Miley Cyrus' Pilates Reformer Routine: How She Trains and Why It Works
Discover the low-impact, high-results workout method helping Miley Cyrus build lean strength, improve flexibility, and maintain her signature toned physique.
Miley Cyrus builds her training around Pilates reformer work because spring-based resistance strengthens deep stabilisers and builds functional endurance without the compressive joint stress that heavy barbell training creates. Sessions of 50 to 60 minutes deliver the postural control and mobility a high-demand touring performer needs while supporting long-term recovery.
- 50 to 60 minutes per session: A properly structured reformer session runs 50 to 60 minutes, moving through footwork, hip and leg work, spinal articulation, and strap-based arm sequences in a deliberate order.
- The reformer loads muscles through the concentric push and the eccentric return, and that two-way resistance is where much of the real strength adaptation happens.
- Eight to sixteen weeks for results: Meaningful changes in deep core musculature require at least eight weeks of consistent training, with the clearest adaptations typically showing up between weeks eight and sixteen.
- Two to three sessions weekly: Starting at two to three sessions per week, each around 45 to 55 minutes, gives the body enough stimulus to adapt without overloading someone new to reformer work.
- The reformer's spring system can accommodate complete beginners, so the real learning curve is not fitness level but developing the body awareness the method demands.
Where to start
The Core Collab Queen Cadillac Pilates Reformer
Elina Pilates Elite Advanced Reformer
Why Pilates Became Central to Miley Cyrus' Training
Miley Cyrus has been open about the physical demands her career places on her body. Between touring, recording, and the kind of high-energy stage performances that leave most people exhausted just watching, she needed a training method that builds functional strength without wrecking joints or sidelining her with injuries. Pilates reformer work became a consistent part of her routine precisely because it delivers that.
She has spoken in interviews about her broader wellness philosophy, which leans toward methods that feel sustainable rather than punishing. Pilates fits that description well. The resistance is spring-based rather than gravity-loaded, so the muscles work hard without the compressive forces that heavy barbell training puts through the spine and hips. For a performer who needs to stay mobile and injury-free across a long career, that trade-off makes a lot of sense.
There is also something about the mental side of reformer work that appeals to people in high-stress professions. The concentration the method demands, keeping the core engaged while coordinating breath with precise movement patterns, turns a session into something close to active meditation. Several practitioners who work with performers and athletes describe it that way, and it tracks with what Cyrus has said about training being as much a mental reset as a physical one.
What a Celebrity Pilates Routine Actually Looks Like
Pilates sessions at the level Cyrus trains are typically structured around a core sequence of reformer exercises, with progressions added as strength and control improve. A standard session runs 50 to 60 minutes and moves through footwork on the carriage, leg and hip series, spinal articulation work, and arm and shoulder sequences using the straps. The exercises are sequenced deliberately so that stabilisers warm up before larger movement patterns are loaded.
The reformer's spring system is central to everything. Springs provide resistance in both directions of movement, through the concentric push or pull and through the eccentric return. That eccentric loading is where a lot of the real strength work happens, and it is also gentler on connective tissue than pure gravity-based resistance. Most sessions blend heavier spring settings for leg press and squat-pattern work with lighter settings for core and rotational exercises.
Choreography demands and vocal performance both require exceptional postural endurance, so a significant portion of celebrity Pilates programming targets the deep stabilisers of the spine, the transverse abdominis, the multifidus, and the muscles around the shoulder girdle. These are not the muscles that show up prominently in a mirror, but they are the ones that determine whether a performer can hold a position or move through space without compensating. Reformer work is arguably the most efficient method for training them without fatigue accumulating to the point that form breaks down.
The Exercises Driving the Results
Footwork is usually the starting point. With both feet on the foot bar and the carriage loaded with a heavier spring setting, you push through various foot positions, heels together and toes apart, parallel, then toes only on the bar, working through controlled extension and return. It looks simple from the outside. Done properly with the pelvis neutral and the deep abdominals engaged, it is a full lower-body warm-up that simultaneously teaches spinal length.
The hundred is perhaps the most recognisable Pilates exercise and translates directly to the reformer. Lying supine with the straps around the hands and the legs elevated, you pump the arms with percussive breath while maintaining a held curl of the upper body. The breath pattern, five counts in and five counts out, is a deliberate challenge to the respiratory system and the core simultaneously. Done at the intensity a trained practitioner applies it, it is genuinely demanding.
