How much spring tension should I use?

One light spring is the usual setting, enough that the ropes stay under tension with the arms down by the sides but not so much that the torso gets pulled backward. A study of male Pilates practitioners doing seated single-arm strap raises on a reformer found that shoulder girdle muscle activity rose as spring intensity went up, while the heaviest spring shifted the balance between those muscles in a way the authors read as compensation. Adding circles is a better first progression than adding spring.

How many circles should I do?

Three to five circles in one direction and the same number in reverse is a standard set, and one or two sets is plenty inside a session. Stop before the torso starts to tip or the shoulders creep up, because the quality of the circle is the whole point.

Do Arm Circles build arm strength?

They build shoulder endurance and control far more than size or maximal strength, because the spring never gets heavy enough to challenge a strong shoulder. Keep them as a warm-up or a finisher and take the strength work from loaded pressing and pulling such as Band Standing Shoulder Press.

Can I do these with a sore shoulder?

Not without clearance from a clinician, because the springs pull the arms backward and the top of the circle is where an irritable shoulder usually complains. Once light shoulder work has been cleared, keep the circles low and in front of the body and stop at the first sign of pinching.

Pilates Reformer Arm Circles

What Are Pilates Reformer Arm Circles?

Pilates Reformer Arm Circles are an isolation exercise that primarily targets the shoulders and also engages the scapular stabilizers, chest and trunk. They are an intermediate-level movement performed kneeling tall on the reformer carriage, holding a handle in each hand while the ropes run back over the pulleys, so the springs pull the arms backward and down through every part of the circle.

The exercise is about control rather than load. Spring tension never disappears the way a dumbbell does at the top of a lift, so the shoulder has to be steered forward, out to the side and back down without the ribs flaring or the body drifting backward. In a reformer session Arm Circles belong to the kneeling arm series and usually come after footwork and core work, once the body is warm and a light spring can be set. They are a conditioning and movement quality exercise, not a way to add size to the deltoids.

The deltoid does the visible work, and the muscles around the shoulder blade decide how cleanly the arm travels. A study of male Pilates practitioners doing kneeling strap arm work on a reformer found that serratus anterior activity rose as the arms were raised higher, while upper trapezius was lowest with the arms down by the sides. A circle passes through all of those heights in one continuous path, so the emphasis shifts as the arms travel. Keeping the circles low and in front of the body biases the front of the shoulder, while opening them wider at shoulder height brings in more of the rear shoulder and upper back.

Arm Circles suit anyone who can already hold a tall kneeling position while the arms move, which is why instructors often teach the pattern seated before taking it up onto the knees. Clients who get pulled backward by the springs, or who find kneeling uncomfortable, can sit upright on the carriage or on a Pilates box and make the same circles, or build the shape off the machine with Arm Circles and Band Front Raise first. Pairing them with Pilates Reformer Chest Expansion covers both halves of the kneeling arm series, since that exercise presses the arms back rather than lifting them forward.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Deltoid: Primary
Lower Trapezius: High
Serratus Anterior: High
Infraspinatus: Medium
Pectoralis Major: Medium
Rectus Abdominis: Medium
Upper Trapezius: Medium
External Oblique: Low
Gluteus Maximus: Low
Latissimus Dorsi: Low

Instructions

Set the reformer to one light spring and check that the ropes are long enough to stay under tension with the arms hanging by your sides.
Kneel upright in the middle of the carriage facing away from the pulleys, shins and tops of the feet flat, with the feet back toward the shoulder blocks.
Take a handle in each hand and let the arms hang straight down beside your hips, elbows long and the ropes already taut.
Stack the hips over the knees and the shoulders over the hips, draw the ribs down and tuck the tailbone slightly so the lower back does not arch.
Exhale and reach both arms forward and up to about shoulder height, keeping the elbows straight and the hands inside your field of view.
Open the arms out to the sides at that height, moving them level and slowly rather than letting the springs swing them.
Lower the arms back down to your sides along that wide path, resisting the pull of the springs the whole way to the start.
Keep the torso still and the neck long throughout, so the arms are the only thing moving and the springs stay quiet.
Complete 3 to 5 circles in this direction, then reverse the path by lifting the arms out to the sides first and bringing them down in front of the body.
End the set when the torso starts to tip backward or the shoulders creep toward the ears, rather than pushing for extra circles.

