“Go lower.” “Full range.” “Deeper is better.” “Don’t let the knee bend that far.” “Keep it small.” Pilates instructors receive a lot of conflicting advice about exercise range of motion. A larger range changes joint position and mechanical demand, but deeper is not automatically better. Some are taught that full range is always superior. Others are taught that particular joint angles are dangerous. Then rehabilitation introduces partial ranges. Strength training introduces d

“Go lower.” “Full range.” “Deeper is better.” “Don't let the knee bend that far.” “Keep it small.” Pilates instructors receive a lot of conflicting advice about exercise range of motion. A larger range changes joint position and mechanical demand, but deeper is not automatically better. Some are taught that full range is always superior. Others are taught that particular joint angles are dangerous. Then rehabilitation introduces partial ranges. Strength training introduces de

Take a squat. Put it on one leg. Add a foam pad. Hold a ball. Close one eye. Add rotation. Now put it on a moving Reformer carriage. Is it better balance training? Or have we just made the exercise increasingly difficult to perform? Pilates instructors are exceptionally good at creating instability. We have moving carriages, springs, boxes, balls, unstable surfaces and endless opportunities to reduce someone's base of support. And because the exercise becomes harder, it is ea

“Keep your pelvis completely still.” “Lock your ribs down.” “Don't let your knee move.” “Pull your shoulder blades down and back.” “Stabilise your core.” If you teach Pilates, you have probably used some version of these cues. The intention is usually good. We want clients to move with control. We want them to manage load appropriately. We want to reduce unnecessary movement when the goal of an exercise requires a particular body region to remain relatively controlled. But so

You have probably heard the terms concentric, eccentric and isometric hundreds of times throughout your Pilates education. You may know that concentric means a muscle shortens, eccentric means a muscle lengthens and isometric means a muscle maintains its length. But knowing those definitions is very different from being able to apply them when teaching. Take a simple Reformer footwork exercise. Understanding muscle contractions helps Pilates instructors recognise how exercise

“I can’t feel my glutes.” Pilates instructors hear this constantly. The client is doing bridges, side-lying leg work, scooter, lunges or squats. You have cued the pelvis. Changed the foot position. Asked them to squeeze harder. Told them to imagine pushing the floor away. They still say: “I just can’t feel it.” At that point, many instructors assume the muscle is not activating. But “not feeling” a muscle does not necessarily mean it is not working. Likewise, a strong burning

For years, women have been told that the answer to staying fit through their 40s, 50s and beyond is to eat less and do more cardio. Feeling a muscle and effectively training it are not always the same thing. Load, joint position and exercise mechanics all influence muscular demand. Walk more. Run more. Do another high-intensity class. Choose lighter weights. Keep moving, but don't lift too heavy. Then perimenopause or menopause arrives and suddenly the things that used to wor

Pilates instructors hear the terms open chain and closed chain all the time. They appear in anatomy courses. In rehabilitation discussions. In strength programming. In conversations about knees, shoulders, hips and injury modification. But despite how often the terms are used, they are frequently oversimplified. You may have heard: "Closed chain is more functional." "Open chain is bad for knees." "Closed chain is safer." "Open chain isolates muscles." There is a small amount

You teach a client a squat. Their first few repetitions look controlled. Then you increase the load. Suddenly their knee starts moving inward. Their pelvis shifts. Their trunk leans. Their movement changes. Movement compensation isn’t automatically a problem. The important question is why the strategy appears and whether it limits the client’s ability to complete the task. A lot of instructors immediately respond with more cueing. “Keep your knee out.” “Stay square.” “Don’t r

Spring selection is one of the most important programming decisions a Reformer Pilates instructor makes, yet it is also one of the most commonly oversimplified. Lighter spring = easier workout? Not on the reformer! Changing your spring settings completely shifts the biomechanical load, turning resistance into assistance or stability into strength. Many instructors learn spring settings as part of an exercise repertoire. Footwork equals heavy springs. Feet in straps equals mod

When most Pilates instructors think about improving their teaching, they focus on learning more exercises. They attend another workshop. They memorise another repertoire variation. They add another prop. While all of those things have value, they often overlook one of the biggest factors influencing every exercise they teach: Force. Every spring adjustment changes the forces acting on the body and understanding those forces leads to better programming. Every movement your cli

A client tells you they "can't feel their glutes." Another says their shoulders always become sore during planks. Someone else complains that their hip flexors work in every abdominal exercise. Understanding why clients compensate allows Pilates instructors to programme with greater precision and confidence. The instinctive response is often the same. "They must be weak." While weakness certainly exists, it is often only part of the story. In many cases, the issue isn't that