How Are Commercial Gyms Adding Pilates Reformers to Their Equipment Mix?

Pilates reformers are moving well beyond specialist studios. Across the commercial fitness market, gym chains are adding reformer Pilates to existing clubs, testing new studio concepts, upgrading membership tiers and experimenting with digital instruction.

What is more interesting, however, is how differently they are doing it.

Crunch Fitness is building boutique-style reformer studios inside large gyms.

24 Hour Fitness has created controlled-access Reformer24 rooms that combine live coaching with on-demand training.

Life Time is using reformers for both traditional Pilates and athletic group training, while Goodlife Health Clubs and Fitness First Australia have scaled purpose-built reformer studios across dozens of locations.

These examples show that adding Pilates reformers to a commercial gym equipment mix is rarely a simple equipment purchase.

A reformer affects floor space, class programming, instructor requirements, member access, pricing and utilization. In practice, commercial gyms are not just asking, “How many reformers should we buy?” They are asking a much broader question:

What role should reformer Pilates play inside the club?

1. Commercial Gyms Are Creating Dedicated Pilates Reformer Spaces

One of the clearest patterns is that commercial gyms are generally not placing Pilates reformers alongside treadmills, selectorized strength machines and benches.

Instead, reformers are increasingly being grouped into a dedicated reformer Pilates studio or semi-enclosed training zone.

That changes the way operators need to think about the equipment.

1.1 Crunch Fitness Is Putting a Boutique Pilates Studio Inside the Gym

Crunch Fitness offers one of the clearest examples.

Its Crunch Reform Pilates concept is built around a dedicated studio environment rather than an open gym-floor layout. The concept combines reformer equipment with instructor-led sessions, digital programming screens, lighting and music.

The effect is closer to a standalone boutique Pilates studio than a conventional equipment zone.

That distinction matters because the reformers are being planned as a single operating unit. The operator is not evaluating each machine individually. It is evaluating whether the entire room can support enough classes, members and premium experiences to justify the space.

For commercial gym design, that represents a shift from thinking in terms of individual machines to thinking in terms of bookable training capacity.

1.2 Virgin Active Shows How Large a Reformer Pilates Studio Can Become

Virgin Active takes the dedicated-studio model further.

At different UK clubs, its reformer Pilates studios have been configured with roughly 13, 19 and even 22 reformers. In Singapore, four Virgin Active studios were equipped with 16 to 20 Merrithew SPX Max Reformers each, a commercial model built with aluminum rails.

At that scale, reformer Pilates is no longer a niche corner of the club. It functions much more like an indoor cycling studio or a major group exercise room.

That also changes the floor-planning question.

Instead of asking how many reformers can physically fit into unused space, operators need to ask whether they have enough demand, instructors and programming to keep a larger studio productive throughout the day.

A 20-reformer room can accommodate a large class, but it also represents a meaningful amount of commercial floor space that needs to earn its place inside the club.

2. Some Gyms Are Extending Reformer Use Beyond Scheduled Classes

Dedicated studios solve the space problem, but they create another one: idle time.

A traditional Pilates studio relies heavily on instructor-led sessions. If a commercial gym runs only a handful of reformer classes each day, the equipment may sit unused for many hours.

Some operators are now trying to solve that problem with digital instruction and controlled self-use.

2.1 24 Hour Fitness Combines Live Reformer Pilates With On-Demand Training

24 Hour Fitness has taken a noticeably different approach with Reformer24.

Rather than limiting reformer use to scheduled live classes, the company offers both instructor-led sessions and on-demand Pilates programming inside a controlled-access room.

Members can use a large library of digital reformer workouts at different levels, while live coaching remains available during scheduled periods.

This creates a much broader usage window.

Under a conventional studio model, reformer availability is closely tied to instructor hours. Under a hybrid model, the same equipment can potentially be used during live classes, quieter daytime periods and other off-peak hours.

For a commercial gym that may operate 16, 18 or even 24 hours per day, that is a major operational difference.

2.2 Club Studio Is Moving Toward Bookable Self-Guided Reformer Use

Club Studio has pushed the idea further with virtual-instructor and open reformer sessions at selected locations.

That begins to blur the line between Pilates apparatus and traditional commercial gym equipment.

The reformer is still controlled through reservations and digital guidance, but it is no longer dependent on a live instructor every time a member uses it.

