Pro Series Reformer 565

I did alot of research and reviews before purchasing this particular reformer. I have been doing pilates for about 3 years, however just started on the reformer in a studio in August and fell in love with the reformer. I could only afford to go to the studio twice a week, and really wanted more. So, I looked into buying my own reformer for home. This model is very affordable compared to a studio professional model and the quality is excellent. I really wanted a studio professional model, and did not think I would be happy with less, but did not want to spend double the money than what I could buy this model for. I am very happy and love this product. The machine is very heavy duty, nice to look at, and works great. The carriage is very quiet and smooth. I have been able to do everything on this machine that I was doing in my studio classes. It took me and my husband about 3 hours to put together, we had to take apart once and re-do because we did not have the connecting brackets in the railings properly and the holes for the bolts did not line up properly. So, this took extra time, but now it is perfect. I love it!! The machine does take up a lot of room, more than you would think and it is not a machine that you can just pick up and move around. It is very heavy and needs to set away from the wall so that you have room to work. You need a spare bedroom or basement work out area for this machine. I will update again as I use and own longer, but I don't think you can go wrong with this purchase. I did purchase the box and pole that match this reformer machine to give me additional exercise options.

I purchased this quite a while before I was able to set it up. When I finally was able to, I did it primarily by myself and it took roughly 3-4 hours. I ended up needing my boyfriends help at the end for an oversight I made at the beginning of putting it together. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. However, if I'd paid $1300-$1500 for it, as is the price now, I may not be as happy with this particular machine. I paid around $900 for it, hence the reason it was purchased way before I was able to set it up. Pros: -It's sturdy and well made, mostly. -It's aesthetically pleasing. -It's not bulky. -I get a very good workout on it and am usually out of breath and sweating by the end of every workout. -It's fun! And even my two daughters love working out on it. Cons: -The fabric covering the padding on the carriage is not the best quality and feels like it will rip eventually, it's loose and gets stretched out easily when kneeling or standing on the carriage. -The foot bar is ridiculously uncomfortable when using heavier springs. The picture in the add now looks like they may have changed the bar and padding but the one I got is terribly uncomfortable and I plan on getting extra padding to put around it. -The hand and foot straps are not terribly uncomfortable but slightly uncomfortable. I will eventually get ones that are more padded but these will do for the time being. -As you can see in my picture, the wood is not a nice light birch color, it has a very yellow tone to it and it's not my favorite. However, it is real wood and it could be sanded and re-stained or painted easily. I haven't decided if I care that much about it though. -When putting the machine together, make sure the internal plates that connect the two rails together is inserted the correct way. I didn't realize there were holes on both the outside and underneath of the rails and I ended up having to take the rails apart after I'd put the entire thing together and turn the plate on one side around so it was going the right way. Obviously this is a user error and not necessarily something wrong with the machine. -I did take everyone's advice and bought the better pulleys before I even put it together. They work beautifully but, like most others, I still have the old ones hanging on the machine but they cause zero problems so I'm not annoyed with them. -I did oil the insides of the rails and that helped it run smoother. I've also noticed that with more use, the two rails have moved to be more in line with each other. The first few times I used the machine, I could feel the bump between the two rails where they connected and weren't meeting up exactly. But it's fixed itself now. All in all, this is a good machine. I've never owned a reformer before and the only pilates I've done on a reformer was in a class I took one semester in college. So I'm not an expert but I am aware of how it feels to use a fancy reformer and this is definitely adequate for home use. I will say that it probably won't be the last reformer I purchase but I'll be keeping it for quite a while.

Assembly was fine, it is best to have two people. The instructions were accurate and good. It is very important that the carriage rails line up perfectly so that the rollers roll smoothly. We had to use a pipe wrench to slightly twist one of the rails to get it to line up with the other. The reformer came with 4 black cords, we had to order a yellow and a red to replace two of the black cords. The reformer should ship with a variety of cords instead of all black. We had to replace the pulleys because the original pulleys were noisy and the rope rubbed against the pulley edge causing wear. The problem is that the pulleys that came with the reformer do no swivel, so we bought pulleys that swivel to replace the orignals. Had to also replace the eye bolt because the originals could not be separated from the pulleys. The reformer is sturdy and works well for someone my size (5'5'" 130 lbs). I don't know that I would recommend the cords over springs. It seems like springs have a smoother and more consistent feel (spring tension) especially when using lighter cords/springs. But the cords are fine. I will see how they wear compared to springs. I will look into replacing the cords with spring once the words wear out. It is difficult to do exercises where you cross the straps because the plastic pieces used for adjusting the length of the straps interfere with each other. I moved the adjustment piece to the lower return part of the strap (near the loop under the carriage). This is much better. I had to choke up on the lower strap before tying the knot on the plastic adjustment piece otherwise the plastic adjustment strap will run into the pulley when pulling on the straps. Having a reformer at home has been great. I didn't realize how much I missed it during the pandemic. Reformers are amazing exercise equipment because the variety of exercises you can do are endless and it works parts of your body in ways that no other equipment can do. I love my reformer!

