We have not opened yet, so we have no members, no reviews and no before-and-after photographs. What we do have is the reason we are building this at all: reformer Pilates has quietly become one of the most-booked forms of exercise in the world, and there is a growing body of research looking at what it actually does.
Rather than tell you it will change your life, here is the evidence, with links, so you can read it yourself and decide.
1. Pilates is the most-booked workout on ClassPass
The global class-booking platform ClassPass publishes an annual Look Back report. In its 2024 report, Pilates took the number one spot for the second consecutive year, with bookings up 84% in a single year. Low-impact training as a whole rose 109%, which the platform attributed to demand for formats that are accessible to people newer to exercise.
Athletech News: ClassPass reflects on 2024 — fitness trends & wellness insights
2. In England, more people do Pilates than a decade ago
Sport England's Active Lives survey is the national benchmark for participation. Analysis of that data shows Pilates participation rose roughly 16% between 2015/16 and 2022/23. Honesty matters here: the same data shows Pilates participation dipped about 9% between 2019/20 and 2022/23 as the pandemic peak unwound — it fell back less sharply than yoga, and remains above where it was a decade ago.
SW Londoner: Pilates and yoga exceed pre-pandemic participation levels · Sport England Active Lives
3. What the press has been saying
- CNN — “Pilates is great for you. Will it make you like yourself?” (September 2025), on the reformer boom and the culture that has grown around it.
- British Vogue — Reformer, Tower, Mat… which type of Pilates is best for your body? A useful explainer on the differences, and a reminder that the right choice is the style and the room that suit you.
- Marie Claire UK — an at-home reformer machine review, for anyone wondering whether to buy one instead. (Short answer: they are large, and a studio has ten of them plus somebody watching your form.)
None of these are about reef. They are about reformer Pilates. We have quoted them precisely because we cannot yet point you at our own reviews.
4. What the research says — carefully
There is a real and growing literature on reformer Pilates specifically, rather than Pilates in general. Three examples, all peer-reviewed:
- “Effects of reformer pilates on body composition, strength, and psychosomatic factors in overweight and obese women: a randomized controlled trial” (2025). Read the paper
- “Effects of reformer pilates on pain, psychological factors, and sleep in chronic musculoskeletal pain: a randomized controlled trial” (2025). Read the paper
- “Pilates versus resistance training on trunk strength and balance adaptations in older women: a randomized controlled trial” (2019) — note this one studies Pilates generally, not reformer specifically. Read the paper
5. What this does not mean
These are studies about Pilates. They are not promises about what will happen to you at reef.
Individual studies use specific populations, specific protocols and specific durations. A trial showing an effect in one group, over one particular block of weeks, does not mean a weekly class will produce the same effect in you — and we are not going to pretend otherwise. We have linked the papers rather than summarising their findings, precisely so you can read what they actually measured.
We make no claims that reformer Pilates treats, cures or prevents any condition. If you have an injury, a health condition, or you are pregnant or recently postnatal, speak to your GP or a qualified clinician before booking, and tell us before your first session so we can talk it through honestly.
6. The only claim we will make
Reformer Pilates is low-impact, adjustable, and extremely well suited to people who have not exercised in a while as well as people who train constantly. Pilates has been the most-booked workout on ClassPass two years running. And from December 2026 there will be ten reformers, warm light and very good coffee on Wyle Cop in Shrewsbury.
You can decide the rest for yourself after three sessions.
