The Tower

One of our users asked: where does the name for the Tower exercise and apparatus come from?⁠

The Tower was one of the original names for the Guillotine apparatus (also called “Gym-in-a-doorway” because a version of it could be installed inside a door frame). While there were predecessors and variants of the Cadillac that only had spring attachments on one side (the “Bednasium” and “Relaxor Bed”, for example), the Tower apparatus as we know it (or Wall Unit) came into the Pilates world much after JHP left it.

The exercise Tower, then, might stem from the Guillotine apparatus as well. Thanks to its vertical setup, the same exercise brings the body into a straight line in the shoulder stand, while the Push Through Bar—which travels up along a semicircle—brings the body into a C-Curve.

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