While Pilates was ranked #9 in the ACSM report, by my assessment of the top ten fitness trends it appears to me that many, if not all, are distinctly related to Pilates training.  In fact I can see application of the Pilates system and Pilates principles for whole-body health to every single one of the top trends.

This is great news for Pilates teachers who are eager to share the great benefits of Pilates, and even better news for the potential increase in health enhancement of people across the globe!  Joseph Pilates would be so happy to know that his legacy continues to grow and flourish,  and millions of people are enthusiastically participating in Pilates.

Whether it’s Pilates, strength training, personal training, core training, specialized fitness programs for older adults, exercise programs for children, functional fitness, sport-specific training, or group personal training.  Pilates definitely fits the bill to provide excellent benefits for strength, flexibility, body awareness, control, and health!

Check out the article I read about the ACSM Fitness Forecast at Pilates-Pro!

The old saying, “You can’t fix it if it ain’t broke…”  Well if you’re not aware of what you’ve been doing to “break” it – how could “fixing” it even begin to solve the problem.  The first “fix” has got to be with the mind-body connection and improved body awareness, or old bad habits will be impossible to break.

Regardless of your athletic  or dance background, or how old you were when you started your first exercise program, or what physical shape your body is in – it’s never too late to improve your health AND strengthen your mind-body connection!  It just takes the desire to work on it – and a good coach to guide you along the way!

It’s been interesting hanging out in the local health clubs recently….I know that there are lots of GREAT personal trainers and Pilates teachers out there...but there seems to be such a difference between the typical weight-room training sessions  that I’ve observed lately, and a one-on-one Pilates training session.  I suppose unless you’ve experienced both – you don’t know the difference.  But they seem to be light years apart in the amount of fine-tuning and corrections a client actually receives to be in the right alignment and improve technique.  I’m sure these comments will stir up some controversy!

I find it difficult to keep my mouth shut at the gym watching these poor people do exercises in absolutely horrible alignment with zero support in the right places, or being asked to do an exercise that is way to advanced when there might be something much more appropriate to start with.  At the moment… this is probably the best venue for me to express myself!

** (For the purposes of the rest of this article – when I say “Trainer” I’m referring to anyone you hire to assist you with your wellness program (personal trainer, Pilates Instructor, Yoga teacher, coach, or other health professional.)

For the less experienced clients out there who are wondering how to get the most from your workouts and hire the right Pilates teacher, Personal Trainer, or Coach.  Here are my tips suggestions:

• If you are not asked to complete a fairly comprehensive personal assessment, medical history, and goal setting evaluation before you begin – proceed with caution… I know that it seems like a hassle to fill out all these forms, but this personal information and/or fitness evaluation gives a trainer the information they need to help design a personalized program that’s appropriate for you.

• If you complete assessment forms and you have had a recent injury, surgery, or medical issues – don’t keep these details a secret! You might even be pro-active and schedule a consult with your doctor or physical therapist to get written pre-approval to start your new fitness or Pilates program.  All this will only help your trainer do a better job for you!  Bring any guidelines, therapy exercises, or information with you that might be useful for your new wellness coach.

• If you’ve notified your trainer that you have a medical issue, back problem, or injury and they don’t seem to be taking that fact into consideration as they are putting you through your paces…Remind them of the problem.  If they ignore the issue – STOP Immediately, Do NOT finish the session, ask for a refund and find a new trainer.

• If any trainer works with you and says, “do 8 more reps.”  And then proceeds to tell you about their weekend, or asks you questions about the weather – or any other conversation unrelated to how your body feels while executing the exercise – they are distracting your focus , shutting the door on improving body awareness , and minimizing the concentration you might need for your effort.  (I need to point out that watching TV, and possibly the music on your IPod may be doing the same thing!)

• If any trainer explains  how to do an exercise, demonstrates it for you, but then never actually looks at your body to make corrections for your breathing, form,  or technique….in my opinion – you’re not really getting your money’s worth. Either they don’t really care about you, or they don’t know enough to critically look at your body and make corrections.  Either way your potential risk for injury just got higher, and they aren’t doing everything they could to help improve your body awareness and health.

• If you are doing an exercise and it hurts–anywhere – Notify your trainer immediately.  If they are NOT able to modify, adapt, or change the exercise to make it safer and more appropriate – find a new trainer! There is a difference between muscle fatigue and pain!  A well-qualified trainer will work with you to be sure that everything you do is beneficial AND safe.   The better your body awareness is – the easier you’ll be able to distinguish between the two.  When in doubt…Leave it out!  Or take a break.  Or go on to a different exercise.  If you’re not used to paying attention to how your body feels during exercise, there may be a learning curve for both you and your trainer to find the right exercises for your program.

• If you are at risk for Osteoporosis, or have Osteopenia (the beginning stages of bone loss)  your doctor probably wants you doing weight-bearing exercise.  However – guidelines in the U.S.A.  for exercise safety are no forward bending, side bending or twisting!  Is your trainer selecting appropriate exercises for you to help build bone density and avoid fractures? If you’re not sure – Find a new trainer.  If you inquire about these guidelines and they can’t tell you why they are important…..Or they’ve never heard of them (and then they ask you to do another ab crunch…)  The potential for you to get injured just went way up!  Please be safe.

• It’s important for every exercise to have a purpose.  Can your trainer tell you why you’re doing everything in your workout program? Knowing the benefits will help make everything you do more valuable to your health and well-being.  (And you may be less likely to skip the exercises you hate – because you know that they are in fact the very best ones for you to do!)

• Ask questions about the qualifications, training, experience, education, certification, and areas of expertise for the trainers you are considering.  There is no hard and fast right or wrong rule here.  Just realize that you will probably get what you pay for.  Sometimes hiring a new or less-experienced trainer because they are “cheaper” may not be in your best interest.  But a few sessions with a seasoned veteran – and they might be able to oversee a continuation of your program with a newer instructor (especially  if you are starting a program and have medical concerns.).

• Your goals and priorities will change – is your workout program changing to help meet your objectives?

• Never hesitate to ask to work with a different trainer. It’s always appropriate to make a change, and can be good to get opinions and insight from a fresh perspective –  It’s YOUR body!

Discover and develop your own sense of body awareness so that you can make corrections in your form, and pace yourself to get the most of your workouts.  Always listen to your body and make safe exercise choices.  Know that workouts with a well-qualified trainer will always be money well spent.  Use your trainer to help guide and motivate you to stay active and healthy and let them assist you with a safe and appropriate workout program.  If you ever have any concerns – express them, and know that there are lots of great fitness and Pilates professionals out there…Keep looking until you find the one with the experience, expertise and personality to meet your needs.

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?