It isn’t uncommon for the fitness industry to seem attractive to those seeking a career where they can invest in other’s self-improvement, improve quality of life, and in turn maintain their own health. With any career choice it is important to weigh your options, motives, and ability. Pilates is one of the most popular fitness trends in recent years and, because of this, a potential red flag is raised. For those looking to become certified as a Pilates instructor be prepared to dive deep into the history, terminology, and purpose behind the practice. This will allow you to rise above the fad and stick to the meat and potatoes of what Pilates truly represents. This raises your odds of having a successful career, and will cement your conviction in Pilates long before you throw making money into the mix.

As we all know, a trend comes and goes, but if you are dedicated to becoming a Pilates instructor you have to be willing to embrace and relay what you have learned even once the time comes when Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow have sold off their Pilates machines.

Since the early 1990’s Pilates has gained popularity with the pop culture devotees. This is good and bad. Not only does the exposure give a much needed exercise method a chance to make a dent in the disease and injury grasp that is ailing American’s and numerous other cultures, but it has also given credibility where it’s due, in a world where everyone needs a television endorsement to believe in an exercise regime. Pilates isn’t a miracle drug or six-week weight loss program, it’s a mindset, a layered doctoring of a certain set of beliefs that unite the body with the wholeness that holistic healing offers.

Questions to ask:

• What is your motivation?

Pilates most agrees with those that are willing to let it evolve and become a lifestyle for its clients, but more importantly for themselves. There are vast healing components found in Pilates that are applicable to spinal abnormalities, muscular imbalances, as well as serious conditions such as Parkinson’s’ Disease and intense injuries (such as a torn ACL.) This makes you a part of the healthcare world. It takes a soul that is sensitive to others, patient, and understanding to really help those that are struggling with health conditions.

Pilates certification and proper training is quite the investment. It is an investment that may be only paid back in equal parts funds to be balanced out by the personal reward of accomplishment. There is potential to make money in the Pilates industry but there is also a large majority of people who either teach as a supplemental part of their income or give themselves over to the career and work very hard at succeeding. There is more to be said o f a career in Pilates than just bringing home the bacon, you develop life long practices, mind control that can become all the return on your investment that you need.

If Pilates is just on your list as an option to rival that of personal training, or physical therapy, keep in mind that Pilates is not as popular as one-on-one session training, and is much more popular with group class environments so you have to be able to multi task and be attentive to a lot of people at once.

• Are you good at teaching?

Teaching goes far beyond just explaining something to another person, especially in Pilates. With Pilates, an explanation of the work itself will ultimately melt into the development of your client’s experience, which will then become a rhythm of understanding reaping result. The information that is shared and digested between a teacher and their student, whether it is in a class environment or with an individual solely, requires complete physical, emotional, and spiritual rapt attentiveness from their teacher. This is because Pilates takes on a life of its own when it is acted out through a rotating chamber of kinetics, visual, and vocal elucidation.

As a teacher, you will be the portal by which each of your students is introduced to their own holistic pathway of Pilates healing and wellness. This means that your full commitment to editing their form, understanding their goals, and applying proper programs design to each, will make you a better instructor and elevate your status from one who has learned Pilates to one who has the ability to contribute to the proper reeducation of those who hope to become skilled themselves.

• Are you a firm believer in the Pilates way of life?

This can be the defining factor between becoming a Pilates teacher and becoming a teacher of other health and fitness modalities. When Joseph Pilates introduced Pilates to the world he had high hopes of enabling people to overcome serious injuries and achieve whole body wellness. His beliefs had a backbone with that of mental and spiritual healing as well as the physical conditions.

Make sure that even if you are well versed in the methodologies of Pilates that you understand by which the entire mantra of Pilates was to be established. This requires research and development on your part, because the clients that will be seeking out Pilates as their form of exercise and rehabilitation will want to know that you understand their reasoning for taking Pilates. Even if you don’t believe in every aspect of the Pilates policy, it is necessary for the benefit of your students that you are educated in all facets of the belief system.

• Are you a self starter?

Being your own boss sounds so refreshing in a culture of deadlines and pencil pushing, doesn’t it? Day after day you would be surrounded by health-minded individuals, with the added liberty of being able to shoot out of the “office” to get in your own Pilates session or quick jog. Teaching Pilate may be as close to heaven on earth as you can get, it all depends on what your strengths and weakness are.

