Are You Ready To Do Pilates?

When I meet with new or potential clients, many want to know if they are ready to do Pilates. As in, are they in good enough shape to start doing the difficult, acrobatic movements that they see thin, strong people doing on the internet? I’ve also had new clients show up who expected and wanted Pilates to be extremely challenging. Don’t get me wrong – Pilates (and any sport or activity) has challenges, especially as you deepen your practice of it; but Pilates was created to meet every person where they are at. Essentially, everybody is ready to do Pilates right now! So why all the confusion? 

I Blame the Internet

The internet, social media, and even apps have had a big part in growing my business. Heck, I even have a fitness app so you can work out at home! They’ve also really helped the visibility of the thing I love so much. If you haven’t noticed yet, though, the more you search or follow a topic, the more it shows up for you… And not all of what you get is going to be great. 

This means if you’ve been curious about Pilates, and searching for studios or YouTube workouts, you will start getting suggestions for more related content. Some of it will be helpful, while others might be misleading or even inaccurate. People who have huge followings may have great knowledge to share, or they might just be really great at marketing. Yet the more people “follow” them, the more their content gets spread around. 

If you’re just wanting to learn more about Pilates but all you see are fit twenty-something people doing acrobatic and impossible-looking movements, of course you’ll make assumptions! If this type of content has got you wondering if you’re ready to do Pilates, try changing your search terms to what you’re really curious about. Some ideas could be: 

• Pilates for Rehab
• Seniors that do Pilates
• Pilates for Runners
• Beginner’s Pilates
• Pilates for Back Pain

This will help you find content that (hopefully) will reflect your own reality a bit, and show you that yes, you are ready to do Pilates! 

What Pilates is Really Like

When Joseph Pilates created Pilates (then known as Contrology), it was a set of just thirty-four exercises that were to be done to improve people’s strength, flexibility, and mobility. Even to me, this sounds terribly boring. Thankfully it’s evolved since then to include several apparatuses and many, many variations to spice things up. A lot of the complicated and “fancy” routines you see have been created by instructors trying to keep classes interesting! 

I’ve been doing Pilates myself for a long time now, and I’ve learned that there are lots of ways to keep it both interesting and approachable for people of all abilities. Some things I’ve done (and still do) are: 

• Find variations of the same, great exercises and improve your technique
• Learn new ways to feel the exercises in my own body to help others
• Create themed classes (like Pilates for Runners)
• Adapt mat Pilates to the wunda chair, or take reformer exercises to the mat
• Focus on one aspect, like the feet, rolling, or rotations
• Use props to make the old exercises feel brand new
• Use the apparatus more to build strength on the mat

Pilates can be done in many different ways, but the goal remains the same: to help you get better and stronger! 

One More Pilates Secret

If you’ve been seeing the smooth, controlled movements of Pilates instructors online and think “I could never do that!”, I have a secret for you. The more smooth and controlled it looks, the more strength, mobility, and flexibility the practitioner has. These people have learned how to use their legs, arms, back, and core all at once to execute advanced movements. They’ve spent years learning to connect with their body and the apparatus, something that is learned with time and practice. You 100% do not have to meet that standard to be ready to do Pilates. 

As a beginner, don’t be fooled to think those smooth workouts are easy, because they aren’t. Those people are working really hard! Rather, when you first come to Pilates, you’ll learn the basic movements, how to use the apparatus properly and safely, and work with your instructor to find the modifications needed to meet you where you are. With practice and time, you’ll get stronger, more flexible, and have better mobility. Not only will your Pilates get easier (and then harder as you progress), everything else you do in your life will get easier, too.