Leg circles, knee stretches, and the elephant are key exercises for hip mobility and posterior chain engagement. The standing split and long stretch series build the kind of full-body coordination and shoulder stability that carries over directly into dance and performance. These are not beginner exercises, they require significant time on the machine to execute without compensating through the lower back or hip flexors, which is why consistent training over months produces visibly different results than occasional sessions do.
Why the Reformer Produces Results Other Methods Don't
Research on Pilates training has documented meaningful improvements in core muscle thickness, postural alignment, and functional movement quality, particularly over programmes of eight weeks or longer. Studies comparing Pilates to conventional gym training tend to find that the two methods produce complementary rather than overlapping adaptations. Gym work tends to build peak force production; reformer Pilates tends to build the neuromuscular control that lets you apply force safely and efficiently through full ranges of motion.
The spring resistance system also means the load is variable across the movement arc. A spring provides less resistance at the start of a movement and more as it stretches, which is the opposite of how gravity works on a barbell. That characteristic makes springs particularly well-suited to exercises at end range, where joints are often most vulnerable under static loads. It is one reason physiotherapists have used reformers in rehabilitation settings for decades, and why the equipment has made such a clean transition from clinical to performance training.
For someone like Cyrus, the other practical advantage is recovery. High-intensity cardiovascular training and heavy resistance sessions generate significant muscle damage and metabolic stress. Reformer Pilates at a moderate intensity sits in a different physiological zone. It can be done more frequently without accumulating the fatigue that eventually compromises other training. Most serious practitioners treat it as a foundation layer that makes everything else they do more effective, rather than as a replacement for it.
Reformer Versus Cadillac: Understanding the Distinction
The reformer is the piece of equipment most people picture when they think of Pilates apparatus, a sliding carriage on a frame with springs and a foot bar. A Cadillac, sometimes called a trapeze table, adds a vertical frame above a flat or reformer-style bed, with hanging springs, push-through bars, roll-down bars, and arm and leg spring attachments at multiple heights. The two machines share underlying principles but offer different movement possibilities.
The Cadillac's vertical resistance system opens up exercises that a standard reformer cannot replicate, particularly for spinal extension, traction, and overhead pulling patterns. The Core Collab Queen Cadillac Pilates Reformer combines both in a single unit, with its trapeze system, springs, bars, and straps working alongside a padded reformer bed, which is why it tends to appear in clinical and studio environments where practitioners need full-body rehabilitation capability alongside conventional reformer programming. At $3,999, it represents a significant investment for a home buyer but is broadly comparable to what a clinical Pilates setup would require.
For people researching celebrity training methods, the distinction matters because some of the exercises you see in studio settings, and some of what Cyrus has trained on with performance-focused instructors, use the full Cadillac configuration rather than a standalone reformer. Understanding what separates these two machines helps you decide which investment matches your actual training goals rather than simply replicating the aesthetic of a studio environment.
Choosing a Reformer That Matches This Training Style
The training approach Cyrus uses, and that serious Pilates practitioners generally apply, puts real demands on equipment. A spring system that loses tension unevenly, a carriage with inconsistent tracking, or a frame that flexes under load will limit what you can do and can also be unsafe when exercises require precise control at end range. This is the practical argument for studio-grade equipment over entry-level alternatives, and it is worth thinking through before purchasing.
The Elina Pilates Elite Advanced Reformer, at $3,790.50, is built around ultra-smooth, silent carriage operation with a fully adjustable resistance system and includes a complete accessory kit. The integrated tower adds vertical spring work without requiring a separate unit. For home practitioners who want to work through a full, progressive reformer programme without hitting equipment limitations, this kind of specification matters more than it might initially seem.
The Core Collab Full Track Queen Studio Pilates Reformer at $3,199 takes a different approach to versatility through its full-track footbar system, which slides along the entire carriage length rather than locking into fixed positions. That feature is not decorative. Exercises like dynamic lunges and pike progressions genuinely require footbar repositioning mid-sequence, and fixed-position bars limit how much of the programming you can access. The machine uses ABEC 7 bearings in its eight-wheel carriage, a specification that produces the near-silent glide associated with studio environments, and carries a ten-year structural warranty.
