[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to Pilates Students' Manual, a podcast, helping you get the most out of your Pilates classes. I'm Olivia, and I'll be your host. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on Instagram at @pilatesstudentsmanual. You can support the podcast by visiting buymeacoffee. com/OliviaPodcasts.

[00:00:29] Let's learn something new.

[00:00:47] Hello. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode is all about knowing when it's time to level up or when it's time to progress either in an [00:01:00] exercise, or maybe you're looking at taking a more challenging class and just how do you know when is the right time to do that? There's a lot of thoughts about this.

[00:01:11] It could be the number of classes. It could be an amount of time spent at a certain level. Do you even have to level up if you don't want to? And then one little thing that I want to add to the mix as well is also this mental component that is what we think about what we're able to do is also a component in feeling ready to take that next step in our Pilates journey. 

[00:01:41] Some studios offer leveled classes where there is a beginner level class, an intermediate class, an advanced class, not all studios do this. Some of them have mixed level classes where there's just options given to do more [00:02:00] challenging things that you're not sure if you should take that option or not.

[00:02:04] And sometimes it is signing up for a class that is a different level. Every studio's different. What studios classify as beginning, intermediate, and advanced might be different depending on the studio. So the best source of information is going to be the teachers and the studio that you go to and maybe having a conversation and saying, Hey, you know, I'm feeling this. Am I ready for this? Like you can always get some input from your teachers or check in with the studio if they have protocols or policies. 

[00:02:38] Some studios like Club Pilates offer classes at different levels and to take the advanced class, we ask for instructor approval. So you do have a conversation with the teacher and say, do you think I'm ready for this class? And they will give you feedback on yes, you totally are or what they see that you might want to continue to work on before you take [00:03:00] that class. That's Club Pilates. Again, studios have their own procedures for things, so check with them first. 

[00:03:07] And I also just want to chime in and say that there's no judgment attached to the words beginner, intermediate, or advanced. I don't use those words in particular when I'm teaching because there is some kind of connotation about what it means. Especially in terms of difficulty, you would think that, Oh, an advanced class is going to be really hard. And then a beginner class would be really easy, but that's not what we're talking about in Pilates. And I mean, in some ways, yes, it is, but in other ways, no. 

[00:03:41] I've shared on the podcast that there are multiple components to each exercise. There's always a strength component. There's always a coordination component or control component. And then there's a flexibility component as well. But, and that's like within the [00:04:00] exercises, but for us as people. There's also a familiarity and comfort level that goes into this, that especially for equipment, if you're playing on the reformer, if you're working on the chair, being familiar with how the apparatus works is a component that can help you progress in your practice.

[00:04:21] If you know where the straps are, if you know what the spring resistances are, if you know how to adjust the headrest and your footbar and you know where your station is. All of that familiarity goes towards helping you progress. Beginner classes are for beginners, not necessarily in terms of strength, coordination, and flexibility. You could be very strong and be a beginner in Pilates. Like those things are not mutually exclusive. So some of it is about how to use that strength, flexibility, and coordination skills that you already have. And a lot of that comes with [00:05:00] knowing the choreography, knowing the equipment, that familiarity and comfort with the exercises.

[00:05:06] So that's why we usually recommend that you start in a beginner class, even if you're already very strong doing other things, because there's a language of Pilates that we want you to learn. There's a way that the equipment works that we want you to learn, and that's part of being a beginner is learning that as much as building your strength, getting more flexible, feeling more coordinated, you know, improving balance, things like that.

[00:05:31] So those beginner classes in Club Pilates, they're called a 1. 0 level class, are great as a beginner to Pilates, that you're a beginner in the Pilates world, because intermediate, which in Club Pilates language is called a 1. 5, is going to assume that you have some familiarity. Um, with what you're doing so that they can continue to challenge your strength and flexibility and coordination. And of course, [00:06:00] in an intermediate class, you are going to be doing things that challenge those components more. So having the foundation that you built as a beginner is very important in terms of progressing. 

