If you’ve ever read a reformer class description and wondered what “Footwork series, Long Stretch, Stomach Massage and Short Box” actually means, this is your cheat sheet. The 20 exercises below are the spine of beginner reformer Pilates. Know the names and the shapes, and your first class becomes navigable.
Key takeaway: Beginner reformer class draws from a standardised repertoire of about 25–30 exercises. The 20 below are the ones you’re most likely to encounter in any beginner-level class at any studio. Each has a mat-based equivalent you can practise at home — preparation that turns a confusing first class into a confident one. Save or print this guide and revisit it before your first class.
The 20 most common beginner reformer Pilates exercises are: (1) Footwork (heels), (2) Footwork (toes), (3) Footwork (V position), (4) Footwork (wide stance), (5) Footwork (single leg), (6) The Hundred, (7) Coordination, (8) Long Stretch, (9) Up Stretch, (10) Down Stretch, (11) Elephant, (12) Stomach Massage (round back), (13) Stomach Massage (flat back), (14) Short Box (round back), (15) Short Box (flat back), (16) Short Box (side bend), (17) Knee Stretches (round back), (18) Knee Stretches (flat back), (19) Knee Stretches (knees off), and (20) Side Splits. These 20 exercises form the core of nearly every beginner reformer class and are taught across all major reformer lineages (Balanced Body, Stott, and Romana-derived). Each one has a corresponding mat-based version that beginners can practise at home — covered in Sophie Mercer’s Reformer Ready 6-Week Program.
How to read this cheat sheet
For each exercise:
- What it is — what your body is doing
- What you’ll feel — the dominant sensation (where you’ll feel the work)
- Mat prep — how to practise the same pattern at home before class
If you can recognise the names and roughly visualise the shape of each one, you’ll walk into class with no decoding to do.
The Footwork Series (Exercises 1–5)
Footwork is the foundational reformer exercise series. Lie on your back on the carriage, headrest up, feet on the footbar, knees bent. Press the footbar away to extend your legs (the carriage slides), then control the carriage back to start. Reformer footwork happens in five positions, each repeated 8–12 times.
1. Footwork (heels)
What it is: Heels on the footbar, toes pointing up. Press and return.
What you’ll feel: Hamstrings, glutes, deep core. Surprisingly demanding.
Mat prep: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Press your heels into the mat (don’t lift your hips), feel the hamstring engagement. Or: looped resistance band around the soles of the feet, press both legs out, control the return.
2. Footwork (toes)
What it is: Balls of the feet on the footbar, heels lifted, knees pointing straight forward. Press and return.
What you’ll feel: Quads, calves, deep core.
Mat prep: Same band setup, but ball of foot through the loop. Or: calf raises with feet on a step.
3. Footwork (“V” position)
What it is: Balls of the feet together, heels apart, toes turned out in a small V. Press and return.
What you’ll feel: Inner thighs, glutes, deep core.
Mat prep: Lie on your back, knees bent, soles of feet together, knees turned out. Press knees apart and return.
4. Footwork (wide stance)
What it is: Feet wide on the footbar, toes turned slightly out. Press and return.
What you’ll feel: Glute medius, outer thighs, deep core.
Mat prep: Wide-stance squat against a wall. Or: clamshell exercises with band above the knees.
5. Footwork (single leg)
What it is: One foot at a time. Press and return.
What you’ll feel: Unilateral hip and glute engagement, deep core (anti-rotation).
Mat prep: Single-leg bridge. Or: standing single-leg balance with light band resistance.
The Ab Series (Exercises 6–7)
6. The Hundred
What it is: Reformer’s iconic exercise. Lie on your back, hold the straps (which run to the back of the machine over your head), legs in tabletop or extended position, head and shoulders lifted. Pulse the arms vigorously for five sets of ten breaths (inhale five, exhale five).
What you’ll feel: Deep core endurance, hip flexor strength, lat engagement, breath co-ordination.
Mat prep: The mat Hundred. Same body position, arms pulsing alongside the body without straps. Build up to five sets of ten breaths.
7. Coordination
What it is: From the Hundred position, simultaneously extend the legs out while pulling the straps in, then bend the knees and reach the arms back. Tests breath-movement-co-ordination.
What you’ll feel: Whole-body co-ordination, deep core, hip flexors, biceps.
Mat prep: Dead bug exercise — same opposite-limb co-ordination pattern without the straps.
The Long Stretch Series (Exercises 8–10)
This series puts you in a plank-like position with feet on the carriage and hands on the footbar. The carriage slides as you move your body. Highly demanding for beginners.
8. Long Stretch
What it is: Plank position with hands on footbar, feet on shoulder rests, body forms a straight line. Allow the carriage to slide back a few inches, then pull it home.
What you’ll feel: Deep core, shoulders, lats, anterior chain.
Mat prep: Slider plank — plank position with sliders under the feet, walk feet back and return. Same movement pattern.
9. Up Stretch
What it is: Inverted-V position (hips piked up), hands on footbar, feet on carriage. Slide the carriage out into plank, then back into the V.