This could become an important direction for the commercial Pilates market because it addresses one of the biggest limitations of reformer equipment: a gym may own the machine all day, while being able to monetize it only during staffed classes.

The emerging model looks different:

live instruction when coaching adds the most value, digital access when flexibility matters more.

3. Reformer Pilates Programming Is Becoming Broader and More Gym-Oriented

Commercial gyms are also changing what happens on the reformer itself.

A specialist Pilates studio may organize its offer around classical Pilates progressions. A mainstream gym, however, serves people who may be more interested in strength, athletic conditioning, mobility or general fitness.

That is pushing operators to broaden their reformer class programming.

3.1 Life Time Uses Reformer Equipment for Both Pilates and Athletic Training

Life Time is a strong example because it does not treat every reformer session as the same product.

Traditional Pilates remains available through private and small-group training. At the same time, the company has developed CTR—Core. Tone. Reform.—as a more athletic, music-driven reformer workout.

The distinction is commercially important.

The same equipment category can now appeal to two very different users: someone actively looking for Pilates instruction and someone who normally chooses strength or group training but is willing to try an athletic reformer class.

This expands the potential audience for the equipment.

3.2 EōS Fitness Is Testing Several Reformer Class Formats at Once

EōS Fitness is taking a similarly broad approach.

Its reformer Pilates pilot includes multiple class styles rather than one standard product. The formats range from more technique-focused training to reformer workouts incorporating weights, bands and athletic conditioning.

It is a useful indication of how commercial gyms are approaching the category.

They are not only testing whether members want Pilates. They are testing which version of reformer training fits their existing customer base best.

For many commercial gyms, that may be the more useful question.

A club with a strong strength-training population may respond better to reformer strength or athletic classes than a highly traditional Pilates format. A club with older members or a strong recovery offering may benefit more from mobility-focused programming.

3.3 Virgin Active Builds a Reformer Programming Ladder

Virgin Active also demonstrates how reformer equipment can support different training goals through classes such as foundations, alignment, athletic work and recovery.

This suggests that mature reformer programming may eventually resemble the broader group-fitness timetable.

Members do not simply choose “Pilates.” They choose the type of reformer experience that matches what they want to achieve that day.

That is an important shift for operators because more varied programming can improve utilization of the same equipment without requiring additional floor space.

4. Pilates Reformers Are Being Tied Directly to Membership Strategy

Commercial gyms also differ from boutique Pilates studios in one critical area: they already have a large membership base.

That gives them more options for monetizing reformer Pilates than simply charging per class.

4.1 Goodlife Uses Reformer Pilates to Strengthen Premium Membership

Goodlife Health Clubs has expanded Reform Pilates through purpose-built studios while linking access to higher-level memberships.

That turns the reformer studio into a membership differentiator.

Instead of asking every member to purchase a separate Pilates package, the operator can use the equipment to make a premium membership tier feel more valuable.

This matters because the financial return from reformers may then appear in several places: higher membership revenue, stronger retention and greater member engagement, not just direct class sales.

4.2 David Lloyd Combines Included Reformer Classes With Paid Small-Group Training

David Lloyd uses a particularly interesting hybrid model.

At selected clubs, standard reformer classes are included in higher membership tiers, while longer or more personalized small-group reformer sessions can carry an additional charge.

Beginner taster sessions also help introduce members to the format.

The result is a natural progression:

try reformer Pilates → use it regularly as part of membership → move into a premium training product

For a commercial gym, that can be more powerful than relying on a single class-pack model.

It also shows why the question “How much should a reformer class cost?” may be too narrow. In a full-service club, reformer Pilates may support several parts of the revenue model at the same time.

4.3 Life Time Separates Membership Value From Premium Pilates Services

Life Time takes another approach by separating its athletic reformer offer from more specialized Pilates coaching.

A member may access certain reformer-based group training through a premium membership tier while paying separately for more personalized Pilates instruction.

That allows one equipment category to sit across both the group fitness and coaching businesses.

For operators with strong personal training departments, that may be particularly attractive because reformers can create a bridge between group classes and higher-value one-to-one or semi-private services.

5. Major Gym Chains Are Piloting Reformer Pilates Before Expanding

Another practical lesson from the market is that large operators are generally not treating reformer expansion as an all-or-nothing decision.

Many are testing the model in selected clubs first.

