It's best to start off with just you, your mat and a quality pilates DVD. There are literally hundreds of mat pilates exercises, which should keep you going.
Click here for a guide on pilates exercise mats and other exercise fitness mats.

After a while you may want some variation to your pilates exercises. The next logical step would be to get a pilates ball, which is basically a stability ball.

Many of the mat exercises can be adapted to use on the ball to give your abs an even better workout. There are books and DVD's available for specific pilates exercises on the ball.

Pilates Resistance Bands

These are known as Therabands in physiotherapy, but they are essentially the same thing. A band of mainly latex that will stretch as you exercise. They add resistance to your movement, making your body work harder to perform it smoothly.

The great thing about resistance bands is that they have so many simple and easy uses. They go hand-in-hand with the ideals of pilates, of toning muscle rather than bulk.

As well as uses in pilates, you can make up your own home resistance band circuit training plan. Just by stepping on the band and holding each end in your hands, you could do bicep curls, lateral and bent over rows, lunges and squats, to name a few!

There are so many exercises available, and the bands are cheap and easy to store, it's great! They come in different strengths, some are harder to stretch than others, and are usually colour coded to indicate this. Make sure you check the colour codes as some manufacturers differ.

Pilates Circles

These work on the same idea as bands, to provide extra resistance in your pilates exercises. They are basically just a circle of very flexible plastic or steel, with padded handles for comfort.

There are a number of different exercises that you can do with pilates circles. Although they are more expensive and not as versatile as resistance bands, they do prove useful in isolating certain muscle groups and developing co-ordination.

They also come in a range of different resistance strengths and different sizes, depending on your needs.

Pilates Reformer

This is the most popular machine in the pilates fitness equipment range. It does look kinda scary at first, but once you get going it is actually very effective. It's made up of a sliding seat on rails with a system of springs that you pull.

There are many exercises that you can do on the reformer, I think its best feature is improving your posture. The fact that you're exercising on a moving platform works your core body that much harder.

I would recommend that you go to a class or instructor that is familiar with the reformer, and learn the correct techniques, before you go and buy one.

The very best reformers are very expensive. If you are serious about pilates and serious about regularly using your reformer, then I would suggest investing in a top range model. I would be slightly wary about very cheap ones, generally you'll get what you pay for.

Other Pilates Fitness Equipment

There are less well known pieces of equipment, but they do all serve many different purposes, depending on your pilates needs:

Pilates fitness equipment can be an expensive hobby. So if it just a hobby for you then I'd say stick to the mat work, with maybe a ball and resistance band or circle.

But if you are serious about pilates, or you're just lucky enough to have the money to spare (!!), then the other more expensive machines will be a great addition to making your very own home pilates studio.

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