What you’ll feel: Shoulders, lats, hamstrings, deep core.
Mat prep: Slider pike — pike position with sliders under feet, slide out into plank and back.
10. Down Stretch
What it is: Kneeling on the carriage, hands on footbar, body forms a long line from knees to head with a slight back arch. Slide the carriage out and back.
What you’ll feel: Front of hips (quads), front body, anterior chain stretch.
Mat prep: Tall kneeling, slight back bend, controlled hip extension. Or: hip-flexor stretch in kneeling lunge.
The Elephant and Stomach Massage (Exercises 11–13)
11. Elephant
What it is: Hip hinge with feet on the carriage and hands on the footbar, body in an inverted V. Slide the carriage out with the feet and pull it back using the core, not the legs.
What you’ll feel: Deep core (specifically the lower abdominals), hamstrings, lats.
Mat prep: Slider hip hinge — hands on the floor, feet on sliders, slide feet back and forward while keeping the spine long.
12. Stomach Massage (round back)
What it is: Seated on the carriage, balls of the feet on the footbar, knees bent and elevated. Hands hold the front edge of the carriage. Spine rounds forward. Press the footbar away with the legs (the carriage slides forward), then return.
What you’ll feel: Deep core, hip flexors, quads. The name is a joke — it doesn’t massage anything.
Mat prep: Roll-back with band looped around the feet, seated on the mat. Same press-and-return pattern in a rounded spine position.
13. Stomach Massage (flat back)
What it is: Same setup as round back, but the spine is extended (long back, sitting tall). Hands either reach forward or stay on the carriage.
What you’ll feel: Same muscles, but with more upper-back demand.
Mat prep: Same as round-back version but seated tall instead of rounded.
The Short Box Series (Exercises 14–16)
A padded box sits on the carriage. You sit on it for this series.
14. Short Box (round back)
What it is: Seated on the box, feet under the foot strap. Round the spine and roll back as if doing a slow sit-up in reverse, against the resistance of the foot strap.
What you’ll feel: Deep core endurance, particularly the lower abdominals.
Mat prep: Mat roll-down with looped band around the feet, anchored or just held.
15. Short Box (flat back)
What it is: Same setup, but spine stays straight. Hinge backward from the hips (no spinal flexion).
What you’ll feel: Hip flexors, deep core, postural muscles.
Mat prep: Mat hip hinge in seated position, controlled backward hinge with neutral spine.
16. Short Box (side bend)
What it is: Same setup, side-lying lean over the box, lateral flexion.
What you’ll feel: Obliques, lateral chain.
Mat prep: Mat side bend, kneeling or standing.
The Knee Stretches Series (Exercises 17–19)
You kneel on the carriage, hands on the footbar.
17. Knee Stretches (round back)
What it is: Kneeling, hands on footbar, spine rounded. Press the carriage back with the knees, then pull it home.
What you’ll feel: Deep core, lats, hip flexors.
Mat prep: Hands-and-knees position with sliders under the knees, slide knees forward and back.
18. Knee Stretches (flat back)
What it is: Same, but with extended spine.
What you’ll feel: Same muscles, more upper-back engagement.
Mat prep: Same slider setup, neutral spine instead of rounded.
19. Knee Stretches (knees off)
What it is: Same setup, but knees lift slightly off the carriage. Advanced beginner level.
What you’ll feel: Deep core, full-body integration.
Mat prep: Plank with sliders under the feet, slow knee tucks.
Side Splits (Exercise 20)
20. Side Splits
What it is: Standing on the carriage, one foot on the footbar, one foot on the shoulder rest. Slide the legs apart and then pull back together.
What you’ll feel: Inner thighs, outer hip stability, deep core (anti-rotation).
Mat prep: Side-lying clamshell with band. Or: Cossack squat for the adductor pattern.
How to use this cheat sheet
Before your first class:
- Read the list once through, just to recognise the names.
- Try 3–4 of the mat-prep versions at home this week.
- The night before class, scan the list once more. Visualise each shape.
- Take a screenshot — or [print this page] — and have it on your phone before class.
During your first class: Don’t worry about doing the moves perfectly. Just notice when the teacher names one you recognise. That recognition alone removes most of the first-class anxiety.
After your first class: Note which exercises you encountered. Most beginners get 12–15 of these in their first class. Your second class will repeat many of them.
The structured path
This cheat sheet is the surface-level orientation. If you want the full path — every exercise practised on the mat with form coaching, breath co-ordination drills, teacher cue decoding, and a class simulation in the final week — that’s exactly what the Reformer Ready 6-Week Program is built for. By the end of the 6 weeks you’ve practised all 30 of the most common beginner reformer exercises in mat form. Your first class becomes a recognition exercise, not a learning curve.
If you’re staying home and not going to a studio, the Reformer-Style at Home 8-Week Program is the same exercises with resistance bands and sliders to add the spring-like resistance. Same training stimulus, no apparatus required.
Save this cheat sheet. Print it. Send it to the friend who’s also been putting off booking that first class.