Reformer Spring Settings: A Simple Guide for Instructors

Spring load is one of the most misunderstood parts of teaching the reformer. Heavier is not harder, and lighter is not easier. The spring is a tool, and knowing when to add and when to take away is what makes your teaching precise instead of guessed. Here is a clear way to think about it.

A note first: spring colours and tensions vary between reformer brands. This guide talks in relative terms, light, medium and heavy, so it works whatever machine you teach on. Always adjust to the individual body in front of you.

The core principle: what is the spring doing?

Ask one question about every exercise: is the spring supporting the movement, or resisting it?

• When the spring supports, more spring makes the move easier. A heavier spring in footwork gives the legs a stable base to press against. A heavier spring in the reformer elephant or long stretch actually assists, because it steadies the carriage.
• When the spring resists, more spring makes the move harder. In arm work through the straps, more spring means more load on the arms. In many core and stability moves, a lighter spring is harder, because the carriage is freer and the client has to control it.

Get this one distinction right and you will stop loading springs by habit.

A rough map by family

• Footwork. Generally heavier. The legs are strong and the body wants a stable base to press against. Calf and tendon work often drops a little lighter.
• Arms in straps, supine. Lighter. The shoulder is a small, vulnerable joint, and control matters more than load.
• Legs in straps. Medium. Enough to feel the work, not so much that the pelvis gets pulled out of position.
• Core and stability. Often lighter than people expect. A freer carriage is a harder carriage, because control is the whole challenge.
• Rowing and seated arm work. Light to medium. You want the back working, not the client bracing against a wall of tension.
• The no-spring work. With the springs off entirely, the carriage runs free and turns ordinary moves into deep stability work. This is advanced, and it is one of the most honest ways to expose whether someone truly has control.

When to change the spring mid-class

Every spring change costs you flow, so plan them. Group exercises that share a setting so you are not hopping up between every move. When you do change, cue it before the client has to ask: "we are taking this down to one light spring." A class where the spring changes are smooth and announced feels twice as professional.

Adjust to the person, always

These are starting points, not rules. A strong, experienced client might take more in one place and less in another. A rehab client might need the support of a heavier spring exactly where a fitness client wants it lighter. The setting on the manual is the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it. You are the instructor. Watch the body and adjust.

Have it there when you need it

Every exercise in Étude carries a suggested spring setting alongside its cues, setup and the faults to watch for, so you are never guessing at the start of a move. And because they are grouped by set-up, a generated class already clusters the moves that share a spring, so your class flows instead of stalling at the spring bar. You change any setting you like, it is a starting point in your hands.

Build a class free at etudepilates.com.