You can find the link to the PDF of the lecture slides HERE.
You can find the link to the PDF of the lecture slides HERE.
Motivating people is hard. Knowing how to motivate people to exercise is even harder. On this episode of Pilates Elephants, you’ll learn how to fearlessly motivate your clients with evidence-based techniques with our guest, Nathan Rees. Where does our motivation to workout come from? Is it intrinsic or extrinsic? Nate and Raph explore these questions that are vital to your abilities as an instructor and help your clients to see results regardless of their fitness level.
Nate and Raph discuss the differences between new and experienced instructors in terms of what they focus on during class. We all want to motivate our clients, but new instructors face feelings of insecurity and aren’t as present in the moment as seasoned instructors. They often worry about the functionality of the task so much that they’re out of tune with the clients in front of them. Over time, it’s natural for these feelings to subside as your teaching skills improve. Eventually, you’ll have more bandwidth to focus on the clients in front of you: how hard they’re working, what they need to hear, and how to improve your cueing.
Nate offers some practical and easily applicable advice for instructors who want to spend less time explaining and more time motivating. He suggests a healthy ratio of technical instruction to educational and motivational. Once clients are able to grasp the movements, then you can focus on why those movements are beneficial to their wellness and all other areas of their lives. How can you tell if your motivational efforts are working? When clients start to reach muscle failure, you’ll notice physical signs like facial expressions or noises. Nate and Raph discuss why pushing your limits is so important in terms of progress, and how to help advanced level clients continue to see results.
A huge part of motivation to workout is social interaction. Nate says it’s a key factor in getting clients to show up for class. With a sense of community, people look forward to working out in a whole new way. For this reason, it’s highly important for instructors to know how to welcome new clients into their classes. Nate explains how to make newbies feel welcome by introducing them, making them feel like a part of the crew, and pairing them up with a workout buddy who they may already have something in common with. Social connection is a basic human need, and a healthy community atmosphere in your studio is a powerful way to keep clients coming back.
Raph believes everyone deserves the opportunity to transform into a better version of themselves. His main strength as a teacher and movement professional is the ability to distill complex research findings into a simple, science-based approach to help people move fearlessly, thoughtlessly, and painlessly. He LOVES running, weights, cycling, and Contrology.
Raph holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology (Rehabilitation), a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science, Diploma of Pilates Movement Therapy, and STOTT PILATES full certification.
How to Connect with Raphael:
Purchase Raph’s new book:
Nathan Ross Rees is a highly motivated and passionate Pilates instructor based in Tasmania who enjoys traveling around Australia to run guest classes and hold workshops.
He has taught in 50 different studios across 7 Australian states and territories. A big believer in relationship building, Nathan values progress, vitality, results, connection, presence, abundance, and understanding. He’s always seeking to develop relationships with other instructors and expand his network of mentors. He also believes in the collective genius of the Australian Pilates Community, whose members have exponentially developed his understanding of Dynamic Reformer Pilates.
How to Connect with Nathan:
Here are four ways we can help you really know your stuff.
1) Subscribe to our Pilates Elephants podcast and learn why most Pilates education is decades out of date at best, and at worst, just plain pseudoscientific. This inconvenient disconnect means there are many topics in Pilates that are “Elephants in the Room” – things we don’t question because it’s a bit heretical to do so. We’re here to change that.
2) Download our free report: “3 Myths about Posture in Pilates“. Ditch the myths and get the facts on posture. For Pilates instructors and movement enthusiasts alike.
3) Join us in our FREE live, open-mic Community Sessions. We start each session by sharing one of our latest insights that you can take and apply with your clients. And then we’ll go open-mic for the remaining 45-minutes — ask whatever questions you have so you can leave the session equipped to really know your stuff. Details here.
4) Or — our next intake for our Diploma in Clinical Pilates is open NOW. We have limited places for this in-depth, world-leading course. For a limited time — get a free 20-minute Discovery Call with one of our Pilates Trainers. This is not a high-pressure sales call – you’ll be talking with a Pilates instructor, and we’ll answer all your questions to find out if the course is a perfect fit for you. Go here to schedule
What You’ll Learn:
In the Diploma of Clinical Pilates program, students learn an invaluable resource for exercise programming called the “exercise toolbox.” Today, you’ll learn what it is and how to create your own exercise toolbox in this interview with Heath Lander. Today we discuss how to find the best type of exercise and level of intensity for each client on any given day and discover the power of simple, layered exercise programming.
