The Pilates Union online comprehensive mat course covers over 100 exercises, including the original 34 key exercises in Joseph Pilates repertoire. Spread over 14 units, this course covers basic to intermediate exercises and is split into sections covering abdominals, back, upper body, legs and stretches. In addition, you will learn about core stability, scapula stability and posture – key components of any Pilates class.
Candidate Suitability – Who is this course for?
Pilates teachers who may wish to use this course as a bridging platform to build upon their existing Pilates knowledge and training.
Physiotherapists and other similar health professionals, who teach core stability exercises may also find this course very useful.
Fitness professionals may use this course to gain a deeper understanding of the body and a different perspective on movement.
Exercise enthusiasts who may wish to begin a career in the fitness industry
Prerequisites
Although not essential, the following criteria are desirable:
- Six months regular attendance at a Pilates mat class
International Accreditation, Approval and Education Points
This online course has international approval for continuing education credits and has been awarded the following points –
- Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) – 24 CEC’s
- Australian Pilates Method Alliance (APMA) – 15 CEC’s
- Canfitpro – 4 FIS, PTS, PFS CEC’s
Course Outcomes
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the Pilates method, principles, repertoire and fundamentals and to be able to apply that knowledge to the individual exercises.
Gain a deeper understanding of the individual exercises, including aims, target muscles, common errors, contraindications and modifications.
Learn how to adapt and progress each exercise to cater for different fitness levels
Review and recap on core and body anatomy
Learn effective teaching skills and cueing technique.
Identify postural types and perform postural assessments
Students will be able to design a progressive programme and deliver a one hour Pilates session to relatively healthy adults
Course Structure
There are 14 units and you are allowed 240 days access to complete the course. You have instant access upon purchase and you are ready to start immediately. Just log in and go to unit one. On each screen, you will find the video of the exercise and how to teach the movement. This includes alignment, breathing, correct technique, common errors and how to correct them, modifications, progressions, contraindications and tactile cueing. Underneath each video, you will find the appropriate page from the Pilates Union Pilates Matwork Manual with detailed text and explanation. This has been put online for you, including JPEG images of the movements.
You will work at your own pace and when you have time, just login and go to the appropriate unit and work your way through the material. You can view and repeat any exercise as many times as you need to.
The comprehensive course material consists of over 14 hours of video material, split into the following units –
Unit One: Introduction – (no videos)
Unit Two: Pilates basics, fundamentals and technique – 13 videos (90 minutes)
Unit Three: Scapula stability- 6 videos (14 minutes)
Unit Four: Pilates stretches and mobility work – 16 videos (234 minutes)
Unit Five: Pilates Back Exercise Series – 13 videos (107 minutes)
Unit Six: Pilates Upper Body Exercise Series – 8 videos (61 minutes)
Unit Seven: Pilates Leg Exercise Series – 11 videos (84 minutes)
Unit Eight: Pilates Abdominal Exercise Series – 32 videos (351 minutes)
Unit Nine: Anatomy Review – 18 videos (58 minutes)
Unit Ten: Posture 3 videos (35 minutes)
Unit Eleven: Teaching Skills (no videos)
Unit Twelve: Special Populations (no videos)
Unit Thirteen: Class Planning (no videos)
Unit Fourteen: Final Assessment Theory Quiz (no videos)
Course Duration and Video Breakdown
There are 120 videos on this course. If you watched one video per day, it would take 120 days. It’s really dependent upon individual instructors and the time they have available to devote to learning. All learning must be completed before the 240 days is up. There is no way to extend learning for a student as the software on the website has not been designed to offer any course extensions.
Total number of videos = 120
Total Video Playing Time = 1034 (17.3 hours)
Total Quiz Time = 60 minutes
Total Reading Time = 700 minutes
Total minutes = 1794 (30 hours)
Assessments
In order to achieve a pass in this course, 3 assessments must be successfully submitted
Assessment One – Pilates Theory Quiz (80% pass)
Assessment Two – Practical one hour exam. You must submit a video of you teaching a healthy adult. You must teach from your week 5 lesson plan routine that you will compose during the course.
Assessment Three – Progressive Programme. You must design three x one hour lesson plans, comprising of week one, week five and week ten, that are suitable to take a normal healthy adult from beginner level to an intermediate stage.
Ideally, you can use an iPad to film your exam video. Place the iPad on a surface where you and your client are in full view for the entire video. It is suggested to film for a few minutes and then check your video to see that the angle is correct and that your voice is sufficiently audible. If everything seems fine, go ahead and video your full lesson.
Upon completions of your video, you can upload this onto any internet application that allows you to send large files (such as Dropbox, Google Drive or You Send It for example). You must not upload to You Tube or any publicly viewable social media. You may also put your video onto a CD or USB stick and send via the post.
Please note that there is a £45 cost for your assessment. This covers your assessors time to watch your video and give you feedback. This also covers the cost of your certificate.
Costs
The course costs £520 GBP. A copy of the information contained in the Pilates Union Pilates Matwork manual is viewable online. Should you wish to have a hard copy of the manual, this costs £18.99 and is available online via the store. The other cost is for the practical assessment. A fee of £45 is payable when submitting your practical exam video. This covers your assessors time to watch your video and give you feedback. This also covers the cost of your certificate.