[00:06:12] And for some people that could be in three classes, you took three beginner classes and you're like, now I know how it all works. For most of us, that's not the case. I think Club Pilates' actual recommendation is that you take 30 classes at level one, which everything's arbitrary. You could say it's a hundred classes. You could say it's 10 classes, but there is an idea that you are learning more about yourself and about the equipment in those beginner classes versus just executing fancy things Advanced classes then which in club Pilates speak are called a flow 2. 0. 

[00:06:50] They are not only assuming that you are familiar with the equipment they're assuming that you know how to make [00:07:00] adjustments for yourself that you know a bunch of exercises and that you're able to execute them a lot faster. There's a lot less transition time as you progress in your practice. And even in mat Pilates, if you just do the mat exercises. You can do them in like 30 minutes, like you can do them in less than 30 minutes if you're just executing them when there's more discussion and description and more directions given that you're getting kind of baby steps on how to do everything. It's naturally going to go slower. It's going to take more time.

[00:07:39] So when you get to those advanced classes, they move really quickly because the teacher can just tell you the name of the exercise and you can get started doing it because your understanding of Pilates is so great. In addition to being stronger and more coordinated and more flexible so we can do different things, we can do shapes that are [00:08:00] stronger that are more challenging, more balanced, more, more requiring of flexibility, because those higher level classes will ask more of you, but the foundation that you built in the beginning classes is assumed, right? It's assumed that you have that common understanding so that we can go off and do things. 

[00:08:23] It's okay to be a beginner. You don't need to take more challenging classes if you don't want to. There are people that I teach that, that, That 1. 0 level class, that beginner level class is their jam. They like the speed, they like the exercises that they're doing, and they don't necessarily want to do harder things. Like this is the right thing for them. And that's totally fine. 

[00:08:47] The goal is not to become more advanced if you don't want to, but how do you know when you should take that next step? All of the fancy stuff, [00:09:00] all of the cool stuff that you see on Instagram has these kind of core nuggets of foundational movements that are the basis on which you're building this crazy fancy thing. If you don't have that foundation, it's kind of like when I tried to play 18 holes of golf and I didn't know how to swing a golf club. Like it was so far out of my league to just hit the ball consistently, let alone hit it with any degree of accuracy. And then in 18 different holes on a course, like it doesn't make sense that I would do that before I know how to swing a golf club. And those beginner classes are really about finding the technique, finding the shape, feeling it for yourself, knowing it for yourself. And then we can use it once we have it, but building it is really challenging. Like to a beginner, beginner things are hard. You know what I mean? 

[00:09:58] So when you're [00:10:00] looking at when you want to make that change, when does that beginner foundational thing not feel so hard? So coming up after the break, we'll talk about that in particular. I've got more analogies. I love that. And we'll see how in Pilates, the stuff that you did as a beginner, how that continues, like that is the basis on which all other fancy things are built. That's coming up next.

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[00:11:34] I've got another analogy for you. Um, the golf is one analogy that you've got to swing a club before you can swing different types of clubs and be at different courses and know how to get balls from point A to point B. But I went to college and studied education. And one of the things we talked about in education is that around third grade, which is in the United States, you're about eight years old in places that [00:12:00] don't do grade levels like that. 

[00:12:02] But you're about eight years old and there's a switch in school where you go from learning how to read to reading to learn. And you before then are talking about we recognize letters and the shapes of the letters and the sounds that letters make and we do phonics and what sounds do letters make when you put them together? And you learn about sounding out words and sight words that you can't sound out, words like "the." That's not t, h, e, you know, like you can't sound out "the," it's just "the." 