It’s easy to romanticize and new job opportunity, and we all do. Besides it would seem that such a career might even be the epitome of the American dream, one in which you are able to dictate your own schedule. What better way to get that flexibility and freedom back into your life than by being a Pilates instructor! It is true that on a general basis, a Pilates instructor can decide how many students, classes and continuing education courses to involve themselves in. However as there is with any two-sided coin, you must be aware of the flip side of any occupational situation before forging ahead. And yes, even a career in Pilates does have its downfalls, and works better for some than others.

One of the major qualifications that one must consider before signing on the dotted line of their Pilates certificate, is that to be successful and effective in the Pilates profession you have to be honest with yourself about your ability to be self-motivated. Some personalities thrive in environments where they are given tasks to complete and get a positive charge out of following through with those tasks. Pilates is not that kind of job. You and only you will be the one to generate any and all tasks.

Some people have problems with office type jobs, and can’t stand the caged in feeling of the day in day out regime. While it may seem that Pilates won’t ever become a boring routine, you must add a heaping spoonful of reality to your Pilates pudding. Everything becomes less exciting after you do it enough times. The plus side to Pilates is that there are spiritual groundings in the teachings of Pilates that will help you stay centered in your instruction and allow for self-rejuvenation. Because Pilates goals are unlike a job, where the goals of the manager or owner automatically become your goals, as a Pilates instructor you will be continuously motivated by the needs of your clients. Only if you continuously strive for more and more clients.

Take inventory of when you have been most happy in your career in the past, and when you have been most unhappy. Whether or not the same job descriptions you have had in the past are applicable to Pilates or not, there will be a common thread of what you excelled in as opposed to what fell short in.

The benefits of a career in Pilates does allow for a more flexible schedule, but if you don’t handle free time well, time management may just be the downfall of your Pilates career. Pilates also is a job that works for those types of people that don’t mind isolation. Most often it will be just you and a few clients in a classroom or you will be with a client one-on-one for an hour. While you may develop relationships with those clients, it will not act like a common social network as other 9-5 job sometimes do.

Without the padding of other co-workers you also need to ask yourself if you believe in your ability to create a steady stream of work without the instruction of others. Keeping yourself busy with clients means that you will have to either get hired at a studio and work your way up by taking on more and more classes or private sessions, or investing in your own equipment and studio. The latter is obviously the much higher risk for newcomers to the Pilates profession, and not recommended until you have extensive experience with understanding Pilates workload and demands.

• Are you interested in exercise science, physiology and body mechanics?

Pilates isn’t only understanding the mind-body connection or mastering its surplus of flexibility and relaxation techniques. There is quite an extensive association with Pilates to be found in the all-inclusive text that is our physical being. Understanding metabolism, how the body functions in healthy and unhealthy conditions, developing a sharp knowledge of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and applying these facts to the Pilates methods are absolutely consequential to becoming a safe, effective and successful Pilates trainer.

All of the secrets of the body need to be sifted through and fully retained, because body mechanics and exercise science are vital to the practicality and functionality of Pilates training. Understanding the body isn’t just a knowing where certain body parts are and what they do. If that were the case, a passing grade in physiology might as well be one round of Milton Bradley’s board game Operation. Understanding the body and how it should move, what happens when it isn’t moving correctly and how to avoid injury, heal injury, and understand the chemical exchanges inside the body as well as educating yourself about certain medical conditions are a big part of becoming a Pilates instructor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you understand why you are motivated to become a Pilates trainer and you find that it is entrenched in a true desire to help, heal, and educate others through the Pilates regime, then you are in a good place to continue whittling down your personal prerequisites for joining a Pilates training program.

If you find that you are constantly complimented on your patience and ability to thoroughly explain new things to others, than you can take another step in the right direction.

If you truly have explored all of the aspects of the Pilates way of life and find your self, if not embracing, than wholeheartedly respecting the ideology, than you can yet move ahead another step closer to becoming a Pilates instructor.

If you are a self-starter and have a knack for physiology and yearn to learn more about exercise science and health conditions, then you can pretty much assume that Pilates may just be the right occupation for you.

Stott Pilates is one of the leading manufacturers of equipment and home video programs in the world. It also has a highly evolved course-training program that offers quite a few options for the inquisitive trainer. These wide ranging options create a tier of building blocks in which they can pace their education and their application of the course education in a studio environment. Stott Pilates notes on their website that they are considered the “Ivy League” school of Pilates. Stott Pilates is a very well branded company, known worldwide for their accomplishments. They are perhaps one of the most commonly associated Pilates centers, respectively, in the derivate pool of Pilates training facilities.

