Check out the Centerworks Awesome Workshops

Check out this AWESOME WORKSHOP!

Fantastic Feet!  Exercises to Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes

with Aliesa George and Centerworks®

Discover:

• Why it’s important to focus on foot fitness!
• Lots of easy exercises to help you improve strength, and flexibility!
• How this simple foot-care system can help reduce foot pain!
• Enjoy healthy and happy feet! And the rest of your body will feel better too!

Don’t miss this FUN, exercise-packed Fantastic Feet Workshop!

Thursday, February 26th from 5:30 – 8:30pm!

Location:  The Pilates Studio of Little Rock, 5515 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, AR

To register contact www.PilatesLittleRock.com

P.S.

If you can’t make it to this workshop…

Check out all the great foot-fitness products available at www.foot-care-help.com

Studio Owners – If you’d like to host a workshop at your facility, contact Aliesa George now!

I was eating lunch today and talking shop with one of my Centerworks-trained, PMA Certified Pilates teachers,  and we ended up on the topic of:   How to effectively get clients enthusiastic about Pilates, AND keep them signing up for lessons so we can really help them see the benefits Pilates has to offer.

So I had to put on my thinking cap and work through what I’ve done in the past 25 years as a health professional, and particularly in the last 15 years as a Pilates teacher to motivate my clients to stay committed to their exercise program.  I feel very fortunate that I’ve always had a very busy training schedule and most of my clients have been with me forever.  Well maybe not forever, but some clients have been consistent for well over 10 years, and my most recent clients have been enrolled for at least 3-5 years!

Everyone that has stuck with it has been with me since they started.  Now I realize that the last sentence seems kind of funny….but that IS the real question!

WHY have they stuck with it???

And how do we get more people to experience, enjoy, and continue with a long-term wellness program?

If you’re a Pilates teacher, personal trainer, or parent these principles will apply!  If you’re a client – struggling to stay on the exercise bandwagon, you can easily apply this information to your workout program too.

Here are Six Ways To Help Your Clients

Stick with Their Pilates Workout Program.

Dig a deep well of never-ending motivation and spark creativity for designing effective Pilates or general fitness programs with these helpful tips:

1. What are your Health, Fitness, and Exercise Goals?
2. Why did you start Pilates? (or other program)
3. What benefits/results do you expect from your Pilates Training Program?
4. What is the most challenging exercise you struggle with?
5. What would you like to see improve the most in your other sport/athletic activities?
6. What do you wish was easier in your daily life activities?

These six questions contain critical information that you really need to know to:

• Find the motivating HOT Buttons that will keep people bouncing through the door for their next scheduled workout… forever!
• Be sure that all goals and expectations are matched with the right exercises.
• Make every movement and exercise relevant, meaningful, and goal-oriented.
• Demonstrate that every exercise has a purpose and you are following a plan.
• Ensure that they know the WHY, can tell you the purpose, and understand the importance of the exercises in their workout program. (There should be a reason for both exercise selection AND the order of exercises in a program.)
• Both you the trainer and the client should be able to associate the exercises and developing movement habits to the benefit of reaching goals, improving sport or athletic performance, and enhancing the quality of daily life activities.

Personally, I drive this information home every time I see a client for a session.  Goals might change, we may get off on a tangent sometimes, but I am constantly reminding them of WHY it’s so very important that they do the exercises we’re working on and what in the rest of their life this will benefit!

I also try to relate the movements executed on the Pilates equipment to other daily life or fitness activities, so clients can see how many other opportunities they have to practice the things we’re working on outside of their training session.

If I’m lucky enough to be working with a client who’s got the time and energy to do more on their own…they will make huge strides forward much faster.

If I’m the motivating factor for their exercise program (and they know it…)  Then if I’m really good at my job, they love how they feel after a workout, and can see the value in what we’re doing – I can be confident that they’ll stick with me, because they won’t exercise on their own!  And progress will happen at whatever pace I can encourage them at, which might also be dependent on how frequently they are working with me.

I’m not looking to create a bunch of co-dependent Pilates groupies…but it’s a fact that most people like personal attention, and will push themselves a bit harder with some friendly encouragement.  Plus it’s always nice to have a cheerleader to help celebrate Champagne moments when you do something right, have a breakthrough, and achieve a goal!

