This year, one of my 52-in-52 goals is to use my Pilates board more regularly. To explain what my Pilates board is, it’s basically a big, thick folding plastic board with rails. You can lean on the arm pads and slide in and out, either together or individually. It also comes with resistance bands and handles that attach at either end.
Credit: Amazon.com.au
It’s an attempt at a convenient home version of a Pilates Reformer board – you know the ones, with the springs and stuff, that look super intense and take up a bunch of room. The ones you’d more likely see in a Pilates studio than at home.
I first bought this board back in May of 2025. The Instagram algorithm had been hounding me for months, showing ads and reels over and over, right in the era when Pilates was the trendy thing to do. (Did I just show my age by using the word “trendy”?)
Finally, I gave in, because I love trying new stuff and couldn’t help myself. Plus, my neighbour was going to a Pilates studio and raving about it. She had invited me to join her, but I just couldn’t make the times work, and I didn’t want to pay an expensive subscription when I was already paying for my treadmill and bike iFit subscription at home.
When I bought the board, I made the decision to buy a knock-off version from Amazon for only $100. I could justify that cost; I couldn’t justify paying nearly $300 for the brand version when I wasn’t sure if I’d like it in the first place. (Mine is no longer for sale, but here’s a link to a similar one.)
You guys, I loved it.
So did my son, L.
He had so much fun sliding along, doing ab rollouts. Each time I’d do a workout, he would ask me to let him have a go too. I figure it was encouraging good habits, healthy exercise, blah blah. He got over it though, and doesn’t really ask me anymore.
I was sure I had a video of a workout that I’d posted to Instagram. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it, so instead you get these other photos that I found in my backup.
The board is super convenient. It lives folded up between my desk and the bookshelf. One time, being an absolute douche bag, I packed it in my suitcase when I worked away for 4 days for work (I drove, so I didn’t fly the board). Total wanker move, but I can confirm it was a lot of fun having it in my hotel room. My muscles may have disagreed.
In the 1.5 years since I’ve owned it, there are no visible cracks or damage, which I fully expected given that it’s plastic. The pads are still comfortable, and the rails still work great.
When you slide past the folding point, there is a clunk and some visible resistence so you have to push harder for a sec, but that’s by nature of the design and has been like that since day 1. It’s just where the joints align.
To date, the only issues I’ve had are:
- It needs regular cleaning. It’s very easy to get dust and dirt on the board, especially in the grooves, and it would seem I’m a feral going off the state of the carpet in the picture above.
- I needed to replace the resistance bands when I accidentally got one caught in the folding section and tore the rubber. The band snapped completely.
- Occasionally I have to reconnect one of the metal parts where the bands connect to the board. I could fix it permanently by clamping it tighter, but I haven’t. #lazy.
A major difference between my knock off and the brand version is that the brand version connects the resistance bands with a plug design. That’s good in that it’s harder for it to have the issue I found with the metal bracket, but it also means it’s harder to find replacement parts. You’d have to order new ones directly from them.
The replacement resistance bands I bought from Temu, just standard ones with loops on each side. They came with three different tensions, and a Pilates bar too, which allowed for even more moves (the board itself only came with one standard tension band).
I had no idea what to do with the pole (that sounds rude). My neighbour and I have joked that we need to do a session on the lawn so that she can show me all the exercises she does with the bar. Can you imagine what the other neighbours would think?? Hilarious image. Also, she’s since cancelled her class subscription and bought this board instead too (there may be more reasons for that too, but worth noting).
Given that I’d not done a reformer class myself, the only things I knew how to do were from my gym training background.
So, I went into research mode.
I initially started by scouting a few of the quick social media reels from the influencers, noting what they were doing. Then I’d build my own routines, with exercises like squats and lunges, push-ups, bicep curls, tricep curls, shoulders, and of course, the ab work.
I also subscribed to Reformly on YouTube. They have amazing sessions, little teasers for entire programs, and you can also sign up for a monthly subscription (I haven’t).
The first time I tried to do a hamstring curl on this, I nearly fell over. Basically, get into a bridge position, with your feet on the pads, then roll them out and in. KILLS your hamstrings. So effective, so painful.
I’ve talked on my blog about how bad my knees are, and how I need a knee replacement (but can’t get one because I’m “too young”, grr). Using this board, it’s the first time in almost a decade that I’ve been able to do lunges that don’t cause pain in my knees. I think the sliding motion is a lot more gentle on my legs, and it allows me to use better posture and alignment, so that I’m working on the right areas.
Here’s a quick video from YouTube that shows a similar board and the exercises that you can do:
My board also came with slots in the middle, and means I can plug my handles in without the resistance bands, and use them for push-ups too. Super effective, and my arm muscles burn when I do those.
I can truly say that this board has helped me to build a strength and conditioning routine at home.
- Will it replace a Pilates studio? No.
- Will it replace a gym or weights? No.
- Will it help me to fit in some strength exercises where time is short and it’s easier to do something at home than somewhere else? Yes.
- Is something better than nothing? Yes.
Each time I use this board, I feel sore in a good way.
The reason I ended up adding my goal to use the board more regularly to my 52 list didn’t come from need to get value from my money. I think I’ve already paid that $100 off and then some.
The aim was to really start focusing on my strength more consistently. As we age, we need to work on our strength, and even more so now that I’m on a GLP-1 injection, where muscle loss can easily occur. While I was using my board here and there, I hadn’t been consistent enough that I was seeing any improvements.
Several friends have since bought their own boards, and all have loved it. So if you’re curious and it’s something you’re interested in, then I would definitely recommend you check it out.
Have you ever bought one of those exercise things Instagram kept showing you and actually kept using it? What’s your favourite way to squeeze in some strength work at home when you don’t have much time?
