Why You Should Choose Exclusive Pilates
At Exclusive Pilates, it is our aim to deliver effective and safe tuition of a very high standard. The studio is headed up by Nicole Small who has more than 30 years of experience in the fitness industry, 21 of which have been Pilates based. You can be rest assured that you are in the safe hands of a knowledgeable instructor with years of fitness experience. Nicole is an MBodies bone safe programmer, which means she respects that women during or post-menopause could have osteopenia – the predecessor to osteoporosis. This is very important when exercising, as it means you could be damaging your spine with tiny stress fractures by continuing to incorporate resisted flexion exercises into your Pilates workouts.
Nicole runs a tight ship when it comes to recruiting new instructors to join her team, and you can be confident in the knowledge that all the instructors will have undergone thorough training and gained certification with a highly reputable Pilates training provider. The studio is private, spacious but not vast, and not overlooked. There are 3 rooms; one is for private and semi-private sessions, one is for the cadillac, and the third is for small groups.
The maximum class size for equipment is 4 to 6 people, or 6 for matwork. This is very important as keeping class numbers low guarantees that you get the attention needed to ensure you are completing the exercises safely and effectively. Reformer classes seem to be the latest trend where instructors are thrashing out loads of reps to music with maximum spring overload. Whilst this type of exercise may be enjoyable to the participant, Pilates in its truest form is about quality, precision, and control. This totally acts in opposition to what Pilates is.
When an instructor has completed the full certification (all equipment) in Pilates, they have an understanding that all the pieces of apparatus work together to give you the best results. Joseph Pilates invented all the equipment, not just the reformer, and although the reformer is a fantastic workout, the other pieces of equipment are just as important, if not better!
Nicole keeps abreast of new research and current information and is always attending courses to further her knowledge … you never stop learning!
What to Look for When Deciding on a Studio to Attend
- The owner/proprietor has a qualification(s) in all the equipment they use. and if not, they have a manager who does. They need to know their field and the instructors they are recruiting to offer a platinum service.
- The teachers are qualified with a gold standard teacher training provider such as Stott, Polestar, Basi, the Pilates Foundation, Classical or similar. A good teacher will have trained for at least 2 years in all the equipment and not just a few weekends. They should be happy to provide their certification upon request.
- If they are on the REPS register, they should be at level 3 or above.
- The class numbers are kept low to ensure quality tuition rather than pack in the numbers for profit.
- They are always furthering their education and maintaining their CECS by completing at least the minimum amount of training hours per year to remain certified.
- They should have knowledge of working with injuries and special populations and pathologies.