Adding Reformer Pilates to an Existing Gym: Room, Reformers and the Numbers
The Short Answer
Reformer Pilates is one of the clearest additions a strength gym can make in 2026: a 40 to 60 sqm room fits 6 to 10 reformers, class pricing typically runs $50 to $90 a week, and it reaches a membership your weights floor usually does not. The real constraint is rarely space or equipment, it is finding and keeping qualified reformer instructors, so lock in instructor supply before you commit to a full room size.
Why Reformer Pilates and Strength Training Pair Well
Reformer Pilates has moved from standalone boutique studios into mainstream strength gyms as one of the clearer 2026 fit-out trends, alongside recovery zones. It reaches a membership segment, commonly women aged 30 to 55 wanting structured, low-impact training, that a straight weights floor and functional training rig often does not pull in on their own. For an existing gym, adding a reformer room is rarely about replacing anything, it is a second product sitting alongside your first, widening who walks in the door and giving your existing members a cross-sell option on their off days.
The appeal for a gym owner is straightforward: your building, your reception, your billing system and your brand are already doing the work of acquiring a member's attention. A reformer room lets you monetise that attention twice, once for the weights floor and once for the studio, rather than sending members who want low-impact, structured training somewhere else entirely. It also smooths out demand across the day: reformer classes often fill different time slots than a busy strength floor, which means a room that would otherwise sit empty between your peak weights hours can run a full timetable of its own.
Room Size and Reformer Count
| Room size | Typical reformer count | Typical class size |
|---|---|---|
| 40 sqm | 6 reformers | Class of 6 |
| 50 sqm | 8 reformers | Class of 8 |
| 60 sqm | 10 reformers | Class of 10 |
These figures assume enough clearance around each reformer for an instructor to move safely between them and correct form, plus a small buffer at the front for demonstration. Mirrors, a dedicated sound system and flooring suited to bare feet and sliding movement all matter more in a reformer room than on a general weights floor; our gym flooring buying guide covers flooring options if you are fitting the room from scratch. For general layout principles that apply to any specialised room inside a bigger gym, see how to plan a gym floor layout.
Resist the urge to squeeze in an extra reformer or two beyond what the room comfortably fits. A cramped room where an instructor cannot walk a full circuit to correct form during class is a safety issue as much as a comfort one, and it shows up quickly in online reviews from members who felt rushed or unable to get proper attention. It is almost always better to run a slightly smaller room well than a maximum-capacity room where class quality suffers.
Which Reformers to Buy
VERVE offers two reformer options built for commercial use, suited to different studio budgets and class styles.
The VERVE Flow Pilates Reformer is a solid commercial entry point for a first reformer room, built to handle back-to-back classes rather than occasional home use.
The VERVE Vibe Pilates Reformer rounds out a room where you want a consistent look across every unit. For a broader comparison of reformer options on the market, see our best Pilates reformers in Australia guide.
Design Your Reformer Room Before You Buy
Send us your available space and we will lay out reformer count, spacing and mirrors for you, with renders back within a week and unlimited layout changes.
Request Your Free DesignClass Economics: What a Reformer Room Actually Earns
Take a worked example, not a promise: an 8-reformer room running 10 classes a week at an average of 75% fill, roughly 6 of 8 spots taken, priced at a $70 a week unlimited reformer membership tier taken up by 60 dedicated members works out to around $18,000 a month in reformer-specific revenue, on top of whatever those members were already paying for general access. Casual, pay-per-class pricing, commonly $25 to $35 a visit, works alongside the membership tier for members who want to try it before committing, or for non-members you are hoping to convert.
The Real Constraint: Instructor Supply
Qualified reformer instructors are in shorter supply than demand in most Australian cities, and proper certification takes months, not weeks. A room full of reformers with no instructor to run the timetable is dead capital sitting in your building. The practical order of operations: secure at least one qualified instructor, or commit to funding an existing staff member through certification, before you commit to your final room size. Build the class timetable around instructor availability first and room capacity second, and expect your available instructor hours, not your reformer count, to be what actually limits how many classes you can run in the early months.