If you love exercising with a pilate machine, I found this machine to be one of the best. It has a very smooth glide to it and the springs make it much more quieter than a machine with the cords. I owned a top of the line reformer pilate machine but gave it away when I moved across country. I replaced it with this one and I'm super happy I did. Especially because this one has the steel springs instead of the cords. The springs appear to have more resistance than my last pilate reformer with the cords. This is a beautiful piece of exercise equipment. The wood on it is gorgeous. I'm not going to go into all the pro's about this machine because you can read all about how wonderful this aero pilates reformer is at this site. But I will say this. This machine sits 15 inches off the floor and it makes all the difference in the world. My other aero pilates was only raised 10" off the ground with the stand. It was a very nice machine, but I never did like the fact that it was so low to the ground. This Stamina Aero Pilate has my other machine beat by far just for the fact that it sits higher off the ground. It makes it so much easier to get off it. To me, it is worth the entire price of this machine. If you are a little older like me, you will really appreciate the height of this one. One last thing for those who are looking to buy a pilate machine. This machine is very heavy, sturdy, and is quality....It will give you years and years of home use. It is more expensive than other machines, but well worth it. The minute you get on this one, you will immediately be able to tell the difference between this one and a cheaper model. This one is much smoother. It does take some time to assemble it. I had a friend of mine put it together. He didn't have any problems at all with it. Not one. It is just time consuming. The finish product is beautiful. It does take up a large space, so make sure you do have the space for it. Read the specs on it. Honestly, because it's such a gorgeous piece of workout equipment, it's a pleasure doing my pilates!

I was going back on 3-4 stars. I think 4 because of the value, 3 because it has some serious issues that bug me. I had pretty high expectations for this reformer given the good reviews. In the end it's about average if you are used to studio grade reformers. I have about two years of Pilates studio classes behind me so feel I am somewhat knowledgeable to review it. Cons: No hand posts next to head rest for ropes or holding on to for certain exercises. The shoulder pads are circular and pretty stiff and often irritate my shoulders from too much direct pressure. Cannot adjust the stop distance on the return for the carriage. Makes it tough if you have longer legs. The foot bar is too narrow and the whole assembly feels budget. Removing it and adjust it feels flimsy and awkward. The rebounder jump board has a small surface area and the elasticness is pretty weak. No options for a solid jump board either. The return smoothness of the carriage is not great and can be a little jerky close to the start where there is little tension. Wish it had more springs to offer more power. Even with all four on it's a bit weak for some exercises. I have concerns of the quality of the platform, as when pressing down with my knees I here cracking which is alarming. The platform also has kind of weak padding that is loose. Pros Feels overall pretty sturdy, and I am 6', 200lb guy. Considering it is 60% less than higher end name brand reformers the value is pretty good. Great length for jumping, never come close to hitting the top, and I am 6'. Ropes and foot/hand holds feel solid. The assembly was not too bad. It helped to have a drill with hex bits. I did it myself in about 2 hours. Overall happy about the smoothness. Not close to higher end $5k models but good enough to the point you are not distracted by it. Good height from the ground. Visually looks pretty good. High quality wood end caps. Wheels make it easy to move. Conclusion: If you are not super hardcore Pilates expert and looking for something reasonably priced for the home, this is good. For more advanced users I feel this model is lacking and going for name brand reformer would be better. I have only ever used high end studio grade reformers so have been spoiled. My thinking is I will see how well my home practice goes. If I use it enough to justify it I will probably upgrade in 6 months to something in the $3-4k range and sell this one. In the mean time, it gets the job done!

