Why is pilates cadillac Better?

What is the Pilates Cadillac?

The Cadillac (also known as the trapeze table) is a piece of large Pilates equipment . This equipment in its original form was designed and built by Joseph Pilates himself so that he could help his clients to rehabilitate.

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This Cadillac in its modern-day form is a high, firm, leather clad couch surrounded by a metal frame. The frame has various hooks along its poles which allow attachment points for the springs that Joseph Pilates  used for his exercises.

The metal springs come in different lengths and with different amounts of tension. These springs can be used to create resistance – just like you might with weights, or cable machines in the gym. The springs can also be used provide support as they can carry the weight of the arms and legs during various exercises.

In addition to the frame, the Cadillac is usually equipped with a bar that can swing – known as the push thru bar or the tower bar. There is also a sliding bar that moves across the top which can be used as another attachment point for springs.

There is another attachment known as the trapeze which can be suspended from here, which is suspended by heavy springs and is strong enough to support the body weight or the weight of the legs.

Finally, the signature addition to the cadillac is a pair of sheepskin cuffs – known as ‘fluffies’, which can be used to support wrists or ankles and be used for various exercises or to help support various body positions.

The History of the Pilates cadillac

Looking back at how Joseph Pilates originally started using his methods to help rehabilitate others we can see how the Cadillac design naturally evolved from his early makeshift machinery. German born Pilates was interned during the first world war in a prisoner of war camp on the Isle of Man. Whilst here, the story goes that Joseph attached springs that he found lying around the site to bed frames of the injured and sick inmates.

Pilates used the springs to help the other prisoners exercise whilst still bedbound, making him an early pioneer of physical rehabilitation!

What are the benefits of using the Pilates Cadillac?

There are many features of the cadillac that distinguish it from other exercise equipment and make it beneficial for all types of Pilates exercises.

One that it has a high base – which makes it easier to get on and off for those with mobility issues or injuries compared to getting on the floor or the reformer.

The base of the cadillac has just enough padding and a hard wearing surface, which makes it more suitable for doing exercises than, say, a bed.

Another is that it is wide and stable, which makes it supportive and easier to maneuver on, such as when rolling over.

The frame not only has lots of different hook attachments but also sliding bars which give an infinite number of possibilities for where to attach the spring resistance. This means exercises can be modified to suit every individual and many different exercises.

Another feature is that the frame is extremely strong and sturdy, meaning that a whole person’s body weight can be supported off the bars, making it brilliant for more challenging exercises. This means that whilst the Cadillac is very suitable for beginners, or people with injuries and mobility problems, it is also more than capable of providing challenging exercises for a healthy or athletic population.

Still wondering about the car? We’re not sure either but one Pilates enthusiast, Reiner Grootenhuis, writes that since the Cadillac was the luxury brand of car at the time of Joseph Pilates teaching, one of his students dubbed the equipment the cadillac as a nod to its comfortable, luxurious nature.

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Our top 3 Pilates cadillac exercises

Teaser on the cadillac

The Teaser exercise in its original form is a mat-based exercise for the abdominals. The original Teaser sees you coming from lying flat, to sweeping the arms around and lifting the arms and legs up to balance, unsupported, on the back of the pelvis (called the sacrum). The Teaser on the cadillac is a supported ut nonetheless challenging variation of this exercise. The cadillac variation of Teaser utilizes the push through bar to assist the upper body to lift up into the abdominal curl part of the exercise. This gives a wonderful feeling of freedom in the movement, and also helps to add an element of shoulder mobility to the exercise. Holding the bar supports you so you can focus on variations of the leg position, to challenge your lower abdominals further.

Hanging on the cadillac

The hanging exercise on the Cadillac has several benefits. With this exercise there is no equivalent on the mat – as the bars are needed to support the weight of the body in this position. The hanging exercise is an advanced exercise requiring lots of upper body and grip strength. One variation focuses on grip and arm strength, particularly the biceps (seen in this picture). The other focuses on flexibility – lengthening through the front of the body to create an impressive back bend, whilst needing strength in the hamstrings and the back muscles to get there.

Breathing on the cadillac

The ‘Breathing’ exercise on the Cadillac is a spinal mobility exercise which gently works the back, gluteal and back of thigh muscles. Using the trapeze attachment, the heels press down into the strap, whilst the arms pull down onto the dowel. This creates a full body experience to float up into a long bridge. As you come down, you can imagine draping the spine back onto the bed, thinking of elongating the spine for a decompressive experience.

Conclusion

The Pilates cadillac is wonderful and versatile piece of equipment that truly enriches movement learning. It gives infinite variety to the exercises that you can learn and so elevates your Pilates journey to the next level.

Feeling inspired?

If you want to try these Pilates cadillac exercises for yourself why not pay a visit to one of our studios and we can get you moving right away!
To experience the Complete difference and discover the benefits of one-to-one Pilates, book a session at one of our London studios or online.

