Is a Spring just a Spring?

At the recent Mind-Body conference this past April, I visited a top rated equipment manufacturer's booth (who shall remain nameless), and I was disappointed with the low resistance of their springs. It was most noticeable on their version of the low chair.

Having been Classically trained, I was brought up on heavier springs such as Gratz. History tells us that Joseph Pilates used 4 heavy springs. When I brought this up at the booth, the saleslady said to me "I"m just a saleslady, let me get an instructor." I asked the instructor, if it was possible to customize the chair to have heavier springs. She scoffed and said, "why would you want heavier springs? " I mentioned my training and asked her if she had worked on Gratz springs and she proudly replied "I was trained by BLANK and I have only used BLANK equipment." Now how is it possible to have a meaningful dialogue with someone that not only doesn't do her research but refuses to acknowledge the existence of other machines?

As I persisted to ask questions, instead of simply saying "yes, you can have heavier springs" or "no, you cannot", she interrogated my teaching philosophy and basically implied that I needed to be stronger to offset the "weaker" springs. Now, anyone that's ever seen me, has never EVER had the impression that I'm "weak". My nickname in college was "the brutehorse" and at 5 foot 3 and a half inches tall, I'm a dense 125 lbs who fits into a size 2. There's nothing "weak" about my appearance.

Realizing that I wasn't getting anywhere, I decided to revisit the booth once a more knowledgeable instructor was manning it. I knew there was a more versed instructor on staff because I recognized him from the PMA a few years before. I opened up the same discussion with him (not before the previous instructor balked "here's the lady that's coming to complain about our springs again.") I was shocked when he made the same argument as the previous instructor. Weak springs will make you stronger. Using geometry as reasoning, I told him that it was basically a matter of displacement. How could those springs expect to displace my weight AND that of an average American male - 5'8" to 5'10" and 160-170lbs. He just looked at me like I was crazy.

I'm shocked to find that a top equipment manufacturer doesn't have the option of heavier springs. Further, as I tried to explain, it isn't even just a matter of spring strength but buoyancy. Certain springs open and close gradually; they move like a tide of support and resistance. These springs basically had two positions - opened and closed.

I feel that the springs are an integral part of the equipment. They are the lifeblood of the machinery. The progress of the client can be either hastened or hindered by the spring response. The whole notion of "partnering with the equipment" is moot if the partner is not equal in strength.

Please sound off and let me know your experiences.