You're prepping a class and you get to an exercise you've never taught on the reformer before. You know the shape of the movement. You have no idea what spring setting it needs. So you guess, watch the first person struggle or fly through it, and quietly adjust on the fly.
Most instructors never get a straight answer to "how many springs for this?" It's rarely covered exercise by exercise in training — you're expected to absorb it by watching enough classes. This is that missing reference.
The short version: springs aren't a difficulty dial, they're a tool. They create resistance or support depending on which direction you're moving. Heavy load belongs with leg work like footwork; light load belongs with stability and arm work. And because spring colors mean different things on different machines, plan in light, medium, and heavy instead.
The Cheat Sheet: Load by Exercise Group
Use this table as your starting point, not a rulebook. It shows where most exercise groups reasonably begin. "Springs" here assumes a reformer with four to five springs, where one heavy spring counts as one full load.
| Exercise Group | Load | Typical Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Footwork | Heavy | 3–4 springs | Legs are strong; the carriage needs to stay controlled |
| Feet in Straps | Light to medium | 1–2 springs | Hip work — the pelvis needs to stay still |
| Arms in Straps (lying) | Very light | 0.5–1 spring | Shoulder blade rhythm, not arm strength |
| Long Stretch Series | Light to medium | 1–2 springs | Less spring = less support = more core |
| Knee Stretches | Medium | 1.5–2 springs | The pace needs a bit of guidance |
| Stomach Massage | Medium to heavy | 2–3 springs | Essentially footwork in a seated position |
| Short Box | Carriage locked | 1 heavy spring | The spring holds the carriage still — it isn't resistance here |
| Pulling Straps (Long Box) | Light | 0.5–1 spring | Back extensors, not a lat pulldown |
| Mermaid, Side Overs | Light | 0.5–1 spring | A stretch doesn't need resistance |
| Elephant, Down Stretch | Medium | 1–2 springs | Enough support for the posterior chain |
| Side Splits, Standing Work | Medium to heavy | 2–3 springs | Safety — the carriage can't be allowed to slide |
| Jump Board, Running | Medium to heavy | 2–3 springs | The springs need to absorb the landing |
Once this table clicks for you, you won't need it anymore. There's a single piece of logic behind all twelve rows, and that's what we'll look at next.
What Is a Spring Actually Doing?
Most of us first learned springs as weight: more springs, more effort. That's only true for about half the repertoire.
A spring always pulls the carriage in one direction: back toward the footbar. Whether that feels hard or easy for your client depends entirely on which way they're moving.
- Working against the spring — footwork, for example, when the carriage is pushed away. Here the spring is resistance. More springs means more work.
- Working with the spring — feet in straps, when the legs return toward center. Here the spring is assistance. More springs means less work.
- Holding against the spring — long stretch, with the carriage extended out. Here the spring is support. Fewer springs means more work for the core.
"The spring isn't the weight. The spring is the direction the challenge comes from."
That's really the whole system. Once you can name which of the three is happening, you can figure out the right setting for any exercise — even one you've never taught.
Why Is Lighter Often Harder?
This is the idea that changes how you teach, and the one clients find most surprising.
Take long stretch. On two springs, the carriage helps hold you; the position feels stable and you can lean into it. Take a spring away, and suddenly the core has to do all the work to keep the carriage from running out. Same exercise, noticeably more demand.
The same logic applies to knee stretches, arms in straps, pulling straps, and anything performed at the end of a long lever. So when you want to make an exercise harder, the first question isn't "more springs?" — it's "is this a push or a hold?"
The line that explains it mid-class: "I'm taking a spring off — this won't get easier, it'll get different. The carriage is about to help you less."
Why You Can't Trust the Colors
Spring colors aren't standardized. They mean something different on every manufacturer's equipment, and plenty of studios have two brands of reformer in the same room.
- Balanced Body: red is a full spring, blue is roughly half, yellow is about a quarter to a third.
- Merrithew/STOTT: red is the heavy spring, blue the medium one, yellow the light one.
