Flexia | Blog | Pilates, Wellness, and Community

Using metrics to improve your Pilates practice

Written by Flexia Pilates | 10/22/24 6:47 PM

You've heard that Flexia is a smart reformer, but you're not sure how metrics can help improve your personal Pilates practice...keep reading to see how Flexia's smart Pilates metrics can elevate your home workout and improve your Pilates practice overall. 

 

What are Flexia's Pilates metrics

As you may already know, each Flexia Smart Reformer is designed with built-in sensors to track your movement during Pilates class.

 

These sensors track the three (3) movement metrics that matter most in Pilates, Control, Consistency, and Speed, to provide you with real-time feedback during class and a Movement Quality Score (MQS) at the end of class, so you know exactly how you performed during your home Pilates workout. 

 

 

Reading Flexia's Pilates metrics 

Though Flexia's smart Pilates metrics will give you real-time feedback during class, letting you know when your scores start to dip below or exceed beyond expectations, it's incredibly beneficial to get the bigger picture of your entire Pilates workout with your After Class Report Card, presented once your class is complete in the Flexia Online Studio.

 

Let's look into an After Class Report Card that Kaleen, Flexia's Founder + CEO, recently received in the Flexia Online Studio for Full Body Flow 4:

 

Though Kaleen scored an MQS of 84 (an ideal score for Flexia, showing us that she was challenged enough to continually build strength and fitness, but not so challenging that the class felt discouraging), she noticed that she struggled with two particular exercises: Pike and Arabesque, shown by the dips in her Control and Consistency graphs above. 

 

The great thing about using her Flexia Smart Reformer is that Kaleen not only sensed this struggle during class within her own body, but that sense was validated through smart metrics, giving her the power to diagnose and hone her Pilates practice right from her living room. 

 

 

 

 

How to improve Pilates exercises with Flexia's Pilates metrics 

 

Once you know which Pilates exercises you're struggling with during class, you can build a roadmap for sharpening your skills. 

 

The first step to increasing your strength and coordination with difficult exercises is to ⬇️ decrease your Spring Settings the next time you encounter them. With Kaleen's example, the next time she encounters Pike or Arabesque in class, she'll tap the down arrow ⬇️ on the left-hand side of her class screen, decreasing the Spring Settings for those particular exercises.  

 

 

Decreasing Spring Settings is key to ensuring that you are moving the correct weight for your body during each exercise. Often, mastering an exercise is as simple as using the correct spring settings for your body. And that's the great thing about a Flexia Smart Reformer, we'll let you know exactly which springs to add or remove, no guesswork or mental math needed.  

 

In Kaleen's example with Pike and Arabesque exercises, decreasing Spring Settings will actually prompt her to increase the spring tension on her reformer's carriage. This tension increase will provide her with the extra support she needs to pull the carriage back home and complete the exercise successfully.

 

The second step to increasing your strength and coordination with difficult exercises is to utilize the Flexia Facebook Community to see which supporting classes your peers might recommend to build your confidence and skills. 

 

 

Our Flexia Facebook Community is packed with Pilates lovers and Pilates instructors who have been with us since the beginning and are an incredible resource for all things Flexia and the Flexia Online Studio. 

 

In Kaleen's example with Pike and Arabesque exercises, the Flexia Community recommended a Skill Based class from the Flexia Online Studio focusing on Upstretch, an exercise that forms the basis for Pike and Arabesque, which will help Kaleen progressively build strength in a slower-paced, skill-based setting.

 

Results from using Flexia's Pilates metrics 

Let's wrap up with Kaleen's example. After taking our Skill Based: Upstretch class from the Flexia Online Studio, she went back to repeat Full Body Flow 4 to see if her scores for Pike and Arabesque could increase. 

 

And they did! 

 

Kaleen's overall MQS in the class increased by a singular point, but her Control and Consistency graphs for Pike and Arabesque exercises dramatically increased. 

 

That's the beauty of a Flexia Smart Reformer. With smart metrics designed specifically for Pilates, we've designed a Pilates reformer and paired Online Studio that works with you, helping you easily diagnose, effortlessly adjust, and ultimately elevate your Pilates practice right from home. 

 

 

Let's follow Kaleen through her Full Body Flow 4 Pilates class diagnosis:

 

 

 

Ready to shop our Flexia Smart Reformer? Shop here

 

For more questions about our Smart Reformer, visit our Knowledge Base (our searchable FAQ), book a demo with us, or send us an email to hello@flexiapilates.com