Have you ever wondered what is behind the claims made by Pilates instructors? Are they really certified? Do they have any formal training? Are they qualified to teach you how to exercise? Pilates teacher training Sydney certification is a hot topic. It’s also a contentious one, as anyone who has undertaken the Pilates certification process can tell you.
You can read more about those controversies elsewhere; here we will try to give you some objective information about the Pilates certification process, and why some people feel it lacks rigor and transparency. Trying to find out what happens during Pilates instructor training reveals some surprising and disturbing facts: there is no national certifying body that sets standards or monitors instructor-training programs; anyone can claim to be an instructor; and there are very few standards for instructors, even those who have gone through an instructor-training program.
You want to know if you should go to Pilates instructor training. Here’s how it works. You show up at the studio and they give you a video to watch. It shows an instructor demonstrating the exercises on an attractive young woman who is already in perfect form. We call this “the Happy Body” and it makes us feel inadequate and frustrated. The instructor speaks in a soothing voice and measures her remarks so that we can understand everything, even though we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing. Inevitably someone will say: “I don’t care about her form — she’s too thin.”
But it doesn’t matter what her form is like; the point is that she’s beautiful and has a good body. You can’t put those two things together or even think of them as separate; they are one thing, the point of the whole exercise. The camera will linger lovingly on her abdomen, her shoulders, her calf muscles, but when it comes to your body, the camera pulls back out of range.
Pilates instructor certification has been getting a lot of press lately, with some instructors charging as much as $8,000 to take the course. Is the certification worth it? Pilates is a method of exercise created by Joseph Pilates in the early part of the 20th century. It gained popularity after being featured in several movies, including “The Red Shoes” and “Funny Face.” Pilates Instructor Certification is a program designed by Stott Pilates to provide new instructors with the basic information needed to begin teaching Pilates classes.
The program consists of five modules, each focusing on one aspect of becoming a Pilates instructor. There are four modules that must be completed before taking an exam that consists of questions from all five modules. The fifth module is optional, and focuses on specific training for pregnant women and clients with back problems.
Despite the popularity of Pilates, it is still little known in the fitness industry. A common misconception about Pilates is that it is an easy certification to obtain. Having taught many of these courses, I can tell you they are anything but easy. The truth is that most people who want to teach Pilates have no business being Pilates instructors. Yet, because there are still so few legitimate instructors available, most studios are willing to take just about anyone with a pulse.
A lot of people who want to be Pilates instructors have no business being instructors. Yet because the demand for these courses is high, they are often able to find jobs teaching anyway. I have seen so many people start this training only to quit in frustration midway through, whether it be due to scheduling conflicts or lack of motivation or some other reason. Pilates may not require as much skill as other forms of exercise like weight lifting or aerobics, but teaching takes knowledge that cannot be learned in a weekend course.
I don’t like Pilates certification. I think it’s a waste of money and time, and I think you should feel free to ignore it. But I know why people go for it: they think it’s the only way to get a job teaching Pilates. That’s not true. There are two ways to teach Pilates. One is to get certified by a recognized Pilates organization, the other is to start teaching on your own.
Which way you choose doesn’t make any difference in what you teach, or how good you are at teaching, or how many clients you get, or whether or not they are satisfied with your work. If you are good at explaining the principles of what you are doing, if you can help clients improve their abilities in a way that they can feel, then whether or not you have certification shouldn’t matter. For certification you may check https://www.polestarpilates.edu.au/