturally refill with bone (bork). I still suffer from daily stiffness, swelling and on some days, I have a severe limp and can find walking quite painful.
In the classes, I never felt like I was unable to do any of the movements – on or off the Rowformer – due to my lack of fitness, and as the trainers take an interest in any injuries/issues, before the class they make sure to chat with you to make sure you’re comfortable with what’s coming up, and offer alternative movements where needed during the 45-minute class.
Diana Coffey, Head of Movement at STRONG Pilates told me that the classes are genuinely suitable for everyone of all fitness levels and experience – apart from those with active injuries.
She said: ‘Even though we have the word Pilates in our name, we’re always very transparent that we are not the rehab style Pilates. We are where you go once you’ve dealt with the injury and you’re ready to progress your training.
‘If someone with an injury comes to us then we can offer one-on-one training and tailor the workout to rehab the injury, but in the greater scheme of things we’re not for those kinds of big, chronic injuries.
‘That doesn’t mean that someone with a niggling knee, or someone who is just finishing their rehab, can’t come to a class to help transition them into the next stage of their recovery. But we aren’t for rehabilitation, we are the next step.’
As well as fully enjoying the classes, despite my physical limitations, I genuinely found the people who work and train at STRONG to be genuinely friendly. Any initial concerns I had about being the least fit/flexible person there evaporated quickly.
What is STRONG Pilates?
STRONG Pilates is a 45-minute fitness class which originated in Australia. At the moment, there are fifty studios there and in New Zealand, and the founders hope to have another fifty across Europe by the end of the year – and thankfully for us, a decent chunk of those will be in the UK. At the time of writing, there’s a studio in Islington, London, and one in Leicester.
The next STRONG Pilates studios – which are owned and managed by franchisees – that will open in London are in Fulham, Wimbledon, Mayfair, and Putney. Outside the capital, look out for studios in Dublin, Belfast, and Exeter – and a few more in the Midlands.
STRONG Pilates was founded by Michael Ramsey and Mark Armstrong, who owned a chain of F45s in Australia. They had noticed that the repetitive, high impact style of training was causing a lot of injuries. After Ramsey broke his ankle, he started doing pilates to rebuild his strength and balance, but like a lot of people who use Pilates purely for rehab, he missed the buzz of a HIIT class.
‘We always like to say that STRONG was created to bridge the gap between classical Pilates and a HIIT workout,’ explains Diana.
It was during his recovery that he spotted a new exercise machine being showcased in the US – a “Rowformer”. He flew to meet the inventor, and after doing a class on the machine, was astounded by hard it had worked out his abs. He bought the usage rights for the Southern Hemisphere and that was how STRONG began.
What are the different classes at STRONG Pilates?
Today there are 12 different class types that fall into four different categories. The classes are split by day, so technically you could get a full body workout by mixing and matching the different offerings.
Pilates only
On Sundays you can expect pure, unadulterated Pilates. Diana explained that this is because they realised that there is a reformer pilates studio shortage in some parts of the UK, so by ‘bringing a little bit extra of Pilates only on the schedule, it allows people to experience a little bit more of a classical side of things and strengthen, stabilise and lengthen a little bit more.
‘It also means that people can get familiar with one part of the machine and then up their workouts in one of the other classes as they will already have an idea of what they’re doing.
‘It’s not an easy class, but it’s a deload compared to the intensity on the cardio side of things. It sets you up for the rest of the week.’
Loaded sessions
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the classes are split into lower body, and upper body/core, and the focus is on strength and conditioning. These classes involve a fair chunk of using weights, and at the start of the class you’re advised about if you need to get light, medium or heavy dumbbells ready to go, depending on your fitness level and how much you want to push yourself. I personally found the Thursday upper body classes particularly brutal – and I was only using medium weights!
Diana said: ‘These are more strength and conditioning style workouts. So we will work in AMRAP, EMOMS, there’s going to be more lifting style exercises, like thrusters and snatches.’
Sweat
Diana explained that these are the most cardio-focused of the classes. She said: ‘We spend a little bit more time, a little bit more focus on the ERG side. Some days, we’re going to work in a HIIT style, where we’re only spending three minutes on the ERG, then five minutes on strength, and we’re kind of moving from side to side trying to keep that heart rate up with short bursts on each side.
‘Or we might be doing an endurance session where we start with a 10 minute row where we really focus on form and building up stamina.’
