A note for Pilates Instructors - Finding "balance" in teaching

This entry is designed to help Pilates instructors improve their teaching. Its also is a good reference for people who take Pilates, and want to have further insight into the BIGGEST and most COMMON mistakes teachers make.

The goal of every Pilates instructor should be to do nothing more then provide the client with a safe, effective, and enjoyable workout. If the instructor fails at any of these three things the client will either not come back, or will not get results. To break it down a little further:

1A.) Safety (physical) - Obviously, this is the most important. If a client gets injured then the client doesn't get results, is obviously unhappy, and the instructor gets a lawsuit in the majority of cases.

1B.) Safety (emotionally) - This one is more common, but overlooked. And it's about feeling safe with the instructor. If the client doesn't trust the teacher, or doesn't feel comfortable with the teacher then there is a problem. Pilates is full of often uncomfortable, unflattering, and awkward positions. If the teacher can't remain 100% professional at all times, or can't make the client feel safe or comfortable they will not come back, and furthermore the workout with be less affective.

2.) Effective - If Pilates doesn't get results then it's likely time you re-evaluate your teaching. Pilates is a powerful system that should get results for anybody. If all your clients look and feel the same as they did when they worked with you 6 months ago, YOU will notice. And, trust me when I say, they will notice too. Nobody, and I mean nobody in their right mind would spend hundreds of dollars for no results. The likely issue will be covered further below.

3.) Fun - This is the least important, but at the same time most important point. Most clients will tell you that Pilates is HARD, but they LOVE it. They go to class every week with a smile on their face (unless its before 9am), and they leave happy and invigorated. Well, that is sometimes the case. It's what all Pilates instructors strive for, because if your client is having fun they are 1000% more likely to come back. The word fun is rarely attributed to working out, but then again consider why so many people in this country don't work out? Fun can mean many things, but to a Pilates instructor it generally translates to: "I feel great after my workout. At no point was I ever bored, and I definitely want to come back."

So, in summary. If the goal of a Pilates workout is a safe, effective, and fun workout, it's amazing how many teachers fail to complete all three. The first of the big three "safe" is generally linked to poor training, or owning a weak certification. It's also linked to an instructor working too many hours, being tired, or just being sloppy. Those things can't be helped by my blog. However, the other two points (Effective and Fun) are closely tied together. In my experience one mistake is responsible for failing to achieve these two goals.

The mistake is called losing balance. Not actual physical balance, but teaching balance. What is teaching balance? It is finding the thin line between teaching proper strict form, and allowing the student to move uncorrected. Having a proper balance between these two extremes is the key to being effective as a teacher. All too often teachers will be too far towards one style or another and this results in alienating your client, and destroying a workout.

The two teaching styles broken down a little further:

The "movement" teacher: This style of teacher focuses on movement, and rarely makes corrections. The teacher goes from one exercise to the next with great speed, and few (if any corrections). The teacher can fit in A TON of exercises in a short period of time, and often can trick people into thinking Pilates was a spin class taught on the ground. This style of teaching can be effective, but it is generally dangerous. Teaching Pilates at this speed with the small number of corrections leads to bad form, bad habits, and often bad backs. Pilates believes in quality over quantity, and I have to agree that a few good repetitions of an exercise is better then many bad ones.

The "form" teacher: This style of teacher is all about form. They teach slow, very slow. Everything is calculated, aligned, and perfect. They will talk constantly about the "Power House", and are often extremely "touchy" teachers. An hour can go by, and the client will barely have fit in an entire mat session (which teaching at a respectable speed should take around 20-25 minutes). They won't let the student go to the next exercise until it's perfect. This style of teaching can be good if your working with an injured client, or a professional dancer who needs to have an extreme level of body control. Teaching good form also tends to be safer, and the client learns the form over time, and eventually is able to work at a faster pace. But the average client who isn't used to being so heavily corrected and analyzed often leaves the lesson feeling horrible. Also, teaching at such a slow pace often destroys a workout. Some teachers can get away with teaching slow, and still have clients dripping wet from sweat, but they are few and far between.

Those are the two extremes. Both have some benefits, but both fail miserably to achieve the goals of a Pilates teacher. Finding the balance between these two opposite styles is crucial in maintaining and building a clientele.

How to find the balance as a teacher? This is not easy too do! I have taught a while, and sometimes I have a tendency to sometimes move a little too fast, or go a little too slow. If a teacher says that they always are teaching at a proper pace then they are lying, or just extremely ignorant and unwilling to analyze themselves for self benefit.

