Your Pilates Shopping list
What to buy if you want to be fully equipped at home for Online classes or, bring your own gear to physical classes’
The essentials for any class
An Exercise Mat that is at least 10mm thick, you want to be comfortable while exercising on your back or kneeling.
A Head Cushion/rolled up hand towel. These cushions are thin and flat, used to keep your neck in good alignment. They are annoyingly difficult to buy individually so if you don’t want to spend £12 for one on amazon we recommend just bringing a hand towel to improvise a cushion in class.
Mats…
We love a decent thick mat and there are plenty to choose from these days. Here are the ones our clients have bought and really like..click on the names for the links for more information and ordering.
XN8 15mm Padded Mat/Various colours/£23.00
Gruper Mat - LONGER..if you want more room on a mat! Around £36.00 185 x 80 cms various colours.
Device Holder for Online Classes
This is absolutely brilliant for any online classes. It will hold a phone or tablet. It will tilt in any direction, swivel easily between portrait or landscape but best of all, is the base is REALLY heavy, so you can point it up for standing work and just tilt it to face down to the floor for mat work without it falling over. It is multi directional so the perfect device holder. I’ve only found it on Amazon, click here There are cheaper ones out there, but the reason this is SO good is because the base is heavy and it makes it stable so you can tilt it to face down so easily.
Device Holder with Clamp
From the same company another useful device holder for online classes. ZenCT Long Arm Aluminum Holder for iPad, 360° Swivel Tablet Stand Mount with bracket holder for iPad pro 11, iPad pro 9.7, iPad air, iPad 4 3 2, iPad Mini, Smart phones, it would pretty much work for most devices.
Click here for a black version, the white version is not currently available. There are cheaper versions out there but their quality is not nearly as good as this brand. I’ve had mine for 3 years now and still going strong. I’ve bought other ones and they are so flimsy I sent them back.
Resistance Bands
We like long bands as they can be more versatile. You could double up a lighter one and make it heavier when you need a bit more, you can use freezer bag clips to make a loop.
If you can get one of these door buckles too, you can have a bit more fun with a band, thought I can’t guarantee the six pack comes with it!
UMI sell 2m Latex free bands and their pack of 3 different strengths are £17.99 or a single band around £9.00
Meglio sell latex free bands too..1.5m £3.94 we’ve negotiated a discount for our clients, just quote KARENG10 and get 10% off your order.
Gritin sell a set of bands
2m Medium Resistance Band £5.95
2m Light Resistance Band £5.95
Or we have some 3m Intermediate Bands - get in touch if you prefer a longer one. £14.00
Resistance Loops
Fabric Loops are by far the best as they slip less, these are ones we have bought for the studio. Light/Med/Heavy suitable for everyone, try these.
Gritin sell a pack of 5 loops with different strengths from £9.99 apparently skin friendly!
Meglio sell latex free loops, they do a set of different strengths here. About £9 for a set of 4. If you need latex free great, if you can use the fabric ones, they are much better and easier to use and stay put on your legs instead of rolling up.
Prickle Massage Balls
These are used for soft tissue self massage. They’re convenient and effective for digging around in sore or tight areas and in class we sometimes do guided self massage to get at common problem areas. We get ours from the Physical Company, as many of the cheaper ones online are quite hard and spiky and don’t suit everyone. We prefer these from the Physical Company..they will need pumping up now and then but they work best for us, not too hard as some can be. Around £18 a pair but they are really really useful. Keep them ready for every online class you do! Or catch up in the ON DEMAND classes and use them in one of the recorded sessions.
Gym/Swiss Balls
Foam Rollers
We mostly use the larger 6”15cm dia ones, but if you are on the petite side you might prefer the 4”/10cm ones if you can get them. Length needs to be 38”/90cms - check what you order as many of them are the very short ones for massage and no good for exercise but handy to store your glasses when doing back exercises! Fun and a great way to both stretch/ strengthen/ massage your body. The ones we use in class are 38” x 6”.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU BUY..back in the old days it was really hard to get foam rollers and the ones you could get lost their shape quite quickly. These are mostly white in colour, so if you see a white one and the price is really cheap, it’s likely one of these - honestly save your money and get one of these listed as we know they are good and sturdy.
Maximo 36”/6” (90cms/15cms) black, blue or purple around £36.00
Megilo - these are the ones we have at the Northampton studio. Same dimensions as above £25.99 AND..we’ve negotiated a discount for our clients, just quote KARENG10 and get 10% off your order if you order via their website..link here.
The Hog!
Great for sitting on, leaning on, standing on..so many ways to use the Hog… direct from BackBaller here, and if you use the code northants you will get 10% discount or via Amazon here. Around £25.00 OR..check with us, we sometimes get 10 at a time to get the cost down. Avoid the 66ft ones, they are not nearly as good quality as this one!
Balance Disc or Wobble Cushion
We love these, great for balance work in various places. A prop that fills some of our regulars with dread, we use them to test your balance and your core control. They make simple movements quite difficult, turning an exercise you've done loads into a core burning, calorie spending experience, yay! No need to spend a fortune. Sometimes you can get them in Lidl.
We have a few at home that are not being used..happy to sell them at £4 each. Email me to ask for one.
These are good around £18.00 and slightly better quality.
Yoga Blocks
Yoga Blocks are great for anyone who finds sitting too uncomfortable around your hips/lower back and screaming hamstrings. 22cm x 13 x 7 is roughly what ours measure. We also use them as props for some exercises.
Umi Blocks 305 x 205 x 50mm £8.99
ProIron 30.5cm x 20.5cm x 5cm £9.99
Hand Weights
Hand weights 0.5kg to 2kg. We’re sure you know what a hand weight is. It is worth buying neoprene or rubberised or hexagonal-shaped free weights so they don’t roll away all the time. Argos sell them as do Decathlon - no links for these, cheaper to buy locally due to postage on heavier items!
Finger Extensor Exerciser
I found these on Amazon, the price seems to vary. They are very good for opening up the hand and counteracting the hours of keyboards or gripping! Just what you need if you are working through our Tennis Elbow rehab videos.
Grip Strengthener
So once we get the Golfers Elbow videos done, these will be needed! Again on Amazon.