Programming effective private sessions for clients involves giving them the perfect mix of what they NEED and what they WANT. There can be a major divide between what you think a client needs to do during their time (foot strength! ankle mobility! rotator cuff strength!) vs. what they want to do (toned abs! lifted buns! chiseled arms!). What they WANT to do is ultimately what will keep them coming back for more and the best instructors are able to deliver on those client goals while sneaking in exercises/stretches that will truly help their bodies but perhaps aren’t perceived as “sexy” or challenging in the traditional way clients are used to.
The importance of private sessions to studios and teachers should not be underestimated- this is where studios make the bulk of their money and where teachers truly hone their craft. Privates, when done well, are where the magic of the teacher-student relationship and life changing movement merge to create unwavering client loyalty and retention. They offer a unique environment for bonding that group classes don’t and this makes trust and communication key components to a successful relationship (or any relationship for that matter!). It also calls for a personalized approach to workout programming and will enhance your critical thinking skills as a teacher. Prepping for three private sessions back to back vs. three group classes will require similar but also very different techniques (a separate post on programming effective group classes to come!). For privates, you need to be able to move into each client’s unique set of body needs seamlessly and effortlessly. You need agility in selecting appropriate exercises. As a new teacher, I know how overwhelming it all seems but it really comes down to a few simple tips that will keep your clients happy and satisfied with their workouts! Below are my top tips for success:
Tip #1: Establish trust and open communication immediately.
Client goals: Make sure you know WHY your clients are taking private lessons and what their goals are. If you work at a studio, study their client intake form which should include questions about their occupation, current activity levels, their goals for practicing pilates etc. If you have your own studio, here is a link to my new client questionnaire that I’ve found super helpful. I’ve tweaked it over the years to include questions that make programming that initial session much easier.
Take time to ask the 3 initial questions below I ALWAYS ask at the beginning of the session. These allow you to get an understanding of what’s going in the client’s body that day (it changes week to week/day to day which is why it’s so important to always ask) and fine tune your lesson plan accordingly. It also builds trust because you’re taking an active interest in them and allowing them to have input in their movement experience (vs. you just guessing at what they want or need that particular day, now you know FOR SURE). We are not mind readers and to give someone the experience they really want, we need some concrete answers.
How is your body feeling today?
Does anything hurt or feel especially tight?
Anything in particular you want to focus on today or make sure we get to?
Remind clients to let you know if an exercise feels uncomfortable/painful (ESP. important for new clients). It’s also crucial to notice non-verbal cues from clients during exercises so you can notice if they need a modification or correction. It’s all in the body language and facial expressions- if someone looks like they are struggling or uncomfortable, offer less resistance or a modification. I learned this the hard way in the beginning of my teaching career when someone told me a week later that their calves were hurting from running on the reformer because the springs were too heavy. Sometimes the body language isn’t obvious and this is when you need to trust your intuition.
ALWAYS ask for feedback! Check in at the end of the session for new clients (or once a month for standing clients) and ask them if they’re happy with the level of difficulty they’re working at. There have been a few times when I thought we were working at the perfect level and they actually told me they wanted more of a challenge, and vice versa. Many times people are thinking something but don’t feel comfortable saying it- this gives them a chance and allows you to improve if you need to. They’ll appreciate the open communication and you’ll benefit from fine tuning workouts to exceed their expectations.
Tip #2: Execute solid session programming by following this order:
Start with what you can’t do. What are we avoiding due to injury or pathology? Eliminate any exercises involving these body parts or movements.
Sprained foot- no weight bearing on legs, you’ll be using seated, side lying, and supine/prone positions.
Diastasis? No flexion of the spine.
Exercises that incorporate client’s stated goals
Client goal: toned arms- choose a longer arm series that feels challenging, like standing arm work on the tower with the arm springs.
Exercises you think they need based on your observation of their posture and movement patterns
Rounded or kyphotic upper back, they need extension and back strength (think extension on mat with no resistance then progress to arms pulling straps on reformer)
knee pain- they most likely need some ankle and foot strength and stability (running on the chair or reformer, foot corrector), along with glute medius and abductor strength (side leg series + standing splits on reformer)
Then leave the rest of the session for ensuring a well rounded workout in all planes of motion (frontal, sagittal, transverse) that hits every body part. Clients like to feel like they worked a little bit of everything unless they specifically say they don’t want to work something (e.g. I have a client who bicycles 40 miles a week- she will say she doesn’t want to do legs and just do arms and abs).
They should be moving in all planes of movement ( rotation, extension, lateral flexion, and flexion) UNLESS contraindicated by injury or pathology.