Two more things to always ask at the beginning of every workout, training session, and class:

1. How is your body feeling today?
2. Is there anything specific you’d like to focus on with today’s session?

It’s always appropriate to tweak things to accommodate a high or low energy day, or perhaps something has changed with their health status that is relevant their safety and the exercises you choose to do.

For example:

Many years ago I had a brand new client show up for a Beginner Mat Class.  She had just had back surgery!  AND her doctor had released her for exercise.  She was told her she didn’t need physical therapy and to do what she wanted to get healthy.  Here’s the problem…she still had stitches!!!

While Pilates is great for helping achieve a healthy back…starting a mat class and actively bending the spine, or heaven forbid…doing Rolling Like a Ball at this point in her recovery – would have sent this poor girl back to her surgeon!  Plus, for me to help her safely get back into exercise, private training on the equipment would be the very best place to start.  I had to help match her goals up with the best exercises…and at the moment, Matwork was definitely NOT the place to start.

Clients rely on the expertise of their teacher to craft a program.

But this is a TEAM effort that involves a lot of good communication.  Without input from our customers, it’s impossible for us to do a great job, so they’ll stick with it!

Ask the questions above to your students on a regular basis…they’ll see how much you care about their health and fitness, and you can do an excellent job of increasing motivation and designing safe, effective, and appropriate exercise programs.

The result…

You’ll help clients stick with their program and create a WIN-WIN, long-term partnership for better health.

What success strategies can you share that have helped YOU or your clients stick with their fitness program?

 Think I may turn this into a regular section and update & add posts with questions as they come in.

It’s so important that students interested in making the transition from client to Pilates teacher ask good questions and gather lots of information before making the decision about who to enroll with for their Pilates Teacher Training Workshops and apprenticeship. 

With the commitment of time, energy, and finances it takes to invest in your Pilates education – you want to be sure you’ve found the best program for you!

There are lots of great teachers and programs to compare.  Each has a different format for teaching the information, varying philosophies about the Pilates Method, slight or huge differences in how the exercises are executed and/or body placement (example being the controversy over the classical Pilates scoop vs. neutral spine,) and may provide varying degrees of support and assistance while you’re developing your teaching skills – learning how to cue, spot, and design safe and effective Pilates workout programs.

There are differences between programs in how many of the exercises are taught, and which pieces of the Pilates equipment – Reformer, Trapeze Table, Ladder Barrel, Spine Corrector, High/Electric Chair, Low/Wunda chair, small barrels, pedi pole, foot corrector, tensometers… are actually covered in the Teacher-Ed program.

Q: Is it important to get certified in both mat and machines pilates?

A: For your first question – YES, in the long run to be a Pilates teacher you should be trained in both Matwork & equipment.   The Pilates Method is a system 1/2 is Mat, the other 1/2 is the work on the equipment.  There are a lot of people who are just teaching Matwork – that can be an ok place to begin, but there’s a lot more to Pilates than this – and for many people the mat exercises may not be safe or appropriate, where there’s tons of things they could be doing with the equipment to improve their health. 

A well-qualified Pilates teacher that knows the whole Pilates system will be able to direct clients into the safest and best Pilates program and choose the right exercises to help them get avoid injury and get results.

Q: How much money is it to become certified?  

Answer:Fees for teacher training programs vary as each provider has their format broken down differently.  You need to budget not only for your workshops – but for lessons, classes and an apprenticeship for hands-on training to gain the experience you need under the guideance of a senior teacher.  It’s best to look at the whole picture when comparing programs.  I generally tell people that completing Pilates Teacher-Training is like getting a 4-year college degree in a year.  There’s that much to learn, and you’ll have expenses.

Q: Is it better to start teaching these classes at a young age if possible?

Answer:It’s not important that you begin teaching at a young age.  There are some teachers that start at 18, and others who begin training in their 50’s and older.  What’s more important is that you are an experienced Pilates student (preferably at at least a high intermediate level on both Matwork & equipment) before you enroll in a Teacher-Training program.  The more personal experience you have before you begin the process of learning how to be a teacher – the better!