Here are some quick tips for how to become a balanced teacher:

1.) Corrections - Every correction should achieve the following: make the exercise safer, make the exercise more effective, or make the exercise in general correct. In other words, if your correction isn't about safety and not going to make a difference in the overall benefit to clients, then it's not worth making. Having someone's hands look "pretty" is not worth stopping a person who is paying $1.25 a minute.

2.) Talking - Be aware of it. Try to stay on topic if possible, and try to make the client focus on the exercise at hand. DON'T talk to prevent silence. Some of the best lessons I have ever had didn't involve all that much talking. There is already enough for the client to think about as it is!

3.) Touch - Don't touch your client on every exercise. Best advice I ever received was that when you touch a client it better be meaningful. And, to go further, never "half" spot somebody. If you make a correction. MAKE THE CORRECTION. Otherwise, you are just in the way.

4.) Efficiency - The fastest way to speed up a workout is transitions. This is the time between exercises. If you are slow to adjust the reformer, or get the client into the next position, then you can waste easily 10 minutes or $15 of your client's time. They may not notice at first, but if they work with a teacher that does transitions quickly they will notice. That reflects poorly on you.

5.) Good decisions - Not everything has too be perfect or correct. As a teacher you pick your battles. The human mind can only remember around three corrections at a time. So why overload it, and then hope that the client remembers the important corrections? A good instructor should have a focus during the lesson. Maybe that means being strict with stomach massage and less picky on knee stretches, as an example.

To summarize, the goal of a Pilates lesson should be a safe, effective, and fun workout. Striking a perfect balance between teaching with pace and with corrections to form is the best way to achieve this goal.

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? I welcome all three, and always answer!

Pilates: How it benefits runners, bikers, and you!

Pilates benefits everyone. Including athletes. Pilates is so often underlooked though for its ability to improve the body for popular activities. So I have decided to list some of the benefits Pilates would provide to bikers and runners, since it is the summer season, and they are everywhere! So here is a quick overview of the benefits of Pilates on popular activities!

What Exercise Problems Can Pilates Improve?

Here are a few running/cycling-specific issues that can be improved by doing Pilates regularly:

Cycling:

Rocking of pelvis on seat
Knees rolling in or out
Too much movement in the upper body
Poor neck posture
Tight chest muscles
Tight calves/hips
Overstretched and weak back muscles
Wrist issues
Muscular imbalances
Movement efficiency
Tight iliotibial (IT) band

Running:

Feet and/or knees rolling in
Hips dropping or twisting
Increased movement in lower back
Short stride length
Tight hamstrings/hips
Tight calves
Tight IT band
Weak inner thighs
Muscular imbalance


Pilates is so effective for athletes because it retrains the body to use the muscles more efficiently, thus conserving energy. An endurance athlete such as a runner, cyclist, or bi/tri-athlete who trains several hours a week, and who is not using the correct muscles efficiently, will find that early fatigue will destroy the technique of your stride or stroke. Also, Pilates offers what all athletes need the most: core strengthening, which helps to improve performance in both running and biking (and pretty much anything involving sports). Pilates works so effectively at the core, because it strengthens all the muscle layers. Pilates works extremely deeply and effectively to not just work all the core muscles, but to also establish control of the muscles providing functionality, stability, and balance to the pelvis and spine.

Pilates is amazing for runners, cyclists, and other athletes. Developing a strong core has huge rewards and can help you achieve your fitness goals.

My next article will go into more depth, and in particular the benefits of Pilates in golf. Golf is a sport that is played by millions, and is one of the leading causes of back problems. Pilates wasn't invented to improve a golf swing, but when you look at the functions of Pilates and the benefits it's not hard to have many people fooled. Pilates is the best form of exercise for golf (just ask Tiger Woods)!

Myth Busting - Pilates Style

A few extremely common Pilates misconceptions I felt compelled to write about tonight:

1.) Pilates does not use physio-balls, medicine balls, exercise balls, or any other type of balls you can possibly associate with exercise. Joeseph Pilates NEVER taught using them, and if you see an instructor teaching with one, and calling it "Pilates" you should RUN. Or, at least realize that they were poorly trained, and have a certification that is more than likely not from a reputable certification program.

Physio balls have their use. And are great! However, there are a lot of wonderful things in the fitness world. And, not all of them are called Pilates.

2.) Pilates is not Yoga, and it's not "relaxing". I covered this in the last article if you're looking for an explanation.