Their extensive program options include an Intensive Program, which includes Level 1 mat work and exercise based machine work. They also offer a Comprehensive Program, which is an intermediate program for those that have had introductory experience with Pilates. This type of certification will add structure and functionality to previous Pilates knowledge. They offer an Advanced Program that incorporates previous intermediate experience with advanced equipment education.

They also offer a Rehabilitation Program, which is one of the only certification courses that offer a separation between traditional Pilates training and the rehabilitation aspect of Pilates. This is a very unique feature and gives a home to those interested in Pilates certification for the sole purpose of become a Pilates physical therapist.

However, there is a new certification program called Group SPX Program. This is for those who wish to only teach group Pilates classes. As a Pilates instructor it is extremely valuable to be able to teach group classes in conjunction with personal one-on-one training. A separate certification for Pilates group classes may not be the best investment of time or money. However, that all depends on your long-term goals for your career as a Stott Pilates trainer.

Teachers: They do not advertise their prices online but do offer a hotline and email address for inquiries. However after some digging I located a price sheet posted For the Intensive Level one class if you wish to complete the mat course in its entirety it costs (approx.) $5, 875. If you are hoping to incorporate machine work into your course that grand total will be (approx.) $7.750. For the Comprehensive class, which according to their chart is based in Toronto, costs (approx.) $4,250, for the Advanced Program (approx.) $5,500. The Rehabilitation Program, called ISP for injuries and special populations is (approx.) $5,500. The Group SPX Program for Mat Levels 1 and 2 is $5,875. For the Group training with the Reformer Level 1 and 2 is (approx.) $7,750. This does not include continuing education fees, or any workshops outside of the course training specifications As you can tell, Stott Pilates is quite the investment, because not only are you purchasing the training you are purchasing the brand that goes along with it.

Students: Finding a Stott Pilates studio or Stott Pialtes certified trainer should not be difficult due to its widely popular training. You may also start with the videos if you would like, since there is quite a catalog to choose from. However, if you are a beginner it is recommended that you take at least one group class or a one-on-one class before striking it out on your own in your “living room” Pilates studio. Depending on what type of environment you desire, Stott Pilates studios range from intimate to corporate. Research is key to finding out if this is the type of certification and studio you prefer.

Ron Fletcher Pilates Certification

Ron Fletcher Pilates has a concise, yet efficient way, of handling their certification and training. They require that even before enrollment you must have at least 30 hours of private sessions, in addition to 50 hours of group class, seminar or workshop experience. To complete all aspects of the Ron Fletcher Certification you may need to take a Program Overview class of the Fletcher materials. This is an additional cost. You have to apply for the program through an online application, and will then be later notified upon receipt. They offer to mail you an application if you prefer.

Teachers: The Comprehensive Class will cost you a total of $7,000. This will include all of the information you will need to be fully equipped to teach Fletcher Pilates in a studio or on your own. With no additional fees, this makes the bottom line easily understood and easily budgeted for, The only other expense to consider if the program overview fee which is $1,000.

Students: Fletcher Pilates studios are not as easily accessible as some of the other certification programs may be. This is not a reflection of their qualifications, but more a matter of demographics. The training is unique to Ron Fletcher’s design, and will heavily incorporate breathing as well as Pilates into the sessions. Depending on what you hope to get out of your Pilates experience, it is important to explore what Fletcher Pilates may offer that other classes may not, before making a decision to become a student.

Online Certification Programs

After researching many different certification programs, they all have one thing in common. Each certification program vehemently claims that they are the best, the most efficient and highly accredited course in the Pilates community. Depending on your budget, your needs and your time allotment there are quite a few methods to choose from. Some are rooted in the most traditional of Pilates methodology, while others have reinvented a more current contemporary approach to Pilates.

The jury is still out, however when it come to online certification. For instance one online certification company, the AMFPT, which is the American Muscle and Fitness Certification Course. Not only offers an online exam and certification program, but they offer the certification for those interested in all ranges of fitness certifications. Sports Nutrition, Aerobics, kickboxing, senior fitness specialty, and physical therapy master trainer certification, personal trainers and health club management. All of these certifications are completed by just an online exam. There is even a Q&A section where it is stated, that the certificate will not say “online certification”, as if this is something an under qualified trainer may want to hide.

When something becomes popular, it in turn creates money making potential. There are scams that are willing to offer anything in order to turn a profit. Online certification alone is not enough to qualify an individual to teach Pilates. Pilates is a highly evolved, multilayered, intense program that deserves to be presented with a level of professionalism and integrity, along with a healthy amount of personal investment.