Ensure they get arms (chest, back, triceps, biceps), legs (abductors/adductors, quads, glutes, hamstrings) core (obliques and rectus and TA), and spinal/hip/ankle/shoulder mobility as needed.
Let them choose a body part to stretch at the end of class. Again- we are not mind readers! Allowing them to choose feels empowering and allows you to give them exactly what they want without guessing.
*NOTE: all exercises selected should be at a difficulty level appropriate for your client. For example, if they aren’t super coordinated, basic/essential/level 1 exercises might be best. Also if they’re newer in their practice they aren’t going to be doing advanced exercises. Know your client’s ability and select and progress them accordingly.
Tip #3: Be flexible.
Don’t be too married to your pre-planned workout that you can’t make changes on the fly. You may have a workout in mind for a client and then based on the answers to the 3 initial questions you might have to throw the whole thing out the window. If I had a dollar for every time this happened! Your ability to handle these types of situations with improve with experience and time so be patient with yourself.
Quickly assess client aptitude for movement and overall strength and be ready to make changes as needed. Some clients are more coordinated and strong than others- you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly and can simplify choreography or reduce resistance as needed. This is especially important for newer clients so they don’t feel like they couldn’t do anything in the session or that it was too easy!
Tip #4: Write notes.
This is a laborious task but I cannot stress the importance of staying disciplined with it. When I first started teaching, I was very OCD about keeping files for each client that included their initial client intake form + my own observations about their posture and movement patterns. It also included notes from each workout that documented exactly what we did, how their bodies were feeling that day, and any notes about if an exercise wasn’t right for them, etc. When I went through a super busy time in my life, I strayed from doing this and it made programming each week’s session that much harder and I didn’t feel as in tune with my clients as I did when I kept the notes. I’ve since gone back to doing it (but instead of hand writing I’m now typing them out- why didn’t I do that sooner??) and will never skip out on it again.
Notes should include:
Workout- what did they do that day, what worked and what needed to be modified
Their responses to the 3 initial questions if their answers were noteworthy or different than usual - such as if your client was having tennis elbow or carpal tunnel pain, tight hips, etc.
The notes make it easier for you to program workouts each week because you’ll know exactly what they did the week before and can change up your exercise selection accordingly. There is something powerful about going through the process of writing everything out- it allows you to see where there’s room for improvement in your exercise selection or if you need to do more of something the following week, and so on.
Tip #5: Stay calm, confident, focused, and trust yourself.
How can the client be sure of what they’re doing if you’re not? Always be sure of how to set up and cue an exercise. If it’s something newer to you, skip it or make sure you’re completely comfortable with it before attempting to take a client through it. This can result in some awkward moments that can be avoided (you want me to put my arm where? my foot up here?)!
Stay calm, even when an exercise doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, an exercise can go really wrong. This can be for multiple reasons- perhaps we chose an exercise that is beyond our client’s ability level, our cueing or explanation isn’t making sense to them, or this particular exercise just doesn’t work for that client’s body. It happens to the best of us and when it does, the best thing to do is stay calm and level headed. It’s easy to completely freak out and lose sight of where to go next because things got really awkward. Realize that it isn’t working and move on to another body part or movement you know they can and will enjoy doing.
SIDESTORY: Trust me, I speak from experience! This happened early on in my career when I had a client who had a dowager’s hump (an actual hump-back/excessive kyphosis of the thoracic spine) and I came into the session armed with a bunch of exercises I had watched in a Pilates Anytime tutorial on the topic (I thought- this is going to be great! I did my homework!). However, I didn’t follow the advice I laid out here in this post and the session was truly a complete disaster- she actually walked out in the middle of it (the only time this has ever happened to me, and I vowed to NEVER let it happen again). I really wasn’t familiar enough with the exercises yet to be teaching them to someone which resulted in a lot of awkward moments with set up and positioning because she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing because I wasn’t completely sure either. I thought the workout that day should follow the tutorial exactly as I watched it on PA and didn’t want to deviate from it at all (not following TIP #3- be flexible!)- and being too married to that plan made it difficult for me to see that these exercises just weren’t working for her body. I then got completely freaked out and had a brain freeze where I couldn’t think clearly enough to be able to move on to other exercises or body parts that she would have been able to do.
People want to be beside still waters. Leave whatever drama that’s going on in your life at the door- clients can sense our energy and you don’t want to bring bad vibes into the session. For most clients, their hour with you is their sanctuary away from the demands of their kids, spouse, job, chores, etc. and this time is sacred. We must do our best to hold this peaceful space for them to focus on themselves.