Two practical paths cover most gyms. The first is hiring an already-certified reformer instructor, which gets you running classes faster but competes in a tight labour market, so budget for a genuinely competitive rate rather than treating it as a standard group fitness role. The second is upskilling an existing staff member who already has a relationship with your members: it takes longer to get the room open, since certification is a multi-month commitment, but it builds instructor loyalty and gives that staff member a clear next step in their career with you, which ties back to the retention principles in our gym staffing guide. Most gyms that get the room right end up doing a mix of both: one experienced hire to launch the timetable, with an existing coach training up behind them.
Bringing Existing Members Across vs Attracting New Ones
Cross-selling your existing weights-floor members into a reformer intro offer is the fastest way to fill early classes and prove the room works before you spend heavily on new marketing. But the larger, longer-term growth usually comes from a genuinely new segment: members who would never have walked into your gym for the weights floor alone but will for reformer Pilates. Market the two audiences differently rather than assuming your existing gym marketing will pull new reformer members on its own.
In practice that means separate content and separate messaging, not a separate business: your reformer room should get its own class photos, its own social content and its own intro offer, spoken to a different audience than the one your strength-focused ads target, even though it is booked through the same app and billed on the same membership platform. A member who joins for reformer Pilates and later gets curious about the weights floor next door is exactly the kind of cross-membership growth the whole exercise is designed to create, but it tends to flow in that direction, reformer to strength, more than the reverse.
What a Reformer Room Costs Beyond the Equipment
Budget beyond the reformers themselves for suitable flooring, wall or ceiling-mounted mirrors, a sound system that suits a smaller room, and enough storage for props like resistance bands and small weights that most reformer classes use alongside the machines. None of these are large costs individually, but they add up, and a room that looks unfinished undercuts the premium feel reformer Pilates members generally expect compared to a standard weights floor. If you are financing the room as part of a broader equipment purchase, our gym equipment finance guide covers how a chattel mortgage and similar structures commonly work for equipment like this.
Get an Itemised Quote for Your Reformer Room
One invoice from design to delivery: reformers, flooring and mirrors quoted together so equipment finance approval is straightforward.
Request Your Free DesignFrequently asked questions
How much space do I need for a reformer Pilates room?
40 to 60 sqm is the typical range for a commercial reformer room, fitting 6 to 10 reformers depending on the exact size, with enough clearance for an instructor to move safely between machines during class.
How many reformers should I buy?
Most gyms start with 6 to 10 reformers depending on available room size. Match your reformer count to realistic early class sizes rather than the maximum your room could physically hold, since instructor supply, not space, is usually the binding constraint.
How much does a reformer Pilates class typically cost members?
Reformer Pilates typically prices at $50 to $90 a week for an unlimited membership tier in Australia, with casual, pay-per-class pricing commonly sitting at $25 to $35 a visit for members trying it out or non-members.
What is the biggest constraint when adding reformer Pilates to a gym?
Instructor supply, not space or equipment. Qualified reformer instructors are in short supply relative to demand in most Australian cities, and certification takes months, so secure instructor availability before committing to your final room size.
Should I convert existing members to reformer Pilates or market to new people?
Both, but treat them as separate efforts. Cross-selling existing members fills early classes quickly, while genuinely new growth usually comes from a different membership segment that needs its own marketing approach.
What flooring does a reformer room need?
Flooring suited to bare feet and sliding movement matters more in a reformer room than on a general weights floor. See our gym flooring buying guide for options that suit a dedicated studio space.
Which VERVE reformers are available for commercial gyms?
The VERVE Flow Pilates Reformer and the VERVE Vibe Pilates Reformer, both built in black and designed for commercial class use rather than occasional home use.