Pilates is all the rage right now: According to a January 2024 Marketwide Research report, the Pilates reformer market has witnessed significant growth in recent years due to the increasing popularity of Pilates as a form of exercising and the rising awareness of its health benefits. But a reformer is an expensive piece of equipment—and getting to and from a pilates studio can be time-consuming. Enter: The Kayezen VECTOR. 

“The VECTOR operates as an extension of resistance, similar to the springs on a Pilates reformer,” says Briana Masson, a Pilates master instructor and Kayezen ambassador. Because of this, she loves using the handles and cinch strap with the VECTOR to replicate common reformer exercises. Masson notes that the benefits of Pilates are for everyone—no matter your age or gender. Masson has an 80-year-old client right now and even top NFL players are into it. Masson herself has worked with some of the top NFL players. 

Keep reading to find out all the benefits of using the VECTOR as a mobile Pilates reformer, Masson’s favorite VECTOR exercises, and the number one tip she passes on to all of her clients.

Meet Briana Masson

In addition to teaching Pilates (both virtually and IRL), Masson is a sommelier and travel advisor. She found Pilates as an injured dancer in the late 90s: As a dance major at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, she tore her hamstring and suffered from foot injuries, but continued to dance through it due to the “keep pushing” mentality that was rampant at the time. It was Pilates that helped rebuild her strength and movement and gave her a new mindset to boot. 

Briana worked with a master teacher who taught her how to connect her core to her breath which led to an “aha” moment that hooked her on the discipline. When she graduated and moved to New York City in 2001 to dance professionally, getting certified to teach Pilates herself was a no-brainer. “I proceeded to do it for my whole dance career in New York, and it's taken me to Paris for a couple years, London, LA, and soon, Portugal,” she says. “I'm grateful for my Pilates training because it's been there to save me every step of the way. It's definitely something I'll do for the rest of my life.”

5 Reasons the VECTOR Enhances Your At-Home Pilates Practice:

While Masson teaches classical Pilates on the reformer as well as mat Pilates, she integrates the VECTOR into her repertoire as well. Here’s why: 

1. It’s compact & portable. 

“What makes the VECTOR really special as a mobile reformer is that it's smaller and easier to access in your home,” says Masson. “A reformer is enormous, heavy, and expensive, so it's really cool to have a similar piece of equipment like the VECTOR that can go with you, whether you’re moving it to another room when your kids are sleeping or taking it with you to another country when you’re traveling for work.”

2. It helps build strength and mobility.

“The physiological benefits you can expect to get from using the VECTOR are similar to the ones you’ll get from the reformer,” says Masson. “The VECTOR’s resistance allows the muscle tissue to elongate, improves range of motion and builds strength in both concentric and eccentric movements, similar to the reformer.”

3. You can work your body unilaterally.

“An added benefit of the VECTOR is that it can be used unilaterally, meaning you can use it to work one side of the body at a time,” says Masson. This “creates more focus on stability, which I think enhances the Pilates work.”

4. It builds the mind-muscle connection.

“The VECTOR allows your muscles to fully extend past where your brain thinks they should go,” says Masson. “That helps create longer muscles, teaches you how to stabilize your torso while your limbs are moving, and builds strength from where you're initiating movement. The VECTOR forces you to think about where movement's coming from, which is the whole essence of Pilates—how are you moving in space, not only here in your workout, but in your regular life. That's the goal for me as a Pilates instructor—taking what you learn on the machines and applying it to your fitness, your other sports, and your life.”

5. It’s possibly even more challenging.

“What I think that people don't realize with the VECTOR at home is that it makes Pilates harder, which is huge,” says Masson. “The VECTOR adds complex brain challenges, which I think is really what keeps your body stronger, healthier, mobile, and builds resilience. VECTOR opens up so many more possibilities with Pilates work that isn't super classical. It allows me to explore beyond the normal routine of Pilates, which is cool.” 

 

Briana Masson’s Favorite VECTOR Workouts

If you’re looking to get started with resisted Pilates using the VECTOR, download the Kayezen App and check out one of Masson’s favorite workouts on the Limitless Training Platform:

Side Lying Leg Series

“This is an actual Pilates mat series that adds resistance to the legwork,” says Masson. “It's a cool way to add a very good resistance and complication to your mind. For athletes, it gives you hip extension, hip flexion, and lateral strength, too.”

 

Standing Arm Series 

This series is often taught on the reformer, but Masson notes that for many people, the resistance is too heavy on the classical machine. “VECTOR allows you to adjust the level of resistance and the height, which makes the moves more attainable but also customizable, allowing you to access muscles slightly differently.” 

 

How to Stay Resilient, in Pilates and in Life

“What I would've told myself as a 20-year-old dancer is that less is more,” says Masson. “My belief of what wellness and fitness is now that I’m in my 40s is so different than it was when I was killing myself in my twenties.” Today, she preaches and practices consistency with the goals of being fit, healthy, and pain-free: “This is about 10 minutes a day if that’s all you have. It's not about doing an hour and a half workout where you run and sprint and then you lift really heavy weights and then you can't get up the next day.”

“Resilience is about commitment to yourself and letting go of your ego,” adds Masson. “I think working out and fitness is completely a mental game we play with ourselves every day: ‘Do I have time to do this workout?’ ‘Do I feel like doing this workout?’ ’ ‘I'm not strong enough.’” The key to overcoming all of this, she says, is to move and improve just a little bit every single day. That’s how you boost your longevity and vitality. 

We at Kayezen are completely aligned with that mentality and hope that the VECTOR helps getting in those daily exercise snacks just a little bit easier. 

For more on Briana, check out brianamasson.com