Coaching

Coaching

Because I’ve had many coaches in my athletic career, as well as a few Pilates teachers and mentors, I know what difference an excellent coach makes. For this reason, I strive to bring a level of excellence into my teaching and coaching.  My clients receive the highest level of personal attention, as my ultimate goal is for them to see and feel meaningful results.  For this to happen, clients must also be committed to taking personal responsibility for implementing what they learn into their lives and fitness activities.

Goals

Specific goals help us measure results and importantly, progress.  It’s useful to come to Pilates class saying “I want to feel better or stronger.”  However, you’ll be better-served by thinking in terms of specific accomplishments or activities you’d like to perform pain-free.  You’ll embrace your Pilates program with clear, measurable goals in mind, and exceptional results will follow.

Postural Assessment

To begin, we’ll take time to look at how you stand, sit and walk.  It’s essential to identify not only symptoms, but possible causes.  For example, your hip might hurt, but looking at other parts of your body provides a pathway to the root causes of your hip pain.  In addition, I closely observe differences between the two sides of your body with an eye on possible curvature(s) in the spine. While I’m not able to diagnose medically, I’ll certainly recommend seeing a physician if I see something that should be addressed by a physical therapist or medical specialist.

 

Learning the basics

The basics take time, but they’re worth the investment! Once learned, they create a platform for rapid progress, a positive experience and superior training outcomes.  Some of the most basic things you’ll learn in your first 5-10 sessions include:

  • Neutral Pelvis – in multiple positions
  • Discovering the pelvic floor and how to engage it.
  • Discovering how to activate the Transverse Abdominals
  • Breathing Techniques
  • Leg Alignment
  • Pilates Principles
  • Basic body-mechanics understanding

Specific Conditions

As discussed under postural assessment, I examine specific conditions that clients may or may not know about.  We talk about any required modifications and I include such education for safe exercise throughout all sessions.

Plan of Action

Together, we’ll record an ideal minimal requirement for success and any appropriate home exercise program suggestions. To be successful with Pilates, it takes a long term commitment regardless of how frequently clients see me.  If they choose to participate sporadically, they own much more responsibility to follow an in-home program. At the very least, checking in with each other regularly will help us make sure action plans will enable them to make significant progress toward their goals.

Review

A quarterly to bi-yearly review of client goals and success rates is available when clients wish to review and then anticipate new goals, building on their early successes.

 

All American Betsy LLC