Romana Kryzanowska, once the protégé of Joseph Pilates himself, promised that she would dedicate her life to the works of the Pilates family long after they passed on. She is known as one of the Master Teacher’s in the industry, which is a class of instructors that is quickly becoming an era of the past. Romana kept her promise to the Pilates family and has become one of the most emulated, revered, and well-known instructors of the “True Pilates” method. The Romana Pilates method strictly adheres to the “contrology” methods that Joseph Pilates developed over his lifetime, without the added superfluities of modern day assimilation that is found in other more “current” forms of Pilates.

Romana prides herself in handpicking the students to include in her training program, and has enforced that all of the training centers offering Romana Pilates be acutely aware of the level and ability of each student that is hoping to become certified. This process of elimination, she firmly believes, is the determining factor that develops an elitist group of instructors in a world that has been penetrated with lackadaisical teaching. That theory has been tested over time and her process is still considered to be the gold standard teacher production, and still maintains its integrity as one of the only “True Pilates” certification courses still available today.

Romana’s students are not able to break down their training into groups, such as mat Pilates certification, or just comprehensive Pilates certification, every student must complete the comprehensive training and are personally assessed with each piece of Pilates apparatus there is available.

Not only are the students handpicked to become trainers but they also need to be at least intermediate students before they even begin training. Each new student is walked through their certification process shoulder-to-shoulder with other Level 1 Romana Pilates instructors. One is Romana’s daughter Sari Mejia Santo and the other is Juanita Lopez. If studying Romana Pilates at a different location other than her personal studio, you can be sure that those instructors had to go through the same vigorous training, since Romana herself signs each certification.

In an age where Pilates has become a buzzword, many people are jumping on the bandwagon in hopes to turn a profit. These companies, online certification programs, and DVD series’ are introducing their knock-off versions of the original. If you want the most pure Pilates experience, Romana Kryzanowska is the closest thing to Joseph Pilates there is. If you are going to invest your time, and your money in a practice that is firmly rooted in the development of mind and body control, it’s best to make sure that you are surrounding yourself with passionate instructors and learning from the best.

Teachers:  The certification program isn’t based on hourly accumulation, is it based on ability and proficient, but you are required to observe at least 10 hours minimum of Pilates classes a week. It can cost up to (aprox.) $4,000 to go through all of the seminars, one time level examination fees, and registration fees. However, for the time and money Romana Pilates is one of the more exclusive programs that offering a career in Pilates that will be well respected by peers and among your students like it has for the last six decades.

Students: If your teacher is certified in Romana Pilates you can feel confident that there training has been extensive, and that they themselves have a very knowledgeable background in the actual physicality and spirituality of the program. They have a great understating of physiology and understand how they should move on the mat and on the Pilates equipment. If the classes are a little more expensive understand that those looking for the real deal find that Romana Pilates is at the top of that list.

Peak Pilates Training and Certification Program

Peak Pilates offers a wide variety of training center locations and has a distinct system of certification that is lengthy, thorough and time consuming for the trainer. With international training centers as well as domestic, there are ample opportunities for those who are interested in becoming certified to do so through Peak Pilates. For comprehensive certification you have to complete all levels of equipment certification, Levels I- III in addition to the auxiliary workshops they offer. They offer basic and intermediate mat certifications, which are far less invasive of time and hours. Peak Pilates has a “systematic” approach to their teaching, which they claim enables clients to better retain and duplicate Pilates class instruction. They focus on the “how” instead of on the “what” of Pilates.

They have a very extensive web of trainers throughout the world, making them widely known and successful in their respective industry.

Teachers: This program will be broken down into three installments of training. Each course has a different tuition price, for the classes themselves it can cost up to $4300, but you will accumulate nearly 1,000 hours of apprenticeship, text knowledge, and in-studio experience. Its college-esque approach to training has set guidelines, course training books, timelines, exams and has teachers to guide you along every step of the process. For those who enjoy the class environment, the grading system, and the structure found in the educational system, this type of learning will be beneficial and allow to you excel.

Students: With Peak Pilates their extensive training benefits you two ways. First of all you can be assured that those who wanted to become Pilates teachers just to pass the time, or just to see if they “like it” will be indefinitely weeded out over the course schedule. The hours needed, pre-requisites, and the investment acts as insurance that the Pilates trainer you will be learning from is passionate and dedicate to teaching Pilates accurately and methodically.

And remember, before choosing a certification for yourself, or depending upon a certification as the factor that helps you choose a studio, word of mouth, results in friends and yourself will act as the best indicator for the success of a certification process. Above all, however you feel after a Pilates session should be the final say in what you decide is necessary in a trainer or a studio. Even if research is key, personal experience is the only surefire way to open the right door.

