Pilates Certification Courses: An Overview

Pilates Exercises have been getting more and more attention from lots of people. Since its introduction to the American Population in the 1910’s, the exercise technique invented by the German national Joseph Pilates has caught the attention of millions of Americans to date. Pilates first started with simple springs attached to hospital beds for his first Pilates machine, and since then the machines, as well as the techniques used have improved so well. Pilates also has his share of students, who continued his “teachings” his studio and his work. Nowadays, the modern day Pilates instructor, need only a certification, that they indeed have the proper training to supervise a safe and effective Pilates class. Pilates certifications are offered by a vast number of firms that aside from offering Pilates certifications also hold classes for practitioners.

A Pilates Certification course basically consists of the different basic techniques in the Pilates exercise, as well as good positioning, machine work and mat exercises.

The first Pilates certification course that would probably be taught in a typical Pilates Certification class is basic matwork exercises. These are beginner and intermediate level matwork classes after which, you will be certified to teach beginner or intermediate level Pilates Class. You won’t need a machine for Pilates matwork, which make it the highest in demand because, if you’re planning on teaching Pilates for a living, you can easily start on a low budget, and teach Pilates without using Machines.

The second topic in your Pilates certification course may probably be standing Pilates; this like mat Pilates doesn’t need machines as well, but may take a bit more experience to learn because of the complicated position of standing upright, most Pilates certification schools do not teach standing Pilates until after the trainee has a certification in matwork Pilates.

After standing Pilates, is advanced matwork Pilates. The Pilates certification for advanced matwork, is given later because as its name says, it is advanced, meaning more difficult moves, which entails a higher probability of someone making a mistake. It is therefore crucial that the instructor to be is well trained before he gets an advanced matwork Pilates certification.

After the non equipment courses, the next course for Pilates certification would be the apparatus courses, where you’ll be certified as an instructor for certain machines. First, the would-be instructor is trained with the basic Pilates equipment, Cadillac, reformer, circle, and barrels. After the course, you will have a Pilates certification for apparatus. Some schools offer standing apparatus Pilates certification, as a separate training program from basic apparatus training, if you want to learn it all at once, then you’ll most likely find a certification firm that will accommodate you.

The last and probably the most complicated one is the training for people with special cases, like those with back, neck, knee, shoulder problems. These are more complicated situations and need more focus on. The only one that probably needs a better trained instructor would probably be Pilates for rehabilitation. Yes, Pilates can be used for rehabilitation, but to get a Pilates certification for rehabilitation, you must be certified in all the other Pilates techiniques, this is because most people that need rehabilitaiton are fragile and therefore need extra care, as well as extra training.

After getting a Pilates certification for every course, the trainees should have the skills to teach the exercise techniques, as well as its Pilosophical aspects to practitioners. Some schools even teach the trainees so that after they finish each course, they will also have enough skills to modify the exercise techniques to fit their class’ needs, so that after you train, you can further improve on the teachniques that we’re taught to you and apply them as the case may be.