Claire Willis PT

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Claire Willis PT Personal Training & Mat Pilates for real people, real bodies & real life.

Helping you feel stronger, live well & keep doing what you love

Pilates classes in Pensby, Neston & Heswall • All levels
1:1 Personal Training • Suited to your life
🔗 Book online↓

Pilates isn't just about what you do in class. It's about what you can do outside it, too.This weekend has been about fa...
11/10/2026

Pilates isn't just about what you do in class. It's about what you can do outside it, too.

This weekend has been about family, good food, baking a birthday cake and celebrating my youngest turning 20. (How did that happen?!)

It's a good reminder that feeling strong, moving comfortably and having the confidence to get out and about all help us make the most of the things that matter, whether that's family time, days out, walks or simply enjoying everyday life.

That's what I want my Steady Strength Pilates classes to support. We work on strength, mobility, balance and coordination, with options to suit different abilities, so you can build confidence in how you move both in and out of class.

Classes run in:

📍Pensby: Wednesday at 2pm
📍Neston: Thursday at 9.15am
📍Heswall: Thursday at 6pm

New to my classes? You can try your first three for £18, instead of £30. The Welcome Pass is valid for four weeks, and you can choose whichever sessions and locations suit you.

Prefer to pay as you go? That's absolutely fine too. Classes are £10 each, with no block bookings or fixed weekly commitment. Simply choose the sessions and locations that suit you and book your place in advance.

Because the point isn't just to exercise. It's to feel stronger for the life you're living 🫶

Find the link for the pass and to book in my bio

Sometimes I think we could all do with a bit of good news! So, I’m sharing some positive findings from exercise science ...
11/10/2026

Sometimes I think we could all do with a bit of good news! So, I’m sharing some positive findings from exercise science that show what’s possible as we get older. There’s some genuinely encouraging stuff happening in the world of movement, strength and ageing well, and it deserves a little spotlight!

A report from Parliament's Health and Social Care Committee said physical activity should be treated as seriously as medication for older people, and recommended that GPs routinely offer advice and social prescribing for exercise. That's a very big shift in how activity gets talked about in healthcare, and one that I'm very pleased to see.

Closer to home, a new Birmingham programme has paired exercise with wider support, housing, social connection, finances, because staying active depends on more than just the workout itself.

And on the science side, researchers compared the muscle of trained and untrained older adults and found trained muscle looks biologically younger, right down to the cell.
A separate study may have found one of the actual reasons muscle weakens with age in the first place.

Tag the friend who'd appreciate knowing it's not just in your head, this stuff is being taken seriously now 🙌

I talk about strength a lot, but maybe not the kind you immediately think of when you hear the word "strong".Sometimes i...
10/10/2026

I talk about strength a lot, but maybe not the kind you immediately think of when you hear the word "strong".

Sometimes it's not about how much you can lift in one go.
It's about whether your legs are still working by the fourth stair, not just the first.
Whether you can walk on uneven ground without a wobble catching you out (and if you can catch yourself if you are caught out).
Whether you can stand at the sink or in a queue without your lower back starting to complain.

That's the kind of strength I spend most of my time building with my Pilates clients, and it's built slowly and deliberately, not through anything dramatic.

So, yes, I bang on about staying strong. And I'm not sorry, not even a little bit 🤷‍♀️

Save this post as a reminder that strength shows up in many ways.

What would feeling stronger and more confident in your body mean for you?

💪 Keeping up with everyday life
🪜 Stairs feeling easier
🌳 Getting out and doing more
🏌️ Enjoying hobbies without worrying about what your body can do
🙌 Feeling more confident in yourself
❤️ Something else?

Drop an emoji in the comments that resonates with you!

If you know someone who'd love to feel stronger and more confident, please feel free to share this post so it finds them 💙

Things you should know about me as a Pilates instructor… 👀I can't count. If I give a number, always know it's got an uns...
09/10/2026

Things you should know about me as a Pilates instructor… 👀

I can't count. If I give a number, always know it's got an unspoken "ish" after it.

“Fun” = be very afraid.

I will probably remind you to breathe. Repeatedly. I'm not fussy about breathing in for a particular number of counts. Just please don't hold your breath!

I will absolutely encourage you to try the thing you said you couldn't do. Not by forcing you, but because sometimes we surprise ourselves when we find the right approach.

I consider getting off the floor without using your hands a life skill. And I get disproportionately excited when you tell me you can now do it more easily.

I don't believe Pilates has to look pretty. In fact, a bit of UGLY Pilates can be a sign that you're working hard and building strength. We're not here to win a choreography competition.

I may casually mention your glutes in conversation. And we WILL talk about your pelvic floor. It's part of your body, just like your arms and legs, and it has a job to do. Men, you have one too, by the way! No awkwardness required.

There are no prizes for choosing the hardest option. I'll encourage you to work at a level that challenges you in the right way for your body, ability and goals. Sometimes that means progressing. Sometimes it means changing the exercise entirely.

I get genuinely excited when someone says, “That feels better.” Because that's what it's about: finding ways to move that work for you.

And if (I mean, WHEN) you nail your first proper roll-up? I'll celebrate like England just won the World Cup. 🏆

Because Pilates isn't about looking perfect on a mat. It's about building strength, control and confidence that carry over into everyday life.

Real bodies.
Real life.
Real Pilates that helps you keep doing the things that matter.

08/10/2026

Some questions came up this morning in my class at Neston C*C so I thought I'd answer them in a little video, but apparently I don't know when to stop talking (my husband says I'm a chatterbox when I've finished a day teaching, thankfully he finds it funny!)

If you don't fancy watching me rabbit on, this is a quick summary 👇

How my Pilates classes work:

• Classes aren't sold in blocks, so there's no fixed-term commitment

• You can PAYG and book individual classes whenever it suits you.