STRONG Body
Essentially, STRONG Body is a little bit of everything. It’s one block of upper body, one block of lower body, one block of core, and then three blocks that are five minutes in length.
Diana said: ‘You get to experience everything a little bit. We don’t keep you on the ERG for too long, we don’t keep you in a body part for too long.
‘This is the best programme for our beginners so they can experience everything that STRONG does, and get a little bit of taste of everything.’
What is a ‘Rowformer’ and how does it work?
Unlike a ‘normal’ reformer used in a standard reformer pilates class, Strong Pilates uses a hybrid machine called the Rowformer. This is foot-bar free 4m long piece of kit merges the sliding carriage, springs and cables of a familiar reformer, but with an ‘ERG’ at the end of it, i.e. a rowing machine or stationary bike.
While there are some classes which are reformer only, on Sundays and Mondays,, for the most part every session involves some use of the ERG. At the Islington studio, some of the machines are teamed with a bike rather than a rower.
“Our only ERG used to be a rowing machine and then about 18 months ago, a little bit of innovation brought the bikes into the mix as well,” said Diana.
The ERGs are used to warm up, or for heart rate busting cardio intervals where you need to hit say 8 or 10 calories before jumping off and hitting the weights or doing press-ups or sit-ups on the carriage. I enjoyed these parts of the classes, although I was a bit of a wimp about going shoe-free on the rowing footplates (hard plastic hurts!).
How is STRONG Pilates different to reformer pilates?
Diana says: ‘It’s not completely different, we always say that we are “Pilates inspired and cardio infused”. STRONG is all about stability, it’s all about control, it’s about creating a stable body which can transition into different types of training.
‘And then, on top of Pilates – the posture, the core, the shoulder stability, the hip stability – we have added strength and conditioning principles, and then cardio on top of that. We cater to all different audiences when it comes to training. We put it all under one roof, on the one membership within one 45 minute class.
‘Historically, if you went to a gym but you also needed a little bit of rehab, you would have to get a gym membership, then a Pilates membership, then maybe you would have to go for a bit of run because after Pilates, you feel like your heart rate has not come up. You want a little bit of cardio that day. So all of a sudden, you’re paying for two memberships, and you’re not doing everything in one hour, you’re doing several hours.
‘And that’s just not possible for a lot of people. People work, they can’t just do fitness all day. So that’s the difference – under one roof, within one membership, within one 45 minute class, we are offering all different sections of fitness.’
How much is STRONG Pilates?
Like every reformer Pilates studios, training at STRONG isn’t cheap. They offer a series of packages, ranging from two classes a week (£46) to a 6 month unlimited package (£58/week). Newbies can try a 10-day 5 class intro package for £49. You can also attend STRONG Pilates classes via a ClassPass membership SIGN UP NOW
I raised the general cost of reformer pilates to Diana, and highlighted my personal concerns that it can be a barrier for many people who might love to give it a try.
She agreed that £20-£25 a class is a big investment, but explained that studios have no choice but to charge that in order to meet overheads.
Diana said: ‘Visualise a gym, any kind of a large chain gym and visualise their studio space where they actually run one of the group exercise classes, you can fit what 20 or 30 people into those rooms. Whereas you can’t do that in a Pilates studio, you can only fit as many people as you have machines, and machines are big.
‘You can only fit a certain amount into a room. So if you can, between your peak hours, from six to 7am, only charge six people versus 30 people it’s very, very different, right? But that’s also the beauty of Pilates that everyone gets their own piece of machinery, so the price has to has to show that unfortunately.’
She added that while in Australia it’s easy to source warehouse-style spaces in city suburbs, when it comes to the UK – and particularly London – ‘commercial real estate is sparse, fairly expensive, and the space is such just not that big. You don’t have a massive warehouse space just on the outskirts of the city. That’s a 10 minute drive like in Australia.’
My final thoughts
I really enjoyed the classes, and definitely felt the effects of the workouts in the days after training. I also felt elongated and stretched out, which is one of my favourite sensations, and one that I have sorely missed since my go-to reformer studio closed down during lockdown (R.I.P).
The 45-minute classes seemed to whiz past, and the variety of movements and exercises meant there was no repetition or boredom. At the end of each class you’re also handed an icy eucalyptus towel to help you cool down, a nice touch.
I would love to be a regular at STRONG Pilates – and if they ever open a studio closer to where I live, I would definitely consider investing in a membership.