Common Mistakes

Letting the circles drift behind the body
The springs pull backward, and hands that travel past the shoulder line at the end of each circle load the front of the shoulder with nothing left to control them.
Hiking the shoulders
Shrugging toward the ears as the arms rise hands the work to the upper traps and leaves the shoulder blade muscles out of the movement.
Arching the lower back
Letting the ribs flare and the spine extend as the arms lift borrows range from the lumbar spine instead of finding it at the shoulder.
Sitting back toward the heels
Dropping the hips back off the vertical line over the knees lets the springs win and turns a controlled circle into a swing.
Choosing too much spring
A spring heavier than the shoulders can steer turns a control drill into a tug of war, and the torso starts compensating for the arms.
Rushing the circle
Swinging the arms around on momentum removes the steady resistance that makes the exercise worth doing, especially on the way back down to the sides.

Injuries

Pilates Reformer Arm Circles are a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The spring load is light, the spine is never loaded, and the arms move through a range the shoulder chooses rather than one a bar or a machine forces on it. What makes them worth watching is the kneeling position and the fact that the springs pull the arms backward, which is the direction the shoulder tolerates least.

The front of the shoulder takes the strain when the circle drifts behind the body and the springs pull the hands past the shoulder line with nothing left to hold them. The neck and upper traps take over when the shoulders hike toward the ears as the arms rise. The lower back complains when the ribs flare and the spine extends to buy range the shoulder does not have. The knees can simply get sore from kneeling on a firm carriage through a long set.

Keep the circles in front of the body, and drop the top of the path below shoulder height if the shoulder is at all irritable, and set the lightest spring that still keeps the ropes under tension with the arms down. Pad the knees, or sit upright on the carriage or on a Pilates box when kneeling is uncomfortable. Build up with that seated version or with Arm Circles away from the machine, and progress by adding circles and slowing the tempo before adding spring or range.

Stop the set if the shoulder pinches at the top of the circle, if the hands go numb from gripping the handles, if the knees hurt, or once the torso can no longer stay upright over the knees. Anyone with a shoulder injury, recent shoulder surgery or a knee that does not tolerate kneeling should clear this exercise with a clinician first.

Overview

Primary Focus: Shoulders
Equipment: Pilates reformer
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much spring tension should I use?: One light spring is the usual setting, enough that the ropes stay under tension with the arms down by the sides but not so much that the torso gets pulled backward. A study of male Pilates practitioners doing seated single-arm strap raises on a reformer found that shoulder girdle muscle activity rose as spring intensity went up, while the heaviest spring shifted the balance between those muscles in a way the authors read as compensation. Adding circles is a better first progression than adding spring.
Q: How many circles should I do?: Three to five circles in one direction and the same number in reverse is a standard set, and one or two sets is plenty inside a session. Stop before the torso starts to tip or the shoulders creep up, because the quality of the circle is the whole point.
Q: Do Arm Circles build arm strength?: They build shoulder endurance and control far more than size or maximal strength, because the spring never gets heavy enough to challenge a strong shoulder. Keep them as a warm-up or a finisher and take the strength work from loaded pressing and pulling such as Band Standing Shoulder Press.
Q: What if kneeling hurts my knees?: Put a folded mat or pad under the knees first, and if that is not enough, sit upright on the carriage or on a Pilates box and make the same circles. The arm path and the spring tension work the same way from a seated position.
Q: Can I do these with a sore shoulder?: Not without clearance from a clinician, because the springs pull the arms backward and the top of the circle is where an irritable shoulder usually complains. Once light shoulder work has been cleared, keep the circles low and in front of the body and stop at the first sign of pinching.