First of all, Amazon shipped it super fast - way faster than expected. The item went on sale a few days after I purchased it & I typed Amazon & they promptly refunded the difference. Yay Amazon! The box is pretty heavy, I had to take a few of the things out one-by-one to get it all upstairs, but not a huge deal. Assembly was ok, the product has to be fastened together with Allen wrenches that are kind of a pain (would be much better if it were regular screws). A couple of them got stripped when we were tightening them but we got it together without too much trouble. It is VERY sturdy, quiet, and looks fabulous! The machine itself is awesome!! I love that it has two loops on the straps so I can concentrate on the exercise and not worry about a foot slipping out. There is plenty of room on the pad to have your arms lay flat. It doesn't feel like I am working out very hard when I am doing it, but WOW... the next day, every muscle in my stomach tells me that I was doing it right! The DVD's are perfect for learning basic moves & ideas. I will probably end up buying the next series of DVDs (especially in the cardio) just to get some more ideas. I bought the extra head pillow & I don't think I really needed it. The adjustable pad that is already on it is pretty decent. Overall I LOVE this machine! The exercises are just FUN (and exercise has never been fun for me). I have a bad back and I feel that this is low-impact enough that I can build up strength without doing any damage. Highly recommend!

DELIVERY: As far as purchasing this item; I wish it was available through Amazon Prime. Dates kept changing for delivery that required signature; no carrier was listed; customer service was kind; but I believe it was "drop shipped" and that was why it took forever to get. When it arrived in-state we ended up having to pick up the item ourselves or wait for 4 more days to get it while it was only 20 minutes away. TIPS: As one other reviewer noted, the alignment takes forever. When working on each side, if you are working alone, place the screws in to one rail, but loosely then go to the other rail. When putting both halves together of the second rail, alternate screws from one half of that rail to the other without tightening. You will have to adjust and readjust the tension to get the rails aligned. It was almost as if the part was not machined right. The second half for me aligned very easily. You have to feel the inside to make sure there is no misalignment because the wheels run across the seam as you exercise and can get damaged if not properly aligned. PACKING: The machine box was torn and in poor shape, but the machine was fine. All pieces were packed well. Box opened easily. All parts were there as well as tools needed to assemble. ASSEMBLY: My Husband was here, but I wanted to assemble by myself. The base is heavy and awkward, but I purchased the mat for the machine and that helped when I had to move the machine and while assembling. Once you get past the alignment of the rails, the rest is very simple. That being said, my fingers hurt this morning because of all the tightening I did with the narrow Allen Wrenches. It took about two hours for me to align it (I have to have it perfect). So total time was about 3 hours to assemble for me alone. PRODUCT QUALITY: Very sturdy steel, aluminum rails are good, the platform you lay on is WIDE. The shoulder pads were okay, but could have been more comfortable. The head rest... I am glad I bought the pillow because the head rest that comes with it is THIN and has no neck support. I looked at the picture time and time again while I waited to see if the pillow would fit on this model, but could not tell and Stamina customer service did not know. I am glad I bought the pillow. The price is less expensive on QVC but they charge tax and shipping. I bought mine on Amazon and paid no tax or shipping, so the price ended up being the same but I got the product within 2 days. The glide is not smooth. I don't know if this is because it is not corded but on springs or what, but it is not smooth. It isn't bumpy, it just doesn't glide smoothly. I am going to put some silicone spray as suggested in another post and see if this might help some. The springs are sturdy and covered for the most part, but the tension could be greater. APPEARANCE: Looks great. The wood finish gives it a nice studio look. OVERALL: I would recommend it highly, but if you buy it from this seller be prepared to wait two weeks for delivery. Take your time with alignment of the rails. Buy the mat and the head and neck support pillow, it finishes the product (I also bought the box and pole that can be used on this unit and am still waiting for that to arrive). This product includes a wall chart and workout dvd.

This is really a nice machine and it gives you a great workout. I can see the difference already. The people that Amazon use to handle delivery were great, on time and very helpful. Now the fun begins! Instructions for assembly are very good and tools provided were all you need, short of a screwdriver for the wheel replacement (will explain). They suggest you have someone to help you with assembly, make sure you do this, the machine is heavy. The key to putting this machine together properly is the alignment of the rails at midpoint and that really requires two people. My machine also arrived with a set of "high grade" white wheels which you could replace the standard grade (black wheels) with. Since the standard wheels were already on the machine. I elected to go with them and replace them in the future, big mistake! After all the work to put the machine together properly the wheels only lasted 2 weeks before they started to fall apart, making the machine bumpy and noisy. I was not abusing the machine in any way but using the rebounder really took its toll on the wheels. So I would highly recommend you change out the wheels right away and save yourself a second assembly (you have to take the entire machine apart to put the wheels on). The high grade wheels are superior and show no sign of degradation. We also found on the second installation that alignment of the rail system went much better if you tighten the screws like you would the lug nuts on your car tires, each person on one rail and working slowly on each side (you tighten one screw 3 turns, your partner does the same) that seam needs to be perfectly smooth or the wheels will start to break down quickly. The instructional DVD's are very good and the results are even better, this really does get you in shape. Hope this info helps and you enjoy the experience as much as I have.