The Core Collab Eco Pilates Reformer with Tower at $3,299 brings a different manufacturing philosophy. Its FSC-certified eco-laminated frame is steel-reinforced at the tower connection points, and the non-folding carriage system, measuring 94 inches long by 26 inches wide with the tower reaching 80 inches high, is designed for permanent studio installation rather than occasional storage. It ships with six reformer springs and four tower springs, including arm and leg spring sets, along with handles, straps, loops, a jumpboard, and a footplate.
How to Build a Routine That Actually Works
The results associated with consistent Pilates training, improved posture, visible core definition, reduced lower back discomfort, better movement quality in other physical activities, come from frequency and progression rather than from any single session. Research on Pilates programmes generally finds that meaningful structural changes in deep core musculature require a minimum of eight weeks of regular training, with most practitioners seeing the clearest adaptations between weeks eight and sixteen.
A realistic starting schedule for someone new to the reformer is two to three sessions per week, each running 45 to 55 minutes. The first several weeks should prioritise the foundational sequences, footwork, the hundred, leg circles, and basic arm spring work, executed with careful attention to breath and pelvic neutral rather than with heavy springs or complex progressions. The temptation to add difficulty too quickly is one of the main reasons people plateau early. If you want to understand what a solid long-term reformer programme looks like before committing to a machine, the considerations around equipment type and session structure are worth reviewing carefully.
Progression on a reformer happens through three levers: spring load, range of motion, and tempo. Reducing spring load makes many exercises harder, not easier, because the carriage becomes less stable and the stabilising muscles have to work more. Increasing range of motion introduces new end-range demands on flexibility and control. Slowing tempo removes momentum as a crutch and forces the working muscles to sustain output throughout the full movement arc. A well-designed programme cycles through all three variables rather than simply adding more springs over time.
What This Training Actually Does for Performance
The physical benefits associated with consistent reformer Pilates, and documented repeatedly in research on both clinical and performance populations, include measurable improvements in lumbar and hip mobility, reduced frequency of lower back pain episodes, and stronger performance on single-leg balance and functional movement assessments. For performers, these translate into practical advantages: better ability to sustain complex movement patterns without compensation, lower injury risk during high-demand phases of work, and faster recovery between intense performance days.
Core strength in the Pilates sense is different from the kind developed through crunches or weighted carries. The target is the deep musculature that stabilises the spine during dynamic movement rather than the superficial muscles that create visible abdominal definition. Both matter, but the deep system is what prevents injury and supports efficient force transfer through the body. Studies on professional dancers who adopted reformer Pilates as a supplementary method have found reductions in both injury incidence and recovery time, which is relevant to anyone whose physical performance depends on staying healthy across a long working period.
Flexibility improvements from reformer work are typically described as functional rather than passive. The machine's spring resistance lengthens muscles under load, which produces more durable range of motion than static stretching. Hip flexor length, thoracic rotation, and hamstring extensibility are the areas where most practitioners notice the most obvious changes, and those are also the areas that tend to restrict movement quality the most in people with desk-based or high-intensity training backgrounds. Understanding what the research actually shows about these adaptations helps set realistic expectations for what a consistent practice will deliver.
Is This Approach Right for You?
The training Cyrus uses is not a niche approach reserved for performers or the particularly fit. The reformer's spring system is adjustable enough to accommodate complete beginners, and the foundational exercises are safe for most healthy adults regardless of starting fitness level. The challenge is not intensity in the cardiovascular sense; it is the precision and body awareness the method demands, which take time to develop but do not require exceptional baseline fitness to begin building.
For people exploring reformer training as a first step into structured movement work, the biggest adjustment tends to be learning to slow down and feel what is actually happening in the body during each exercise rather than simply completing the repetitions. Instructors describe this as developing proprioceptive literacy, an awareness of position and muscle activation that most people have not previously had reason to cultivate. It takes several sessions before it starts to feel natural, and several weeks before it starts to feel fluent.
The question of whether to train at a studio or invest in a home machine is a practical one. Studio access provides qualified instruction and a social environment, both of which accelerate learning in the early months. Home equipment removes scheduling constraints and pays for itself over time relative to ongoing studio fees. Many serious practitioners start in studios to develop technique and then add a home machine once they understand what they are doing. You can browse pilates reformers across the full range of configurations to see what matches your space and budget, and if you are also considering supplementary apparatus, the Cadillac and trapeze tables worth comparing sit alongside the reformer range.
