When we teach someone new to Pilates, or when we teach a New Exercise to someone, we really want to help set them up for success.
We want our clients to feel capable and to have a positive experience in our sessions, which will ultimately set them up feeling empowered in themselves and their bodies and wanting to return to class again.
So what does it look like to set someone up for success and how we do this in our classes?
Firstly, it's important to understand the following about a Beginner or a Beginner Learner (someone learning an exercise for the first time)
They may take longer to get the hang of movements
Their movements can appear a bit disjointed and a bit clunky
They may be inconsistent with the way they perform the exercises
They require more repetition and consistency of exercises to learn the skill you're teaching
Given the above it's important as a teacher, for you to be patient with your clients, be ok with their movements not being "perfect", allow them to make mistakes, and be ok with this occurring on multiple occasions.
So when you are teaching clients new to Pilates or teaching a client a NEW exercise try to
Use a spring selection that supports the movement so they can perform more repetitions and learn the movement pattern
Use Simple cues, explain the movement using external cues, like the clothes they are wearing or an object around them.
Provide some silence between your cues, so that your clients can have time and space to make mistakes, feel the movements in their own body and have an opportunity to make their own corrections.
Provide Consistency with your exercise selection
Understanding these key principles and how to set your clients up for success will help you to feel more confident in your teaching and will allow your clients to feel empowered in their own bodies and practice.
Try some of these techniques the next time you are teaching someone new to Pilates and see how they stack up to what you've been doing previously. For a FREE GUIDE on What exercises to teach to Beginner Reformer Pilates Clients Click the button below