Most articles on reformer class planning give you a framework — phases, timing, principles — and leave you to fill in the exercises yourself. Useful, but it still leaves you staring at a blank page on Sunday night.
This one is different. Below is an actual, finished reformer class plan: every exercise named, every spring setting written down, every rep count and cue in place. Fifty minutes, one theme, ready to teach as it is or adapt in ten minutes.
Short version: A usable reformer class plan needs four things next to every exercise — time, spring setting, reps, and one cue focus. The plan below has all four, built around a single theme (hip stability and single-leg control) across seven phases. Copy it, teach it, adjust the springs to your group.
The Theme: Hip Stability and Single-Leg Control
Every exercise in this plan is here because it serves one idea: a pelvis that stays level when only one leg is doing the work. It is one of the most useful themes for a general studio group, because almost everyone — beginner or advanced — has some asymmetry to work on, and the reformer is unusually good at showing it to you.
"A class plan example is only useful if you can see the reasoning behind every row, not just the row itself."
If you want the reasoning behind class themes in general before you build your own, 25 reformer class themes has the full list sorted by focus and season.
The Full 50-Minute Plan
One spring change in the whole class — from the warm-up setting down to the lighter setting for the single-leg work in blocks two and three. Everything else stays put.
| Time | Exercise | Springs | Reps | Cue focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 min | Supine breathing, hands on the ribs | — | 4 breaths | Push your hands out sideways as you breathe in |
| 3–6 min | Footwork, parallel | 4 medium | 10 reps | Even pressure through the whole foot |
| 6–9 min | Footwork, heels | 4 medium | 10 reps | Reach through the heel, don't grip with the toes |
| 9–12 min | Bridging with the carriage | 3 medium | 8 reps | Roll down one vertebra at a time |
| 12–14 min | Supine spine twist | 3 medium | 6 each side | Knees lead, ribs stay heavy on the carriage |
| 14–20 min | Feet in straps: frog and circles | 2 light | 8 reps + 6 circles each way | Circles come from the hip, not the low back |
| 20–26 min | Single-leg footwork | 3 medium | 8 each leg | Hips stay level — no hiking on the working side |
| 26–32 min | Long stretch (plank on the carriage) | 2 light | 6 reps | Push the carriage away, keep the ribs down |
| 32–37 min | Side plank, feet on the footbar | 2 light | 5 each side | Reach through the crown, hips stacked |
| 37–43 min | Key exercise: single-leg stomach massage, round back | 2 light | 6 double, 4 each single leg | Pelvis stays still — the leg moves, nothing else does |
| 43–47 min | Kneeling lunge with overhead reach (synthesis flow) | 1 light | 5 each side | Press evenly through the whole front foot |
| 47–50 min | Mermaid stretch, then final breath | 1 light | 4 each side + 3 breaths | Let the exhale run longer than the inhale |
Twelve exercises, one spring change, a single theme carried from the warm-up through to the cool-down. That is roughly the exercise count the step-by-step guide to reformer class planning recommends for a 50-minute class — this plan simply shows you what that count looks like filled in.
Why the single-leg work sits in the middle, not at the start
Single-leg footwork and the single-leg key exercise both need a warm hip and a pelvis your client already has some awareness of. Put them in the warm-up and most groups have not arrived enough to control them. Put them here — after two symmetrical blocks — and the compensations are much easier to see and correct.
Why there is only one spring change
Every spring change in a group of ten costs a minute or two of handout time and breaks the flow. This plan drops from a working spring setting to a lighter one exactly once, at minute 14, and stays there through the rest of the main work. If your machines are set up before class, that single change takes seconds rather than minutes — more on the logic behind that in spring settings for group classes.
How to Adapt This Plan Without Rebuilding It
You do not need a different plan for every group. Change three things and the same structure works across most groups you teach:
- Spring settings. A stronger group can drop to one spring lighter on the single-leg work; a newer group can add one spring back on the footwork.
- The key exercise level. Stomach massage round back has an easier entry point — keep both legs down and only add the single-leg lift once the pelvis is genuinely steady.
- How far you take single-leg work. For a mixed-level room, offer the two-leg version as the default and single leg as the option — the guide to mastering mixed-level classes has more ways to phrase that choice without singling anyone out.
What Makes This a Plan and Not Just a List
The difference between a class plan example and a random list of good exercises is the four columns: time, springs, reps, cue. Miss the time column and you either rush the cool-down or run over. Miss the springs column and you are doing arithmetic mid-class. Miss the cue column and you fall back on whatever comes to mind in the moment — usually not your best cueing.
If you would rather build your own from a blank version of this same structure, the free reformer class plan template has the empty columns ready to fill in.
Want a plan like this without building it yourself?
Pilates Plans gives you ready-made reformer class plans — one full plan free, more individually or as a bundle.
→ Get the free plan
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a good reformer class plan example actually look like?
Not a list of exercise names. A usable reformer class plan example has a time next to every exercise, a spring setting next to every exercise, a rep count, and one cue focus. If any of those four columns is missing, you are looking at an idea, not a plan you can teach from.
Can I just teach this exact plan tomorrow?
Yes — that is the point of it. It is built for a general studio group with no major injuries, roughly mixed level. Swap the theme exercises if your group has done this exact sequence recently, but the phase structure and timing will hold for almost any 50-minute reformer class.
How do I adapt this plan for my own group?
Change three things, not the whole plan: the spring settings to match your group's strength, the level of the key exercise (regress or progress it), and how far you take the single-leg work. The structure, timing and theme can stay exactly as they are.
Why does this plan only have one theme instead of lots of variety?
Because a theme is what makes a class feel coherent rather than random. Every exercise in this plan earns its place by serving hip stability and single-leg control. Variety comes from how you progress the theme across weeks, not from cramming unrelated exercises into one class.
