A guide to Pilates Training and Qualifications for Teachers/Instructors Part2
Do you want to teach Pilates? At the time of writing there are 55 companies offering Pilates qualifications. How do you choose between the myriad of different courses?
Pilates can be taught purely as matwork using just a mat and other small equipment such as foam rollers, gym balls and bands. There is also studio Pilates where you will be taught using big equipment such as a reformer, Cadillac, ladder barrel and Pilates chair (Wundachair). In most cases someone wanting to train as a Pilates instructor will learn how to teach matwork first and then learn how to teach on the big equipment.
Did you know that in the UK anyone could call himself or herself a Pilates instructor? It is not a legally defined term but it is unlikely that anyone without any qualifications would be able to obtain insurance putting both the instructor and the client at risk should anything go wrong.
Types of training course
There are (Fitness) Pilates Instructor training courses, often held over a weekend, so maybe 14 hours of lectures, sometimes followed by a short exam at a later date (or submission of a video of yourself teaching a class) and some coursework. In most cases these courses are marketed at qualified gym and aerobics instructors working within the gym chains or independents who already have fitness qualifications who are interested in increasing their range of fitness skills. These courses would not give the successful candidate a REPs qualification (see below).
Then there are the ‘level 3 REPs’ courses. Please see the separate article about REPs but, in a sentence, a national body has produced a definition of what a Pilates instructor at this level should know in terms of knowledge, skills and competence and someone holding a qualification at this level will have demonstrated their ability against this national standard.
Within the range of level 3 courses there are shorter courses with pre-reading course notes, about 21 hours of lectures, followed by producing a video of themselves teaching and some coursework which usually take a couple of months to achieve. Again, these are aimed at people who are already Fitness Professionals with a level 2 or level 3 qualifications such as aerobics instructors or personal trainers. The organisations offering these courses are likely to offer a wide range of fitness qualifications but fewer courses specifically aimed at Pilates instructors and they are unlikely to teach the large equipment courses.
There are also much longer level 3 courses with 100 plus hours of lectures, numerous written exams, 50 hours supervised teaching (working with qualified, experienced instructors) and teaching exams taking many months of work. The companies offering these courses, by their very nature, tend to be larger with a wide support network of Pilates teacher trainers. They also have further courses to broaden instructor’s knowledge once the initial qualification has been completed successfully and are often able to offer training in the large equipment along with support associations.
Following on from this are the long term intensive training courses, in the manner of an apprenticeship, often lasting 14 months to several years but whose course is not recognised by REPs. Within the Pilates community these courses are often well regarded, producing excellent instructors but they may not cover the entire curriculum as defined by REPs. This was the original way that Pilates teachers were trained and these training providers often also offer continuing education courses on the big studio equipment.
How do you choose from all those different courses?
It’s worthwhile taking a long-term view on your career as a Pilates teacher when you’re looking at training courses, rather than just picking the cheapest course or the course that your friends/colleagues have done. For many people, their first matwork course is just a stepping stone into a broader world of Pilates training going through additional courses on small equipment, qualifications in working with clients with lower back pain, to large equipment and studio instructor qualifications. In this case it would be wise to choose a training course which allows you to do this.
As with any subject, some ‘styles’ of teaching may suit you better than another ‘style’. For example, Pilates Foundation teachers are renowned for their attention to detail and will often teach more slowly, whereas Stott classes can often be very intense and fast. I would recommend attending classes from as many different training schools as possible prior to making a decision to work out for yourself which style is going to suit you the best.
If you are going to complete a supervised teaching period you would be well advised to check where the supervising teachers are based to ensure that you take travel time and availability (i.e. if you need to do your teaching practise at weekends but your local teachers only have time to supervise you during working hours) into account to check that this will actually be achievable for you. However, trainees often find that they learn so much from this experience they end up doing more than the minimum required and travel longer distances to more experienced teachers.
Please read the separate article about REPs so you can decide whether you need to take a course which allows you to appear on the Register of Exercise Professionals.
In summary, there are many different training courses available out there and it is essential that you take into account your own requirements and to the level that you are likely to want to study as you may otherwise end up retraining with a different company. Try many different teachers, with as many different styles as you can find to help you with your decision.
(c) Julia Crossman 2013 http://www%2Cpilateswithjulia.com/
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