Allegro Fitness London

Consistency is KEY.

Being an instructor is not rocket science (although sometimes the anatomy training can feel like being in med school 😂) .

I’m not saying it’s easy - but like anything else in life being better at teaching comes with practise.

Why then are the loads of very good instructors with semi full classes, and some very average ones with waitlists?

This is a job based more on relationships and hospitality than it is anatomy. The more you show up, the more you see and get to know the regulars, the more they feel seen.

I’ve had empty classes. I’ve had the class where just 1 or 2 people show up week in week out for weeks on end. Likelihood is - it’s not you, it just needs time to build.

Be patient with summer, the ones who are still showing up are clearing their schedule to be there to see you. They have told their colleagues they can’t meet until after 12 for their meeting. They have told the Dad of their kid that he needs to pick the kid up from school, they’ve told their mum they’ll be at hers to help out an hour later.

Trust and safety builds with consistency- and once word of mouth gets going, you’ll be unstoppable ❤️

❤️ ̇lates

Hear me out. I like music. I like reformer. Whether a class is done to the music or not won’t inherently make it unsafe - client screening, marketing , programming have the potential to - but this is for consenting adults who (in theory) know what they’re signing up for.

Does it have potential to be unsafe? Yes
Will I be signing up for teacher training? No
Is it real pilates? I don’t care if it is or not
Am I curious to try it? Definitely

But we won’t know the facts regarding safety and ex*****on for a while. I’m staying cautiously optimistic as the dancer in me loves moving to the beat

The Pilates that the physiotherapist is referring their client to is not the same pilates that more than half of the studios offer.

First off - no first education be it comprehensive or not, prepares you for every injury? None 😂 There are specialised courses for special populations and those special populations aren’t who 20 reformer bed classes are aimed at.

Instructors and educations get a lot of flack for this- but educations deliver the information necessary to deliver to a healthy group of people. Instructors learn that information.

What happens when someone shows up to your class who probably shouldn’t be there? Either someone who was referred by their physio to do pilates but had more of a senior specialist in mind? Or the beginner who shows up to advanced?

Both of these are on the studio or gym for not screening properly, or for misleading advertising.

With the growth of pilates it’s actually now starting to be more important to clarify concepts and levels to help the right person find the right studio for them

There is no break when teaching, not a 10 second mini break to check your messages.

All instructors seem to have their own versions of going into a catatonic state after teaching, I’ll sometimes be at a studio for 20 minutes after class staring at the roof. It’s like you opened 1 tab too many and the little rainbow wheel of monotony shows up, too much processing power is being used and now everything needs to catch up.

I don’t mind that this happens, it’s an occupational hazard and like any job it has its pros and cons. But what I mind is when people close to me don’t see it as a proper job, they see it as a hobby job - something to earn a bit of pocket money while parents or boyfriends pay for your life.

This happens a lot. And isn’t helped by the culture of influencers turned 1-class-a-week pilates instructors are making it look like the main part of the job description is looking cute and going for brunch.

This isn’t me saying it’s harder or easier - but both have their own challenges - and your loved one isn’t being dismissive, they still love you - they are just buffering after having a massive cortisol spike to stay focused and massive adrenaline spike to stay energetic. Both of these spikes take a moment to settle. We love you just need to buffer 😂

After a bit I’ll personally often get a second wave of zoomies 😂 so you never know

Who are you sending this to?

It’s never about the moves you do - but how present you are for your class.
I’ve gone to structurally great classes but the instructor is on autopilot- and we all have those days don’t get me wrong.
But the point is - the classes I remember positively, can have mistakes, can break flow, can be super simple - if the instructor is present and cares, people know the difference.
#

I don’t get these comments. I BET if I were making content about sales jobs or nursing I wouldn’t hear this kind of crap.

There is something about the wellness industry that assumes privilege - and perhaps that’s the image that is portrayed on social media. But this job is HUSTLE culture - maybe even more so than some corporate jobs as you are way easier to fire when you’re self employed.

You can earn a living in this job. Just like any career paths there are better and worse looking versions of the role …and don’t get me wrong, there are SO many pilates instructors who are being supported financially by partners, and I’m so not against that at all! But if you’re not in that position, don’t let that false idea stop you from pursuing your dreams.

You just might have to work more than 10 hours a week, and not go to Bali for 3 months every year.

I don’t really take holidays abroad that much, nor do I own a car or have any expensive hobbies and have been living in shared accommodation the whole time I’ve lived in London. My biggest expense at the moment outside of rent is egg freezing.

You can earn more than this figure or less than this figure.