Q: What types of certifications are available and how does your certification compare to the others out there?

Answer:You’ve got lots to choose from when selecting a training program.  On the market you’ll find everything from a $39.95 online Pilates “certificate,” a 1-weekend only Pilates workshop, to comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training programs requiring one, two, or more years of study.  (Please don’t opt for either of the first two on this list!) 

The cost of my program is comparable to other comprehensive programs available on the market. Follow this link to find more information about the Centerworks Pilates Teacher-Education Program.  

You might also check out information from the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA)to search for other programs.  You get what you pay for – cheaper & faster may not be the best route for a great education. 

It’s important to compare not only the price of a Pilates workshop, but location & travel expense, # of students in workshops, apprenticeship requirements, is the work taught on all the equipment, do you like the presenter, agree with how they teach, and feel like it’s someone you want to learn from, ect… 

I am in the midst of revising & updating my website – and will have additional info up to help people learn more things to ask so you can effectively compare programs.  Please check back soon & you should find more up on my site.

I hope you find this information helpful!  If you’re reading this blog and have other questions on the topic of Pilates Teacher Training, or other Pilates-related topics… Please drop me a comment – I’d love to reply.

I’m thrilled to see foot-care and foot exercise making national headlines! 

 Did you happen to see or hear the news?  I’m not a regular National Public Radio listener, but fate stepped in and brought it to my attention. So how did I find out?   It was a double whammy….which to me was a sign that I had to check it out. 

First, someone that heard the story on NPR and Googled Pilates & Foot Exercise which led them to my site to order Fantastic Feet and a Centerworks Pilates Foot Fitness Kit.  Bless them for commenting on their order form as to how the found me and my foot fitness products. 

My second wake up and take notice…was from a client at the health club I’m teaching at – who came in for a lesson and said – NPR had a story about the same problem I have with my feet (plantar fasciitis) and Pilates!  She was so excited and encouraged that Pilates was a great thing for her to be doing to improve not only her overall fitness level, but to really help reduce the pain in her feet and get her back to a normal lifestyle.

The information she heard in this story helped lend credibility to her Pilates teacher, that they’re on the right track with her Pilates exercise program and addressing her foot issues.

I think it’s great to have articles like this in the news that help reinforce the variety of benefits that clients can receive and achieve with a Pilates workout program.  I haven’t seen a lot written for the general public about the benefits of good shoes and exercising the feet.  Our feet desperately need more attention and usually don’t get addressed until a problem arises. (Unless someone is regularly participating in barefoot activities like Pilates, Yoga, or dance.) 

People actually think that it’s ok for their feet to hurt, and don’t think too much about the shoes their wearing and how they might be causing foot problems.  So I think it’s great that the NPR story addressed the problems with wearing Flip-flops, and open backed shoes.  There’s also a nice video from Podiatrist-turned-Pilates instructor Colleen Schwartz that demonstrates a few helpful exercises to get you going for foot care that can help reduce heel pain and help stretch the plantar fascia.

How great – A Podiatrist/Pilates instructor encouraging people to exercise their feet!  This is a wonderful tool for Pilates promotion to markets where general exercise is a problem due to foot issues. 

If the excuse is “I can’t exercise because it hurts my feet.” 

The reply is – “You can do Pilates, and over time we may be able to reduce or eliminate your foot pain, are you interested in learning more?”  

I found that so many of my clients benefited from a focus on specific exercises for the feet – that it’s the reason I wrote Fantastic Feet – Exercises to Strengthen the Ankles, Arches, and Toes.  I wanted people to have a resource to help develop a foot exercise program for home and travel.

If you’ve got friends, family or clients with foot issues encourage them to check out the NPR website and read the article “How to Keep your Feet Happy” by Allison Aubrey.  They can also watch the short foot exercise video that’s linked to this story in the Health & Fitness section.  Then if you’d be so kind, please spread the word about the foot-fitness resources available from Centerworks Pilates! 

Eliminate your risk for foot pain with exercise, and treat your feet to the support they deserve with good-fitting, comfortable, supportive shoes.”