5.1 EōS Fitness Is Testing the Product Before Scaling the Equipment

EōS began its reformer rollout with a small group of pilot locations.

That allows the operator to test class formats, booking behavior, member response and operational requirements before committing to a much larger equipment rollout.

This is particularly relevant because the wrong reformer concept can fail even when Pilates itself is popular.

A club may discover that demand is strong only in the evening, that one class format consistently outperforms another, or that members prefer reformer access as part of a membership tier rather than as a separate class purchase.

Those findings should shape the next equipment order.

5.2 Life Time Expanded CTR After Seeing Strong Booking Demand

Life Time followed a similar pattern with its athletic CTR concept.

It launched the format in selected clubs, saw strong demand and waitlists, and then expanded into additional locations.

This creates a much more disciplined equipment strategy than simply reacting to industry hype.

The sequence becomes:

test the concept, measure real usage, refine the model and then increase capacity.

For a multi-site operator, that can reduce the risk of putting an expensive Pilates reformer studio into markets where the member base may not support it.

6. Reformer Utilization Matters More Than the Number of Machines

One of the easiest mistakes is to judge a reformer studio by how full its most popular class becomes.

A packed 6 p.m. session looks successful, but it does not tell the operator how productive the room is across an entire day.

6.1 Gym Operators Need to Look at Reformer Usage Across the Full Day

A reformer room may host morning group classes, daytime private training, evening high-capacity sessions and on-demand workouts during quieter periods.

That is why utilization should be measured in hours, not just class attendance.

Important questions include how often each reformer is occupied, whether members repeatedly book the same format, how frequently classes generate waitlists and whether there are large periods when the studio sits empty.

This is particularly important when the reformer studio has replaced another part of the gym.

6.2 Revenue per Reformer and Revenue per Studio Hour Are More Useful Metrics

Commercial gym operators can go further by looking at metrics such as revenue per reformer, revenue per studio hour and revenue per square foot or square meter.

The aim is not necessarily to make every reformer generate direct class fees.

A premium-membership model may create value differently from a paid small-group model.

But operators should still be able to explain what the reformer area contributes compared with the equipment or floor space it replaced.

That is ultimately what makes reformer Pilates part of an equipment strategy rather than simply a fitness trend.

7. What Should a Commercial Gym Decide Before Buying Pilates Reformers?

The current market suggests that equipment selection should come relatively late in the process.

Before comparing reformer models, frame materials or storage options, a gym operator should first decide what the equipment is expected to do.

7.1 Decide Whether the Reformer Studio Is a Class Product or a Membership Amenity

A gym that wants direct small-group revenue will design the space differently from one using reformer Pilates primarily to improve premium membership value.

The staffing model, class capacity and access rules all follow from that decision.

7.2 Match Reformer Programming to the Existing Gym Membership

Commercial gyms do not necessarily need to recreate a boutique Pilates studio.

The examples from EōS, Life Time and Virgin Active suggest that reformers can support traditional Pilates, athletic conditioning, strength, mobility and recovery.

Programming should therefore reflect the members the gym already has—and the members it wants to attract.

7.3 Prove Demand Before Adding More Pilates Equipment

A pilot studio can tell the operator much more than an industry growth statistic.

If bookings remain strong across several time periods, repeat usage is high and classes regularly generate waitlists, then adding reformers becomes a much easier decision to justify.

If utilization remains concentrated in only a few sessions, the better answer may be to improve programming or access rather than immediately buying more equipment.

8. Conclusion: Reformer Pilates Is Becoming a New Type of Commercial Gym Product

Commercial gyms are not adopting Pilates reformers in one standard way.

Crunch Fitness is recreating the boutique studio experience inside the big-box gym.

24 Hour Fitness is extending equipment use through live and on-demand training.

Goodlife and Fitness First have turned reformer studios into repeatable club facilities.

Life Time and EōS are broadening reformer programming beyond traditional Pilates, while David Lloyd is connecting the equipment to both membership benefits and paid small-group training.

The common thread is not the reformer itself.

It is the operating model built around it.

For commercial gym operators, that means the most important questions come before the equipment order:

• Where will the reformers go?

• Who will use them?

• What will they train?

• How will access work?

• And what business result should the space produce?

Answer those questions first, and Pilates reformers can become more than another addition to the commercial gym equipment mix. They can become one of the club's most flexible and productive training platforms.