- Other manufacturers: their own systems, sometimes with extra colors or numbers instead of colors.
Which is the single most useful habit in this whole article: write your class plans in light, medium, and heavy — never in colors. That way the same plan works at Studio A and Studio B, and you don't have to re-learn your own class when you sub somewhere new.
If you're ever teaching on an unfamiliar machine, sit on it before class and run two footwork reps at the setting you planned. Ten seconds, and you'll know if your plan actually holds up. Small checks like that are what separate a smooth class from a scramble — more on that in the most common planning mistakes new instructors make.
How Do You Plan Spring Changes in a Group Class?
Teaching springs solo and teaching them to a full room are two different jobs. Alone, you adjust yourself. With twelve reformers, every change costs time, attention, and momentum — and someone always ends up on the wrong spring.
The short version: group your exercises into spring blocks instead of switching load exercise by exercise, and announce every change in the same order — setting first, then the move, then what's next. That alone can take a class from fifteen changes down to five. For the full block-by-block breakdown, including a sample 60-minute layout, see how to program spring settings across a group class.
One habit worth keeping regardless: use the 30 seconds of a spring change for something useful — a cue for what's coming, a water break, a quick individual correction. Standing there in silence while people fumble with springs is the one thing to avoid. More on keeping those moments calm in teaching reformer groups.
How Do You Use Springs as a Level Tool in Mixed Classes?
The most elegant use of springs: everyone does the same exercise, just not on the same load. It keeps your class looking unified while still meeting every level in the room.
- On resistance exercises (footwork, stomach massage): fewer springs for beginners, more for experienced clients.
- On stability exercises (long stretch, knee stretches): the opposite — more springs for beginners, fewer for experienced clients.
- On straps work: light for everyone. Here, movement quality is the level, not the load.
With that logic, you don't need two separate class plans for a mixed group anymore. More on this in mastering mixed-level classes.
What Mistakes Does Almost Everyone Make?
1. Going too heavy in the warm-up. The muscles are still cold, and heavy springs immediately trigger compensations you'll spend the rest of class correcting. Start light — here's how a clean reformer warm-up is built.
2. Treating springs as a reward. "Add a spring if you want more" sounds motivating, but it turns a setting decision into a competition. Instead, explain what the extra spring actually changes — and let people decide from there.
3. Never explaining the spring. When your group understands why the load is changing, they set up correctly on their own. One sentence per change is enough: "Lighter, because your core needs to hold more now."
Springs Belong in the Plan, Not the Improvisation
A ready-made reformer class plan from us includes the spring setting for every exercise, written in light, medium, and heavy so it works on any machine. Complete with a theme, phases, cues, and variations for mixed levels.
Want the planning done for you?
Frequently Asked Questions
What spring setting do I need for footwork on the reformer?
Footwork runs on heavy load — roughly 3 to 4 springs, or about 2.5 to 3 full spring loads depending on the machine. The legs are the strongest muscle group your clients have, and that resistance keeps the carriage controlled instead of sliding away. Fewer springs doesn't make footwork more challenging, it just makes it wobbly.
Do more springs always make a reformer exercise harder?
No. Depending on the direction of movement, springs act as resistance or as support. In footwork or stomach massage, more springs makes the exercise harder. In long stretch, knee stretches, or arms in straps, it's the opposite: fewer springs means less support for the core — and a lot more stability work.
What do the colors on reformer springs mean?
The colors depend on the manufacturer and aren't standardized worldwide. On Balanced Body equipment, red is a full spring, blue is roughly half, and yellow is a quarter to a third of a load. On Merrithew/STOTT equipment, red is also the heavy spring, blue the medium one, and yellow the light one. Never rely on color alone — think and plan in light, medium, and heavy, and your plan will work on any machine.
How many spring changes should a group class have?
Six to eight changes in a 60-minute class is a solid benchmark. In a class of twelve, each change costs roughly 30 to 45 seconds — so twelve changes can quietly eat almost ten minutes of teaching time. Plan your class in spring blocks: group several exercises on the same setting back to back.