The Exercise Toolbox is a list of exercises broken down into layers of challenge. Each list is made up of five to seven exercises based on one movement such as the push-up, curl-up, squat, etc. The main idea is to have a list of increasingly difficult exercises which you can use with any client, any time, regardless of what kind of day they’re having in terms of pain or ability level. Start at the bottom and work your way up with them. This way, according to Heath, clients don’t feel the discouragement and frustration of starting hard and having to modify. Rather, they get to feel stronger and more confident as they start simple and work up to more challenging exercises.
The Exercise Toolbox is a specific way to think about exercise programming which allows instructors to think about movement in terms of strength, range of motion, and control. Heath and Raph discuss the beauty of simplicity in exercise programming but remind us that just because something is simple, it isn’t necessarily easy. With the right level of resistance, range of motion or instability, something as simple as lunges or body weight squats can be extremely challenging. Teaching complicated exercises just because they seem more challenging can be anything but enjoyable for the client. What’s amazing about the Exercise Toolbox is that because of its simplicity, you will be able to give your client the right level of challenge at the right time to move them to towards their goals.
Heath explains how the exercise toolbox developed as he observed new Pilates instructors over the past several years. He noticed that new instructors who came to his studio had learned hundreds of exercises which weren’t progressive or grouped in any meaningful way. He also saw that instructors felt pressured to have a wide variety of exercises in each class and avoid repeating exercises. They thought that if they didn’t do it this way, their classes wouldn’t be popular. But Heath observed that those Pilates teachers who taught essentially the same set of movements each class were the most successful. Clients knew what to expect and felt challenged, not to mention, the teacher got really good at teaching those exercises!
Raph believes everyone deserves the opportunity to transform into a better version of themselves. His main strength as a teacher and movement professional is the ability to distill complex research findings into a simple, science-based approach to help people move fearlessly, thoughtlessly, and painlessly. He LOVES running, weights, cycling, and Contrology.
Raph holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology (Rehabilitation), a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science, Diploma of Pilates Movement Therapy, and STOTT PILATES full certification.
How to Connect with Raphael:
Purchase Raph’s new book:
Heath Lander had a chance encounter with Pilates which completely changed his life’s direction. He began training as a Pilates instructor at Breathe Education while seeing private clients in his home. Meanwhile, he was still working full time as a special needs art teacher and getting accustomed to life as a single dad. Over the next decade he taught over 15,000 hours of group and small group/clinical classes. He went on to open two locations of White Dog Studio, where the mission is to provide challenging, rewarding, and effective exercise for people over 40. He has also worked as an instructor trainer at Breathe Education since 2011 and has taught in the Certificate and Diploma courses. In 2021, he began working full time for Breathe Education and has created coursework and tutorial materials for the updated Diploma of Clinical Pilates. His other professional passion is online mentoring and trainer development through his personal brand, Contrology Collective.
How to Connect with Heath:
Here are four ways we can help you really know your stuff.
1) Subscribe to our Pilates Elephants podcast and learn why most Pilates education is decades out of date at best, and at worst, just plain pseudoscientific. This inconvenient disconnect means there are many topics in Pilates that are “Elephants in the Room” – things we don’t question because it’s a bit heretical to do so. We’re here to change that.
2) Download our free report: “3 Myths about Posture in Pilates“. Ditch the myths and get the facts on posture. For Pilates instructors and movement enthusiasts alike.
3) Join us in our FREE live, open-mic Community Sessions. We start each session by sharing one of our latest insights that you can take and apply with your clients. And then we’ll go open-mic for the remaining 45-minutes — ask whatever questions you have so you can leave the session equipped to really know your stuff. Details here.
4) Or — our next intake for our Diploma in Clinical Pilates is open NOW. We have limited places for this in-depth, world-leading course. For a limited time — get a free 20-minute Discovery Call with one of our Pilates Trainers. This is not a high-pressure sales call – you’ll be talking with a Pilates instructor, and we’ll answer all your questions to find out if the course is a perfect fit for you. Go here to schedule
What exactly is neutral spine? With so many of us in the Pilates community teaching neutral spine alignment to clients and trying to master it ourselves, it’s surprising to learn that most of us don’t really know what it means. And yet, it seems to be engrained in Pilates culture. Today we’re debunking the myth of neutral spine and giving you evidence-based tools to help empower your clients to move fearlessly through all spinal movements.