Pilates certification is somewhat of an enigma in the world of standardized certification programs. While there is not a lack of programs available for Pilates certification, there is a shortage of uniform grading systems that can dictate the worth of a teacher’s qualifications based upon time investment, first hand experience, and in-studio (apprentice) hours. There are a few different types, styles and teaching methods for Pilates that make the search for proper certification a little bit harder.

Understanding what style of teaching your Pilates instructor is certified in or what type of certification you may want to get, will help you make an educated decision on what type of Pilates class you want to be involved in. It is not only beneficial for those individuals seeking out reputable certification programs, it is also extremely valuable for those in search of a Pilates trainer that they feel they will be the most comfortable with. Learning from a instructor that is certified by a reputable program will allow for everyone involved to feel at ease and confident in a class or one-on-one environment.

The basic certification classes in Pilates are broken down into two categories. Mat Pilates Certification and Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification. However, there are quite a few other certification programs that fall outside of the basic Pilates parameter.

Mat Pilates Instructor Certification

The Mat Pilates Instructor Certification can come available to a previous student who has shown proficiency, or has shown a great deal of improvement or excellence in their mat classes. However, be aware that when the Pilates trademark suit happened, the ban was lifted off of using the Pilates name in any and all certification processes. This has made it increasingly easier to become certified in mat Pilates without prior experience. This is not recommended for a teacher or a student.

The cost for students that are interested in becoming certified in mat Pilates can range anywhere from $100-300. There are weekend long programs as well as day training.

Teachers: If you are feeling drawn to teach a basic mat Pilates class, you should require yourself to take more than a few classes before enrolling in the certification process. The best teacher is experience, so take advantage of that principle before you dive head first into training.

Students: Make sure that your teacher has had at least some mat experience, if not extensive. Even though learning can be done through books without functional experience, there is no possible way that a mat trainer can give you the proper attention or understanding you may need if they have never done the exercises themselves. That is a given.

Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification

Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification can take years to complete, but on average it usually takes a little over a year. This type of certification is among the most complex of all the certifications, because it incorporates all types of Pilates: beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses, as well as it is inclusive of all of the different types of apparatus now available in the modern day Pilates studio. This includes the Reformer, the Cadillac, Mat Pilates and how to use props in addition to these machines in a class environment.

The cost for Comprehensive Pilates instructor Certification begins at $3,000 dollars, but can be more than that depending on how many in studio hours you need to accrue to graduate and how much time you spend getting to know the deep layers of the Pilates philosophy as well as it’s physicality’s. Apprentice hours can be as much as 900 in some certification programs, this makes for a very well rounded, educated, and able teacher.

Teachers: This type of training will equip you for a long-term career in Pilates training. If you have a passion for the healing arts, and believe that Pilates is the answer to spinal disorder recovery, surgery recovery, and overall mind-body fitness, this may be the Pilates certification training for you. For those who eventually want to open their own studios, this certification will be the one that will get you there.

Students: This type of training almost guarantees you the proper, safe and efficient Pilates experience. If this type of certification is what is standard for the studio you end up taking classes or individual session at, then you will be able to move freely in between the ranks and types of classes, resting assured that you will be handles with the same amount of care and attention, not to mention knowledge that you are offered in the less advanced classes.

Specialized Pilates Instructor Certification Programs

Since Pilates has gained worldwide popularity, there have been students, teachers, and enthusiasts that have been able to repackage or redirect Pilates methodology into various different filters. From the initial Pilates design many teaching and stylistic approaches have been made available; some are equally relevant and have basis in necessity where others are not. For those teachers or students who are interested in focusing on a certain aspect of Pilates, there are options.

Some of these modifications have taken a component of Pilates and elevated it to concentrated focus. For example, an offshoot of Pilates’ teachings called Ron Fletcher Pilates, took Joseph Pilates’ teaching of deep breathing patterns and developed his own method called percussive breathing. This is just one example of alternative certification programs. Here are a few others:

The Power Pilates Certification Program

Power Pilates Certification Course for the Comprehensive Certification requires that you attend 4 weekend intensive courses, in addition to 16 mandatory weekly meetings while accumulating 600 apprentice hours. Those of which have to be completed at the Power Pilates Affiliate training Centers. This will cost about $4,000 dollars.
Power Pilates also offers certifications in Mat, a 12-day Intensive Program for the classical trained intermediate/advanced student which can fast track a certification. Conversely, they offer 3 levels of training as well, that break down the training into smaller sectionals of time so that a trainee can gradually become a Pilates trainer and still