3.) Pilates is not just for women. Pilates was designed by a man for men, and was only later adopted for women later on when his clientele gained a huge spike from NYC dancers.

4.) Pilates can cause weight loss. It's a great way to lose weight! The biggest misconception about Pilates is that it's relaxed, slow, and easy, because much of it you get to do lying on a mat. This is hardly the case. As an instructor and an elite athlete, I can say that a Pilates mat done at a fast pace with good form can easily get your heart rate to a cardio level, and leave you in a pool of sweat.

Pilates requires so much concentration because you're asking the body to complete accurate, controlled body movements. At the end of your session when you finally stop focusing on the exercise at hand you will notice. Wow, I am sweating a lot. Often, because so much focus is dedicated to the exercise that the hour of hard work passed by faster than you thought possible.

5.) Pilates does not require flexibility. It's 100% not a requisite for performing Pilates. Yes, Pilates is easier if you're flexible. But many things are easier if you're flexible. The exercise itself will promote and improve flexibility without ever directly doing a stretch only exercise. Flexibility is created by dynamic movement, and making the muscles work for strength, but at the same time with stretch.

I could go on forever, but these 5 general misconceptions are very common.

Pilates vs. Yoga - What's the difference?

Yoga and Pilates Fusion Workouts (why not too)

Combining different forms of exercise is a hot trend these days. However, its popularity is generally among the creators that make money off the ill-informed whom so often fall for the pitch line “best of both worlds.” As a certified Pilates instructor that has taken more than my fair share of Yoga classes I can say that programs such as Yolates, PiYoga, and Yogilates are not Yoga, and definitely not Pilates. And, do not offer the full benefits of either Yoga or Pilates. The biggest misconception is that Pilates is like Yoga. This is not accurate, and its important to understand the differences between Yoga and Pilates.

What are the Goals of Yoga?

The practice of Yoga has history that spans the globe. Yoga is a very spiritual practice. The original mission of Yoga was to cleanse and purify the body to receive the Divine Power of God. The practice is much more mainstream today, but still on some levels preserves this as the practice goal, but most use it to promote health, fitness, and mental stability. To achieve the full benefits of this practice, Yoga practitioners push their bodies and minds to the limit. In a Yoga class, you hold positions, assume complex postures, control breathing, all while trying to keep the mind at peace. Classes often include chanting and end with resting postures.

What are the Goals of Pilates?

Developed only 90 years ago by Joseph Pilates, the Pilates method is a purely physical experience that does not contain any spiritual or religious elements. The Pilates practice is a sound anatomical strengthening program that is based on modern wisdom about the human body. If someone says Pilates is “relaxing” then they are not doing Pilates correctly. Pilates is difficult, and challenging. And, at no point is relaxing accept the end where you leave invigorated, but at the same time with a sense of self improvement.

The typical Pilates workout includes mat exercises and apparatus routines with the primary goal of improving core strength. Pilates exercises move quickly from one exercise to the next with a limited number of repetitions and absolutely no static poses. This couldn't be further from Yoga. The protocol of Pilates is to exercise dynamically, pushing the muscles to perform in ways that translate functionally into real life.

Similarities between Yoga and Pilates

There are some similarities between Yoga and Pilates. Joseph Pilates drew upon his own practice of Yoga, among other things, to create his training system that has often been called “yoga in motion.” Both Yoga, although devoid of equipment, and Pilates focus on developing a high degree of muscle strength and control through focus and concentration. In fact, during the majority of Joseph Pilates’ lifetime, his method was never called “Pilates” but rather “Contrology,” that Pilates explained was “The Art of Control.”

The biggest difference between Pilates and Yoga is in the type of class you choose. A private Pilates session on Pilates equipment focuses on your specific needs and is tailored to address your strengths and weaknesses according to your instructor's assessment of your ability. A Yoga class, on the other hand, is a communal experience where you can be more independent in your practice while benefiting from the energy of a group environment.

Both Yoga and Pilates are systems of exercise intended for execution in a predetermined order. Purists (like myself) argue that following order is essential to maintaining the integrity of each method and that exercises taken out of context or reconfigured is not nearly as effective. There is a reason that Sun Salutations follow a certain format and that the Pilates Abdominal series follows a precise order. Each method is organized to cycle through distinct movement patterns as well as particular muscle recruitment, similar to circuit training.

Stick with one or the other. Or better yet both! If you practice Pilates it will help your Yoga and vice-versa. Have any questions about your Pilates workout? Ask!