My Favorite Pilates Cadillac Exercises

Hanging out on the Cadillac

If the Reformer is the piece of Pilates equipment everyone recognizes, the Cadillac might be the one that gets the most questions. With its tall frame, springs, bars, straps, and fuzzy loops, it can look a little intimidating the first time you see it. But once you actually get on it, you realize just how versatile and fun the Cadillac can be.

The Cadillac allows you to work with spring resistance in so many different directions. It can make an exercise more challenging, provide assistance when you need it, and give you feedback about what your body is doing. I love that I can use the same piece of equipment with a beginner and an advanced client and give each of them a completely different workout.

There are way too many Cadillac exercises I love to name them all, but these are a few I find myself coming back to again and again.

Roll Back

Sitting with your feet against the poles and your hands on the roll-back bar, you use the spring tension to help articulate your spine as you roll backward and then return to sitting.

I love it because you get that wonderful combination of abdominal work and spinal mobility. The springs give you just enough assistance to really focus on moving through the spine instead of using momentum. It’s also one of those exercises where slowing down makes it harder, which is very Pilates.

Leg Springs

If you love Feet in Straps on the Reformer, chances are you’re going to love leg springs on the Cadillac. There are so many possibilities here: frogs, circles, walking, beats, bicycles, and plenty of other variations. The springs provide resistance while you work the legs, but your core also has to stabilize your pelvis throughout the movement.

I love the way leg springs challenge the lower body while still allowing the movement to feel fluid. You get strength, control, hip mobility, and coordination all at the same time.

Arm Springs

You’re obviously strengthening the arms and shoulders, but there is so much more happening. Your core is stabilizing, your shoulder blades are moving and organizing against your rib cage, and you’re learning how to move your arms without creating unnecessary tension in your neck.

They can be done lying down, sitting, kneeling, or standing, so there are endless ways to change the challenge. One of my favorite things about Pilates is realizing that an “arm exercise” is almost never just an arm exercise.

Push Through

This exercise combines spinal articulation with a wonderful stretch through the back of the body. I especially love the feeling of reaching forward while maintaining control of the bar and then using the abdominals to bring the body back upright.

It’s a great example of what I love about Pilates in general: strength and mobility working together instead of treating them as two separate things.

Monkey

Monkey gives you an amazing stretch through the hamstrings and back while also requiring control and abdominal support. You’re working with the push-through bar and spring tension, so it isn’t simply about seeing how far you can stretch.

Pilates flexibility isn’t about forcing your body into a position. You’re still actively working and supporting yourself throughout the stretch.

Hanging and Fuzzy Exercises

I mean...how can you have a Cadillac and not occasionally play on the fuzzies?

These exercises can range from supported stretches to much more advanced hanging and inverted work. They require strength, control, body awareness, and sometimes a little courage. They’re definitely not appropriate for everyone or every session, but they’re a fun reminder of just how much the Pilates repertoire can progress.

There’s something pretty empowering about realizing your body is capable of doing something that initially looked impossible.

Why I Love the Cadillac

What I probably love most about the Cadillac is the variety. It can be incredibly supportive or incredibly challenging. I can use it for strength, mobility, stretching, balance, rehabilitation-focused work, or advanced exercises, all on the same apparatus. The springs also give you immediate feedback. If one side is doing more work than the other, you can often feel it. If you lose control, you know it. That feedback helps you become more aware of your movement instead of simply going through the motions. The Cadillac just happens to give us a pretty fun playground to do it on.

If you’ve looked at the Cadillac and thought, What on earth are we supposed to do with that thing?, try it with me. I promise, the medieval torture-device appearance is much more intimidating than the actual workout.

-Natalie