The group Pilates instructor guide to mixed levels

Every group Pilates instructor knows this room. There's a first-timer on mat one, a six-year regular on mat two, and by the window someone coming back after a long break. Keeping all three moving without stopping the class is most of what group teaching is. It is also one of the things Erin Schirack's group fitness teacher training is built around: how to coach to multiple levels at once, without breaking the flow of the room.

Even the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists "provide options during workouts to help clients feel successful" among the everyday duties of fitness instructors. Here's how we'd go about it.

Teach the middle, show the edges

Demonstrate the version most of the room will do. Then show the easier way and the harder way in a sentence each. If you demo the hardest version first, newer clients decide they are behind before they start. If you only show the easiest, the regulars get bored and start freelancing.

Set up choices early

In the first few minutes, tell people there will be options all class and that switching between them is normal. That way nobody feels singled out when they take the easier way.

Name options by what they do

Say "keep your head down" or "add the leg lift" rather than "beginner version" and "advanced version." Labels by level can push people toward the harder choice just to save face. Labels by action let them choose what their body needs today.

Watch more, talk less

Look over the whole room before correcting anybody. Choose the single fix that matters most for that person and say it once, quietly if you can manage it. Ten individual corrections in a row sound like noise to everyone else, and the class you planned stops flowing.

Progress the room, not one person

When most people are ready, move the class forward and keep the earlier version on offer. Erin calls this layering progressions and regressions in real time, so every client feels both challenged and successful. It only works if you planned the options in advance, which is why we wrote a separate guide on how to plan a Pilates class.

Know where a cue stops

Sometimes a client needs more than an option. If something hurts, especially around the neck and shoulders, a regression is the first step and a referral to a clinician may be the next. Dr. Morgan Rodriguez's PLTS+ workshop on neck and shoulder pain in Pilates covers how to assess and adjust in class.

Keep your words lean

Mixed rooms need clearer cues, not more of them. Our guide on how to cue Pilates has practical ways to cut the words without losing anyone.

Practice it with a framework

The Signature Group Fitness Pilates Teacher Training by Erin Schirack, in partnership with STRENGTH Collective, is 12 hours for instructors teaching fast-paced group classes, with a framework for supporting beginners through advanced clients in the same room. It is not a traditional Pilates certification. See our certifications page.