Spring Loads

I was certified through balanced body, but I work at a few different studios and every studio has a different type of reformer! I didn't take any clients until I got accustomed to the location's reformer, but I just wanted the spring loads written down for my own reference! What is the difference between Gratz, Balanced Body, Peak and Stott's spring load?

Might be interesting to make a conversion chart.

A conversion chart would be great Ted.....smart idea!

It would be really helpful to know the various spring loads when watching the videos. I'm a balanced body instructor as well with all balanced body equipment in my studio. Sometimes when I'm watching a video and a Stott instructor talks about a half spring I'm lost :)

Amy, are you volunteering to create such a chart?

hi, would love a conversion chart!! I have Stott equipment and most of the videos I'm watching are on the balanced body equipment. thank you.

I understand it would be nice to have a conversion chart... That said there are so many brands of Reformers that our members our using I would in fact have to make about 10 conversion charts for the Reformer alone. We encourage all the instructors to state whether the resistance should feel heavy, medium or light for the exercise you are doing. If you feel you cannot perform the exercise well you must make the choice to adjust your springs accordingly. That said, the professional Reformers are not that different. Balanced Body and Stott are very comparable. Stott has 4 full springs and 1 half typically. Consider the full Spring a Red and the half a blue on the bb reformers. I hope this helps.

PS: Amy and Ted if you know of a way of creating a chart that will suit the needs of all the different Reformers, or even the major brands, many would be very grateful (namely me).

Kristi, I agree with your assessment on the Balanced Body and Stott machines. How about Balanced Body and Peak? I teach on all three machines and have a hard time assessing the strength of the Peak machine. The Peak machine is a combined cadillac/reformer built in 2002. There are four springs - 1 red, 2 yellow and 1 blue. For footwork I typically use 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 blue. For armwork I use 2 yellow, and for legs in springs I use 2 yellow. The 2 yellow are like two springs in Stott for feet in straps - very supportive. Where the guess work comes in is for downstretch, control balance and splits - 1 spring doesn't feel supportive enough and 1 1/2 is too hard. Thanks for this topic!

A conversion chart sounds great in theory, but the other issue is that springs, even on the same brand of reformer, do have different stiffnesses depending upon their age, use, etc. In the best case scenario, I think a conversion chart would still only be a general guide....seems to me that the more effective approach is to identify the type of resistance that is sought for the exercise so that we focus on the work and don't get too caught up on the particular spring settings themselves...gosh, even my personal settings on my own equipment can even vary day to day!!!