Our physiotherapist-led Pilates studios in Chelsea, our Angel Pilates studio and our Pilates studio in City, offer a highly tailored approach to your Pilates training, whether your goal is to manage a health condition, rehabilitate from an injury or to improve your strength and fitness.

Joseph Pilates is well known as the inventor of a system of exercise that bears his name. What is less well known is that in addition to his physical prowess and creativity, he was also a skilled inventor of exercise equipment. While the Mat work and the Reformer are the most familiar of the Pilates repertoire, Pilates created an entire suite of apparatuses as well as smaller handheld devices during his lifetime (-). Today, seemingly every shopping center boasts a studio offering group Reformer workouts. In this article, we’ll discuss two of Pilates’ less well-known but equally life-changing apparatuses, the Cadillac and the Tower.

What is the history of the Cadillac and Tower?

Named for the American automobile brand that represented “the best of everything” during the s and 60s, the Cadillac is the largest of the Pilates apparatuses. It resembles a four-poster twin bed, raised off the floor and outfitted with a variety of metal eyelets, springs, a wooden grab bar, and even something called a “Trapeze” attachment. The Cadillac is extremely versatile: the repertoire is performed lying down, both prone and supine, seated, kneeling, and standing. The Tower unit is basically a scaled-down Cadillac with fewer bells and whistles. The word Tower refers to the vertical supports of the Cadillac, in this case, two upright rails against a wall. These rails have a series of metal eyelets running up and down their length, to which the various springs, bars, and loops are attached. Tower work is performed on an integrated raised Mat that sits right on the floor, making it a more cost-effective option for studios with limited space and budgets.

What makes these different than the Reformer?

Unlike the Reformer, which moves back and forth on metal rails, both the Cadillac and the Tower remain stationary. Positioned on the integrated Mat, the client holds either handles or the grab bar attached to springs of varying tension (light or heavy). The client can also place their feet inside loops that attach to springs to work the lower body. The stable base of the Cadillac or Tower makes them less intimidating than the Reformer with its moving parts. In fact, these two apparatuses are ideal for beginning students as well as those who are recovering from injuries. There’s very little pressure on the joints because your body weight is supported by the Mat portion of the apparatus. In addition, the ideal range of motion in the Cadillac and Tower exercises is moderate so as not to over-stretch the joints. Many of the exercises are performed in a seated position or lying down face up, which is grounding both physically and mentally, a plus for those who get dizzy or have a fear of heights. There’s something almost mesmerizing about watching the movement of the springs, but at the same time feeling safe and supported by the apparatus.

Like the Reformer, the springs of the Cadillac and Tower provide resistance that can change bodies quickly. So if you’re looking for appealing visual changes as well as delicious feeling exercises, the Cadillac and Tower are for you. The exercises are challenging, you will feel them! Like all Pilates repertoire, they can become harder, not easier, over time as you become more familiar with the subtleties of the exercises and more adept at recognizing your own body’s habits.

Do I need to have the apparatus to do Pilates?

You don’t need to be familiar with Pilates to use the apparatus, especially the Tower and Cadillac. Contrary to popular opinion, the Mat exercises are not the Pilates version of training wheels on a bicycle. In fact, some instructors will put a new client on the Cadillac (or Tower) at the start of their very first session. The Cadillac is particularly well-suited for older or injured clients because its height from the floor means that the client doesn’t have to get down on the floor, something that might not be easy for everyone. It’s kinder to the instructor’s body, too, since she doesn’t have to bend down over her client.

Benefits of the Pilates Cadillac and Tower

All of the Pilates apparatuses are designed to work together in synergy. Many of the exercises are the same, at least in principle, no matter where in the studio they are done. Doing the Hundred on the Mat is a great way to learn the exercise: the body is supported on the Mat, and there are no moving parts. Once the mechanics are in hand, however, it’s great to up-level the challenge by adding the handles and springs of the Cadillac/Tower set-up to add resistance. The same is true of the reverse: having done the Hundred on the Cadillac/Tower, it’s easier to imagine the resistance even when the springs are taken out of the equation in the Mat work! The same is true of the Leg Circles performed with and without springs and straps. The springs and straps add more resistance, but the Mat version (Single Leg Circles) takes control and concentration: the springs aren’t there to support your leg in the air. The springs and straps have a knack for letting the body know which muscles to engage. This body knowledge then becomes second nature in the Mat work, making it richer and more challenging. In this way, the apparatuses are engaged in a dance with one another, with each one illuminating something different about the exercises.

While the Reformer might get more love from adrenaline junkies and the Mat work from the inner ballerina in all of us, the Cadillac and Tower deserve their share of Pilates love, too. Exquisitely adaptable, fiendishly clever, these apparatuses reward the curious with movements that feel amazing. There’s nothing like a slow, luxurious Roll Back to banish back tension after a long day, or the Push Through exercise to get the shoulders to descend from around the ears. That these exercises strengthen and lengthen the muscles as they soothe our bodies and minds is just more proof of Joseph Pilates’ genius.

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