Reformer Observation Logbook

Date of observation: 2026-06-04

Duration: 45 mins

Class type: Small Group

Instructor name: Mai Armitage Pryce

Studio / location: Solis, Cork

Class structure & exercise selection: Footbar Work- Straight and Wide Leg Presses, Walking, Running.
Bridge Sequence- Arm Raises to advance
LongBox Sequence- Lunge and Scooter Sequence
LongBox- Sitting in the middle- Arm and Chest Work followed by obliques
Long Box Sequence- Lung and Scooter Sequence on the other side
Plank Sequence Prone- Hover and knee tucks
Legs in straps to finish- Peter Pans, circles and Wide V

Cueing style & teaching highlights: Mai used a lot of different cue types. For verbal cues she said to imagine a wrap around your core. She made some hands on adjustments during the plank sequence to ensure everyone's hip position was correct. For verbal cues she reminded people to keep a neutral spine and core engaged.

Class management & safety: Mai kept spring changes minimal which not only helped with safety but with the flow of the class.We started on a blue and red for footwork, changed to red for the entire class and finished with 1 blue and green spring for legs in straps.

My takeaways for teaching: 1.) The flow of the class was really practical and made a lot of sense to maximise time under tension. I think I would adapt this deliberate structure to create a flow and ensure they are getting the most out of the class.
2.) Mai really created a calming atmosphere in the room which helped to naturally release any tension clients may have had entering the class and I think this was really effective.
3.) Mai offered opportunities to advance the movements but didn't put pressure on anyone to take the challenge. I think this was really effective for a mixed level class and I definitely paid attention to the wording she used and will be bringing this forward.

Date of observation: 2026-06-05

Duration: 45 mins

Class type: Large Group

Instructor name: Mai Armitage Pryce

Studio / location: Solis, Cork

Class structure & exercise selection: Foot bar Sequence- Pilates v, pulses, single leg extensions, feet wide toes pointed out

Bridge Sequence- on heels, then toes

Short box
Hip Flexor stretches to start
Side squat sequence, added weights in upper body and challenges (presses and extension of arms)
Kneeling Plank Sequence in the middle
Side Squat Sequence on the other side

Side body obliques- threading and crunches on each side
Plank Sequence- knees on platform, just moving arms
Box Off
Legs in straps to finish

Cueing style & teaching highlights: Mai used hands on adjustments to fix our plank form. As I have a mat pilates background, I found it difficult to get into the starting position and I think this worked really well.
She used verbal cues to ensure correct squat form during the squat series- proud chests and back straight.
for visual cues she encouraged drawing circles using our feet during the feet in straps series.

Class management & safety: This was an Elevate Class (Improver/Advanced) but there were still minimal spring changes- just heavier for more pushing exercises and lighter springs for stability based exercises to create more of a challenge. Mai was mindful to remind everyone to return the carriage with control and placing a foot on the footbar whilst setting up for feet in straps.

My takeaways for teaching: 1.) A class can be modified from mixed level to improver advanced by simply changing the springs- performing simple exercises with correct form is paramount to delivering a good class.
2.) Adding weights to the upper body for a primarily lower body sequence can not only distract from the exertion the lower body is achieving but also add another layer of challenge to the sequence
3.) It is nice to add stretching as a warm up to a sequence so that clients, especially in an improver advanced class can maximise what they get from the class.

Date of observation: 2026-06-09

Duration: 45

Class type: Large Group

Instructor name: Maeve Culligan

Studio / location: Solis, Cork

Class structure & exercise selection: Footbar Work- Green and Red Spring
Bridge Sequence
SL Bridges & Pulses

Change to Blue Spring
Side Kneeling- Draw the sword
Side Lying, Foot in Long Loop, Knee to Toe Taps, Bend and Extend, Side Lying Sweeps, Keep foot in straps- 4 point kneeling donkey kick
Same on other side
Plank, hover, plank arm extension

Green Spring
Feet in Straps, Figure 4 stretch

Cueing style & teaching highlights: Maeve told us to feel the wrap around the core from the very beginning when we engaged in lateral breathing. This was an effective verbal and visual cue. She didn't make many hands on adjustments. When we were completing our side lying work she also told us to be careful not to lean into the shoulder pad for support to engage the obliques.

Class management & safety: Maeve offered good regressions and challenges such as raising the arms up in bridge and lifting the bottom heel up for more of a challenge in the heel to toe taps.

My takeaways for teaching: 1. Maeve really worked the room and watched carefully where each client was making a mistake, subtly adding that in to verbal cueing. I think this was effective and I will use this in my teaching
2. The spring changes were minimal which maximised the amount of time we were on the reformer- I will definitely bring this in to my teaching
3. The flow of the class was good. Doing exercises in the middle before completing the other side of single body work is definitely effective to take the monotony out of a class.

Date of observation: 2026-06-11

Duration: 45

Class type: Large Group

Instructor name: Mai Armitage Pryce

Studio / location: Solis, Cork

Class structure & exercise selection: Mai began with foot bar work. We completed Leg Presses, Wide Leg Presses, Walking, Running and then moved into single leg work. We then grabbed the ball and rolled it up straight legs to activate the core muscles. Then we moved into a bridge sequence

After this we completed so oblique and ab work. The series was built around keeping a c-curve in the spine and different leg and arm movements were added such as placing the feet on the foot bar and drawing the carriage in and out, rotating in a half roll back from side to side and staying in the half roll back just lowering and lifting the arms.

Next we moved onto a standing lunge series. We started with lunges, then added hinges and ended with scooters. We also took lots of hamstring and hip flexor stretches before running this sequence on the other side.
Then we came down to half plank position and drew the carriage in and out and then performed a long stretch.

Next we collapsed the footbar and came to a plank resting our hands on the platform extender. We did some plank to hovers.
We brought the footbar back up and did a feet in straps sequence to finish with some figure 4 stretches, bend and extend and leg circles

Cueing style & teaching highlights: I really liked the image Mai used of keeping your feet at 10 to 2 for the Wide Leg Press. I would definitely adopt this for my teaching.

Mai also made some hands on adjustments at the beginning of the c curve sequence as some people found it challenging to keep their foot on the foot bar in a pilates v and draw the carriage back whilst still maintaining a c curve.

She also encourage everyone verbally to keep their spine heavy on the carriage during legs in straps and really prioritised not arching your back over the range of motion which I think was really important and beneficial.

Class management & safety: Transitions were effective and I really like how there were some classical and mat exercises incorporated in between sequences to help with flow and engage the correct muscle groups prior to beginning a sequence.

This was a mixed level class and Mai offered a variety of spring options for each sequence. Most notably, when we were doing the plank sequence on a red, the second time around she said we could switch to a yellow if we wanted more of a challenge. This really helped me see how less resistance can make an exercise more challenging!

My takeaways for teaching: I really liked Mai's visual cueing and I will definitely bring that 10 to 2 exercise forward.

I loved the small equipment and integration of mat exercises and I think this is a great way to add variety, challenge and prepare clients for the upcoming sequence.

I loved having the choice of different spring options and I think this is a clever way to cater for all client types- even those who are injured- and I would definitely keep this in mind for class planning.