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Exercising with a Pilates machine is now the latest craze to hit the fitness industry. Everyone from celebrities like Madonna and Julia Roberts to elite athletes like golfer Tiger Woods and basketball star Jason Kidd are incorporating Pilates in to their training program.

Designed to improve posture, balance and coordination, Pilates focuses on strengthening the body's core abdominal muscles. Joseph Pilates first introduced it in the early 20th Century to help rehabilitate First World War veterans returning from war. He created six principles to condition and rehabilitate the entire body - spinal alignment, body centering, breathing control, concentration, movement control, precision and flowing movement.

Specialized Pilates machines are used to challenge the body's core musculature. There are a few pieces equipment that use specifically designed spring resistance to adjust the difficulty of the exercise. The springs provide a progressive resistance as the springs are stretched.

The Reformer is the most common Pilates equipment used. Other popular pieces of apparatus include the Trapeze Table, the Wunda Chair, and the Ladder Barrel. Lesser used Pilates machines include the Step Barrel, the Guillotine Tower, the Arm Chair, the Pedi-Pole, and the Foot Corrector.

In the last few years, there have been other 'props' used by Pilates studios and gymnasiums that incorporate similar core stability principles. These include the Magic Circle, small weighted balls, foam rollers, Fit balls, rotating disks, and resistance bands.

Every Pilates machine or equipment is used in a series of controlled exercises to build core abdominal strength, develop proper spinal alignment and posture as well as muscle flexibility.