• We may work around a theme for a few weeks, such as balance, lower body, upper body, mobility or control, but you can join at any point.

• Want to save a little? 6- and 12-class passes are available, with a flexible expiry date.

• New to my classes? There's a 3-class Welcome Pass for £18.

So basically: come when it suits you, book as you go, and enjoy moving without the pressure of committing to a whole block.

Come to move, get stronger, have a laugh and feel good. The aim is to build useful strength and movement that supports everyday life, with no pressure or judgement. You decide how hard you work.

📍 Pensby | Wednesdays 2pm
📍 Neston | Thursdays 9:15am
📍 Heswall | Thursdays 6pm

🔗 Book online: www.clairewillispt.co.uk/book-online

Gorgeous walk to start the day, then a fabulous class with lovely people at Pensby.And I even managed to get my car in ...
07/10/2026

Gorgeous walk to start the day, then a fabulous class with lovely people at Pensby.

And I even managed to get my car in the very tricky parking space first time when I got home!
Counting the small wins 😂

Tomorrow it's Neston at 9.15am and Heswall at 6pm.
A few spaces left on both for anyone who's been on the fence 👀

Friendly, all-levels classes, with options to work at a level that suits you.
Come on your own, or sweet talk a friend into coming along too.

New to my classes? Try your first 3 for £18 or choose PAYG for £10

Please book ahead: www.clairewillispt.co.uk/book-online

There’s a particular image people have of a personal trainer.Gym.Weights.Workout clothes.Lots of equipment.Annoyingly en...
06/10/2026

There’s a particular image people have of a personal trainer.

Gym.
Weights.
Workout clothes.
Lots of equipment.
Annoyingly energetic at 6am. (To be fair, that last one is pretty accurate. 😂)

I do genuinely enjoy strength training. I know how to train, and I’m pretty strong.

But my own training doesn’t always happen in an ideal gym setting.

Since our house move, I’m not following my old routine. So for now, I’m training at home with two pairs of dumbbells.

This morning: legs and glutes.
About 30 minutes.
A bit of floor space.
Two pairs of dumbbells.

And a willingness to give myself and my body the time and attention it deserves.

Because you don't need a gym full of machines to build and maintain strength.

Resistance training can be done with relatively simple equipment, and you can gradually increase the challenge as your strength and confidence improve.

That might mean using a little more weight, doing a few more repetitions, improving your control, changing an exercise or progressing to something more challenging when you're ready.

Not harder for the sake of harder.
Just the right level of challenge for you.

Because strength training isn't really about the dumbbells.

It’s about what being stronger allows you to do.

Carry your shopping.
Get up from the floor.
Climb the stairs.
Lift your grandchildren.
Travel.
Keep doing the things you enjoy.

The weights are the tool. Life is the reason.

That’s the approach I take with my clients too.

Not trying to turn everyone into a gym person.

Not throwing complicated exercises at people because they look impressive.

Just evidence-based exercise, appropriately challenging and adapted to the person in front of me, their ability, their confidence and their actual life.

Because getting stronger doesn't have to mean beating yourself up.

It can mean feeling more capable, more confident and better prepared for the life you want to keep living.

And if two dumbbells in the living room are what fit your life right now?

That's a perfectly good place to start 💪

05/10/2026

I've been thinking while going about my day today, there's so much more to Pilates than the actual Pilates.

It's not really about being able to do a perfect roll-down or hold a plank for another 10 seconds.

It's about what those things can help you do in everyday life.

Getting down on the floor and back up again without the sound effects.

Carrying the shopping.

Walking further without your legs getting tired.

Getting up the stairs without having to stop halfway.

Playing the sport you enjoy.

Going on holiday and being able to walk around and explore without worrying about whether your body will cope.

Those are the things that matter.

And that's why I love teaching Pilates. It's not just about what happens on the mat. It's about helping people keep doing the things they want to do in everyday life.

I love being able to make a difference to people in the real world, not just in terms of what they can do on a mat. And when people tell me about the changes they're noticing in everyday life, I admit I get a little warm feeling inside.

So tell me, what everyday things would you like to keep doing for as long as possible?

If you're an adult child, you might have noticed your mum or dad begin to slow down a little, find things a little more ...
05/10/2026

If you're an adult child, you might have noticed your mum or dad begin to slow down a little, find things a little more effort than it used to be, or quietly sit out things they used to enjoy.
And you are probably feeling a little unsettled and worried about them. That's a normal way for any caring grown child to feel, and totally understandable.

But what if there was another way?

It's easy to think that it's just nature taking its course and slowly down it a natural progression once you reach a certain age. And that may be true, but it doesn't have to be the end of the story.

Finding things a little harder doesn't mean your body has had enough, and it's not a sign for anyone to hang up their dancing (or golfing, Pilates, walking, or whatever hobbies you enjoy) shoes just yet. It just gives us information about where to start - and that's important because it's often a slightly different place than a generic movement class.

Once things become harder, especially as we advance in years, we need movement that's more tailored to our specific needs. That means a starting point that suits the individual, closer ongoing support, and progression at a pace that fits.

With the right approach, movement can help people continue with the things that matter to them - everything from daily life activities like carrying shopping, hanging out the washing and getting up and down the stairs easily, to the more fun stuff - days out with family, trips away and being able to carry on hobbies they love.

Of course it can't prevent every change, and if things do feel harder, nobody is to blame. You can't stop the years, but you can have a say in how strong you feel through them. And it's never too late to make changes that will set you on the right path

If you're not sure how to start the conversation with your parent, ask what they'd most like to keep doing, and go from there. I'm happy to chat if it would help.

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