What makes Cyrus' approach worth studying is not the celebrity association. It is the underlying logic: a training method chosen for durability, functional output, and long-term sustainability rather than short-term results. That logic applies equally to a performer managing a demanding touring schedule and to someone who simply wants to move better, feel stronger, and stay out of a physiotherapist's office. The reformer delivers on all of it, provided the commitment to consistency is there.
More pilates worth a look
The Core Collab Eco Pilates Reformer with Tower
The Core Collab Full Track Queen Studio Pilates Reformer
Frequently asked questions
Is a Pilates reformer suitable for someone who has never done Pilates before?▾
Yes, but there is a learning curve. The spring resistance is adjustable, so a complete beginner can work at very light settings while focusing on breath, alignment, and movement patterns. The footwork and the hundred sequences are the standard starting point because they teach the foundational mechanics before more complex exercises are introduced. Most people find that a handful of sessions with a qualified instructor accelerates progress significantly compared to self-teaching.
Are there any safety considerations to keep in mind when training on a reformer?▾
The main risk with reformer work is compensating through the lower back or hip flexors when the core is not adequately engaged. This tends to happen when resistance is set too high too early, or when fatigue accumulates and form breaks down. Starting with lighter spring settings and prioritising spinal neutrality over load is the practical safeguard. Anyone returning from a back, hip, or shoulder injury should work with a physiotherapist or certified instructor before training independently.
What does a reformer of this quality typically cost, and what drives the price difference between models?▾
At the level suited to serious home use or studio work, reformers range from around $3,199 for a machine like The Core Collab Full Track Queen Studio Pilates Reformer up to $3,999 for the Core Collab Queen Cadillac Pilates Reformer. The price differences reflect frame materials, spring systems, carriage bearing quality, and whether an integrated tower is included. The Elina Pilates Elite Advanced Reformer sits at $3,790.50 and adds a tower with an accessory kit. Entry-level machines exist below these price points, but the construction and spring quality tend to limit their longevity under regular use.
How involved is the setup process for a home reformer?▾
Most studio-grade reformers ship partially assembled and include the tools needed to complete installation. The Core Collab Eco Pilates Reformer with Tower, for example, ships that way and measures 94 inches long by 26 inches wide by 80 inches high with the tower attached, so measuring your space carefully before ordering is essential. Carriage alignment and spring attachment are the steps that take the most attention, and following the manufacturer instructions precisely matters for both safety and smooth operation.
What does it cost to maintain a reformer once it is set up?▾
Ongoing costs are relatively modest. Springs are the component most likely to need replacement over time, particularly if the machine is used daily at high resistance settings. Upholstery on the carriage pad can wear with heavy use and may need replacing after several years. Frame and rail maintenance typically involves periodic tightening of bolts and light cleaning of the carriage wheels and tracks. Commercial-grade machines like those from The Core Collab and Elina Pilates are built for high-volume studio use, so home users generally see slower wear rates.
How do I keep the reformer in good condition over time?▾
Wiping down the carriage and upholstery after each session prevents sweat buildup that can degrade materials. The carriage wheels and rails benefit from occasional cleaning to remove dust and debris that can affect the smoothness of the glide. Spring hooks and carabiners should be inspected periodically for signs of wear or deformation. The Core Collab Full Track Queen Studio Pilates Reformer carries a 10-year structural warranty, which gives a useful benchmark for how long a well-maintained frame should last under normal conditions.
How do I know which reformer size is right for my space and my body?▾
Frame length is the most important dimension to check. The Core Collab Eco Pilates Reformer with Tower, for instance, runs 94 inches long, which is standard for a studio-grade machine and accommodates taller users comfortably. Taller practitioners, generally above 6 feet, should specifically look for full-length carriage tracks rather than standard-length ones. Width of around 26 inches is typical, but remember to account for the instructor standing space alongside the machine when calculating room requirements.
What is the most common mistake people make when starting reformer training?▾
Loading too much spring resistance too early is the most common error. Heavier resistance makes it harder to maintain a neutral pelvis and engaged deep core, which defeats the purpose of the method and increases injury risk. The second common mistake is skipping the foundational sequences, footwork, the hundred, and basic spinal articulation, in favour of more visually impressive exercises before the stabiliser muscles are strong enough to support them. Consistent sessions over several months produce genuinely different results from occasional use, which is why practitioners who train the way Miley Cyrus approaches it tend to treat reformer work as a regular weekly commitment rather than a supplementary activity.
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