Neutral spine is widely understood in the fitness profession as a “safe” spinal position associated with injury prevention. But according to biomechanics, neutral spine is a zone (rather than a specific position) in which all the ligaments around the spine are loose. Simply put, neutral spine is about a 10 degree range in which muscles provide the only restraining force on the spine. It isn’t something that can be evaluated via spinal palpation or visual assessment, since everyone has natural variation in their bone structure.
Joseph Pilates himself didn’t teach neutral spine. His successors (including Romana Kryzanowska) and their students were influenced by physiotherapists who promoted neutral spine. Fast forward to the 1990s, and neutral spine was widely taught as a basic element of Pilates. To this day, many people who cue neutral spine believe that it has always been a part of Pilates, although the most Joseph ever taught in this area was to press the spine firmly to the mat.
Raph and Cloe look at a fascinating study on pig spines from 20 years ago which suggests that the greatest risk for spinal injury was the amount of compression on the spine, rather than the degree of spinal flexion. They also discuss more recent biomechanical studies which show that force applied to the spine is the same whether the spine is flexed or in neutral during lifting exercises like deadlifting or squatting. Interestingly, studies show that when lifting maximally, a flexed spine is actually associated with greater strength and more efficient use of energy. Looking at the world’s most elite powerlifters, it’s easy to see that when they lift four to five times their body weight, their spines are definitely flexed. This begs the question of what Pilates instructors should be cueing instead of neutral spine. Raph and Cloe offer teaching tools to help you confidently teach without relying on neutral spine and to prioritise fearless movement.
Raph believes everyone deserves the opportunity to transform into a better version of themselves. His main strength as a teacher and movement professional is the ability to distill complex research findings into a simple, science-based approach to help people move fearlessly, thoughtlessly, and painlessly. He LOVES running, weights, cycling, and Contrology.
Raph holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology (Rehabilitation), a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science, Diploma of Pilates Movement Therapy, and STOTT PILATES full certification.
How to Connect with Raphael:
Purchase Raph’s new book:
With 10+ years in the industry, both teaching Pilates and nurturing new instructors, Cloe is passionate about empowering new and seasoned instructors to think critically and move fearlessly. Empowered instructors empower their clients, and in turn, change lives.
Cloe is fascinated by movement in general, and its ability to enhance our lives at any age. Her own movement practice includes Contrology/Pilates, running, weights, and kettlebells. Cloe has a Diploma of Clinical Pilates, Cert IV in Pilates, and Cert IV in Training and Assessing.
How to Connect with Cloe:
Here are four ways we can help you really know your stuff.
1) Subscribe to our Pilates Elephants podcast and learn why most Pilates education is decades out of date at best, and at worst, just plain pseudoscientific. This inconvenient disconnect means there are many topics in Pilates that are “Elephants in the Room” – things we don’t question because it’s a bit heretical to do so. We’re here to change that.
2) Download our free report: “3 Myths about Posture in Pilates“. Ditch the myths and get the facts on posture. For Pilates instructors and movement enthusiasts alike.
3) Join us in our FREE live, open-mic Community Sessions. We start each session by sharing one of our latest insights that you can take and apply with your clients. And then we’ll go open-mic for the remaining 45-minutes — ask whatever questions you have so you can leave the session equipped to really know your stuff. Details here.
4) Or — our next intake for our Diploma in Clinical Pilates is open NOW. We have limited places for this in-depth, world-leading course. For a limited time — get a free 20-minute Discovery Call with one of our Pilates Trainers. This is not a high-pressure sales call – you’ll be talking with a Pilates instructor, and we’ll answer all your questions to find out if the course is a perfect fit for you. Go here to schedule
You can find the link to the PDF of the lecture slides HERE.
You can find the link to the PDF of the lecture slides HERE
Find Cory here:
You can find the PDF of the lecture slides including links to the research HERE.
Resources mentioned during the session:
Resources mentioned in this session:
You can find the link to the PDF of the lecture slides HERE.
As a studio owner, how should you decide what to pay?
A FREE Live Community Session where Raphael Bender, Breathe Education’s CEO, unpack the following:
A FREE Live Community Session where Raphael Bender, Breathe Education’s CEO, unpack the following:
A FREE Live Community Session hosted by Breathe Education’s CEO, Raphael Bender.
A FREE Live Community Session where Raphael Bender, Breathe Education’s CEO, unpack the following:
A FREE Live Community Session where Raphael Bender, Breathe Education’s CEO, unpack the following:
A FREE Live Community Session hosted by Breathe Education’s CEO, Raphael Bender.
© 2022 Breathe Education. Pty Ltd ACN 154699019 | ABN 30154699019 | RTO 40490