[00:12:35] But when you get to about third grade, you just start being given books and paragraphs and there's information in there and it's expected that you know how to read it because everything is predicated on your ability to get information from those words on the page. And if you do not know how to read when that starts happening, you get left behind really quickly [00:13:00] because giving someone a book and says, Hey, everything you need to know for the test or that we're going to be talking about is in here. If you don't know how to get that information out, like, like it doesn't matter. You need to know the letters and the words and how to read before you can read for information purposes and feeling left behind, whether it's in school, as in this analogy, or in a Pilates class, is not an enjoyable feeling. When you are so out of your depth, it feels like you're drowning. It's not a fun time.

[00:13:34] So setting yourself up for success to feel successful in those more challenging, more advanced, however you want to describe them, classes where you're doing more things, you're doing them faster. The baseline knowledge is assumed that it's there. You have to spend that time kind of, it doesn't have to be a grind, but you do have to spend that time building that foundation.

[00:13:57] So in Pilates, for example, [00:14:00] a plank is a very foundational shape, being able to hold a plank. What are your shoulders doing in a plank? What are your hands doing in a plank? What are your hips doing in plank? Where are they in space? You know, where are your feet in space? How far apart are they? How tipped forward towards your toes are you?

[00:14:18] Plank, knowing what that plank is, knowing what it feels like, is a baseline because there are fancy exercises that build on that shape. So on the mat, you've got things like leg pull and leg pull front, which is like a single leg lift in a front plank or a reverse plank. You've got the pushup, you know, being able to do a pushup is predicated on your ability to do a plank. On the reformer, there's long stretch, which is like a plank that moves. There's control front, another plank that moves. There's snake, which is a plank that twists a little bit. All of those fun pushup variation things that you can do on the Reformer, all of the fun pushup variations you can do on the Cadillac where you're doing upside down [00:15:00] pushups and you're doing, you know, all of this super cool stuff, but at its heart, it's being able to find a plank and do a plank and then just like put hot sauce on your plank, pretty much.

[00:15:11] So in those foundational classes, that's where you're going to be able to break down what those shapes are. And sometimes people pick it up really quickly. I look at dancers who see choreography and are able to replicate it in a second. Like that's phenomenal. That's not me. You might be a person who you hear at once and it's locked away in the vault forever. Like you, it's committed to memory, but you may also be someone who needs to hear it a bunch of times. And that is totally me. 

[00:15:39] And so being in those beginner classes, building that foundation is the work. So how do you know when you've built enough of a foundation to try the next thing? Going back to the first thing I said, which is check in with your teacher, the person who sees you in a way that you don't see yourself, ask them how you're doing. They'll probably turn the question back [00:16:00] on you and say, how are you feeling when you're in class? Like, are you feeling like, you know, what's going on? Are you able to follow along? Are you able to try things when I give options to take things a little bit further? How do you feel taking that option?

[00:16:14] Because there is a mental component here and sometimes we are what's holding us back. We have the strength, we have the information about what we're doing. We have the coordination, we have the flexibility, but um, we don't think that we do for whatever reason. And that is a reason that you may not be leveling up.

[00:16:34] So questions I'd ask myself, if you'd been doing this foundational thing, if you'd been learning the exercises and the names and the setup and the equipment settings for things, the question is then how do you feel doing those things? Do you feel like you're drowning or do you feel pretty capable as you're doing them?

[00:16:52] When the teacher says, Hey, we're setting up for footwork. Do you know what springs you want to do for footwork? Do you know how to lie down on the reformer in [00:17:00] a way that makes sense in your body? Do you know what that exercise is? And do you feel confident in your ability to execute it? And you could say yes and stay in those beginner classes. And you could say yes and choose to take it a little bit further. 

[00:17:13] Recognizing as well that in those more advanced classes that it's just a bunch of simple things of those foundational things and simple doesn't mean easy necessarily. Simple can just mean like not complicated. And then the complicated things are just a bunch of simple things happening at the same time.

[00:17:35] So when you have this array of simple things that you know, it's shapes of the spine, it's shapes that you make in exercises, it's overall confidence with the language of Pilates and knowing what's going on. Once you have the pieces, check in with yourself and be like, am I what's holding me back? Or do I feel like I don't have enough pieces yet? Or I don't have enough, [00:18:00] you know, whatever you've, whatever story you tell yourself? 

