Freddie Coombs never expected to become a reformer Pilates convert.
Before his first class at Strong + Bendy, a studio in east London, he was sceptical:
“I thought it would be too coordination-heavy, like yoga, which I’ve tried before and just get lost in the instructions.” He also assumed that if his heart rate wasn’t sky-high, the workout wouldn’t do anything.
The class challenged him in ways he didn’t anticipate, and now it’s part of his training for marathon number two. Here’s why he thinks more runners should give it a go.
“It’s probably the lowest-impact strength work you can do.”
Freddie has been a runner since his early 20s, with five half marathons under his belt before taking on the 2025 TCS London Marathon. Like many runners, he’s had injury niggles, which have affected his knees, Achilles and IT band.
High-impact classes or strength circuits often made him nervous during training. “There were days I thought, I’m not going to do the box jumps because I was being so protective of my knees. With reformer, you don’t have to modify or worry about overloading anything.”
In fact, the controlled resistance of the reformer carriage mimicked many of the exercises physios had prescribed for him in the past. Leg presses for knee stability, calf loading for Achilles rehab, glute work for IT band issues.
“I am doing an active and purposeful iteration of so many of those exercises. Plus all the core work that helps stability,” Freddie says.
The niggles haven’t vanished, but his confidence has improved.
“They’re still there, but I’m running more confidently knowing I’m doing something that supports me.”
Compliments your Training Plan without overloading you
The classes are humbling, Freddie says, in the best possible way. Even exercises that look simple quickly expose weak points and imbalances that runners rarely address on the road. Freddie is also finding that the classes compliment his marathon training.
“If you’re training for something like the marathon and running four times a week, you don't need extra cardio in your life. Reformer is perfect alongside running in that way.”
Freddie says part of your Training Plan is learning to pace yourself and avoiding overtraining.
“When you’re doing well, and it’s feeling good, you just want to keep going, but you need to dial it back sometimes. Don’t race yourself – pace yourself.”
You might just discover a new community
One of the biggest surprises for Freddie was discovering how motivating a supportive studio environment like Strong + Bendy can be.
“I’d never got on with going to most gyms. It just never clicked,” he says. “When I started going to Strong + Bendy, I made so many friends.
“The classes are really fun, and the only aim is to do something that is good for you. A lot of people who run a lot think exercise is solitary, it's just me, and the idea of doing group classes sounds like being in PE, but it’s not like that at all.”
You can’t start reformer Pilates too soon, especially if you’re training for something big like a marathon. So, if you’re curious, check out Strong + Bendy’s welcome offer on their site.