[00:18:04] Because if you're thinking like a level change thing that happens at Club Pilates is in level one, you do a lot of sitting and lying down on the reformer and then in 1. 5, the intermediate class, you start kneeling on the reformer.

[00:18:18] So you may not have any experience kneeling on the reformer if you've only taken beginner classes because we don't kneel on the reformer in beginning classes, but you won't get better at kneeling on the reformer by not kneeling on the reformer, right? We only get better at what we practice. So if there's something and you're like, Ooh, well, I don't know how to do that. Let yourself be a beginner in the intermediate class, like give yourself permission to not do things perfectly, to not know everything, to try something that is a little bit out of your comfort zone. 

[00:18:53] We only get stronger through progressive overload, by doing more than we've done before. [00:19:00] Either faster than we've done it before or heavier than we've done it before, or however you're overloading yourself, like that's how we get stronger as we, our body adapts to what we ask it to do. So if you are confident that you have the pieces, you've done the time and you have the connections made in those simpler shapes, simpler movements, there should be nothing holding you back from trying that next step, super cool, harder thing. 

[00:19:33] I always want to emphasize that it's progress over perfection. No Pilates teacher, no one in a Pilates class is expecting you to just execute everything perfectly and beautifully and gracefully. Both as a mover and as a teacher, my favorite thing is like the baby horse phase of a movement, where you do it, but it's clunky and it's messy and you are choppy and [00:20:00] clunky and like all of those things, because that's actually you learning. The perfect execution is not learning anymore. You know what I mean? Like there's some messiness that comes from learning, just like a kid learning how to walk. Like it's clunky, it's awkward, it's weird, but that's evidence that you are pushing yourself to do something that you couldn't do before. And it comes with practice. It comes with time. It comes with consistency. And there's no rush. There's no timeline to do the next thing. It's just if you want to do the next thing, making sure you have the building blocks to do it. 

[00:20:39] Doing cool things is fun. Cool things means different things to different people. So if you want to take harder classes, make sure that you are set up for success, you're setting yourself up for success by having whatever prerequisites the studio's asking for. Sometimes [00:21:00] there's a list. I know for a level two classes at Club Pilates, there's a list. Like, can you hold a plank for a minute? Are you familiar with, you know, how to change the springs and what your spring settings are and these common exercises, all of that kind of stuff. So sometimes there are some prerequisites. And if you check those boxes, like there's nothing stopping you from trying that thing. 

[00:21:22] I always let the teacher know, Hey, I'm trying this class, but I also don't want you to be scared of trying a new thing like this is Pilates. This is a largely fun thing. It's pretty low stakes and you can do more than you think a lot of the time. So I think it's nice to get that external check in from a teacher. 

[00:21:43] Little bit of an update from me. I'm going to be taking a summer break for at least the month of July. I know this episode came out in July, but for the rest of July, potentially for the rest of August, there's a course that I'm working on that I just need a little bit of extra time to make [00:22:00] sure that I finish it and that that's taken care of and I will be back in September, certainly if not sooner with more episodes. There will be more up to date information on Instagram, but I did want to give you a heads up that I'm taking a little summer hiatus. 

[00:22:18] Huge thank you to all the supporters on the podcast, including a newest member, Rebecca. Thanks so much for joining this project and I hope that we can connect in a coffee chat soon. I hope you have a great few weeks. I hope you have a great summer if it's summer where you are or winter if it's winter where you are. Have a great few weeks and I'll talk to you again soon.

[00:22:48] Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of Pilates Students' Manual, a podcast helping you get the most out of your Pilates classes. Be sure to check out the podcast Instagram at [00:23:00] @pilatesstudentsmanual and subscribe wherever you're listening. Interested in teaching Pilates too? Check out Pilates Teachers' Manual, available everywhere you listen to podcasts. I hope to see you next episode. Until next time.