Season 6, Episode 2: How do adults actually learn?

Tania Huddart: Take the bridge. Your client lies on their back and lifts their hips. To you, it's an exercise. To them, it can be how they get out of a chair. It can be how they get up the stairs, using their bottom and the back of their thighs, instead of hauling themselves up with the front. Show them that, and they'll remember the bridge.

Host: Welcome to Build Confidence and Purpose with Pilates. I'm here with Tania Huddart: Pilates teacher, teacher trainer and author of Teach Pilates with Confidence and Pilates & Purpose. Both voices you'll hear are made with AI. Every word Tania says is her own, and she's approved each one.

Last time, we asked where confidence in teaching actually comes from. Today we start Part 1 of the course, with the people on the mat. How do adults actually learn?

Tania Huddart: Very differently from children. That's the first thing to understand. An adult walks into your class with years of life behind them. And they already know something about how they learn.

Host: What do you mean, they already know?

Tania Huddart: They might not be able to explain it to you. But they know what works for them. Some people need to see it. Some need to hear it and see it at the same time. Some know they need to do a movement a few times before it makes sense.

Some people need to repeat things more than others. And that's fine. It's not a sign that they're slow. It's how they learn.

Children will usually copy you without asking why. Adults won't. They've spent years working out what works for them, at school, at work, in everything else they've learnt. They bring all of that into your room. So you're not starting from nothing. You're starting from them.

Host: So they're telling me how to teach them.

Tania Huddart: In a way, yes. If you watch and listen, they'll show you. The person who watches you very closely before they start. The person who asks you to say it again. The person who just wants to have a go. They're all giving you information.

Host: Here's the sceptical question. Isn't this just common sense? Adults are adults.

Tania Huddart: It is common sense. And it's the first thing to go when you're nervous. You walk in with your class plan, you're thinking about the next exercise, and you forget there are real people on the mats. With real lives. Who learn in their own way.

So common sense, yes. But it's worth saying out loud, because it's easy to lose.

Host: If there's one thing that matters most with adults, what is it?

Tania Huddart: They need to see a practical value. I think that's one of the most useful things we can bring to our clients. They need to see that the exercise you're teaching has something to do with their life.

Host: Take me back to the bridge, then.

Tania Huddart: Your classic bridge exercise. You can use it to help someone understand how to sit down in a chair, and how to stand up out of it. It brings awareness to the work that the bottom muscles and the back of the thighs do. The glutes and the hamstrings. And how they can use those to help carry them up the stairs, instead of hauling themselves up with the front of the thighs.

So if you give them very specific examples like that, they can carry the learning into their everyday life.

In class, it might sound like this. "Notice how your bottom and the back of your legs lift you. That's the same work that gets you up out of your chair." That's all. One sentence. And now the bridge isn't just something they do on a mat on a Tuesday. It's something they'll feel the next time they stand up from the dinner table.

Host: And that makes a difference?

Tania Huddart: A big one. It makes the exercise valuable to them. It's more likely they'll use it. And they're more likely to remember which exercise helps them do the things they love doing.

To you, it's an exercise. To them, it's a way out of a chair. What a wonderful gift that is, to give an adult learner.

Host: But how do I know what matters to them? Not everyone tells you.

Tania Huddart: It helps to know why people come. And adults come to classes for all sorts of reasons.

Some people come because they're interested. They've heard about a way of moving, and they want to explore it. Other people come because something big has changed. Maybe they've moved into a new role at work. They've realised they need to look after their body, and their mind. And other people are going through something else that changes their life. A divorce, perhaps. And they need to meet new people.

Host: That's quite a range.

Tania Huddart: It is. And when they come together, you start creating this beautiful community, where people share movement. What's better than that?

So it's up to us to understand some of those reasons. And then to build a bridge between what we teach and their normal, everyday life.

Host: A bridge. I like that, given where we started.

Tania Huddart: It works twice. Really, what we're teaching is awareness. Awareness of their bodies. Awareness that these exercises aren't done in isolation. They have a bigger use, in everything else they're already doing.

And whatever they came for, you can meet it. Relaxation. Interest. A sense of community. If an exercise has no reason, it has no home. Give it a reason, and it moves in.

Sometimes they won't know what they need yet. They might not notice how they stand, or how they get out of the car. Part of your job is helping them notice. Gently. Once they've noticed, they're curious. And a curious adult is a lovely person to teach.

Host: Let's talk about the words. A lot of teachers think using the proper anatomy terms makes them sound professional. Is that wrong?

Tania Huddart: There's a question about it in the course quiz. "You need to use lots of anatomical terms so your clients really understand." And the answer is false.

Medical-sounding words tend to confuse people. Your clients can learn new ideas over time. But you have to give yourself time to explain them. And don't expect anyone to remember everything after one class. Say it again next week. And add a little more.

So start with the words they already have. Most people know their ribs, their bottom and the back of their thighs. If you want to use the proper name, say the everyday word first, and then the name. "The back of your thighs, your hamstrings." After a few weeks, they'll know both.

Big words make you sound clever. Plain words make them move.

Host: The quiz also talks about a safe learning environment. What does that look like in a Pilates class?

Tania Huddart: It means you're supportive of their answers. It means you're kind. And it means you're respectful.

Adults have pride. They need to feel safe in your class. If they don't, their self-esteem is at risk, and they won't come back. So let people tell you when they're confused, or frustrated, or when they just don't get it. Treat every question with respect. Nobody learns while they're embarrassed.

Host: And the key strategies for learning? What are they, in practice?

Tania Huddart: The first one is to use more than one way in. You can show it. You can say it. You can use touch. And you can let them take part, and work it out with you.

The second is to give them one idea at a time. Adults link new things to what they already know. So if a new movement is like something they already do, tell them. They'll find it again much faster.

And the one people forget is that adults want to use it straight away. They tend to come with a problem they want to solve. If what you're teaching helps with that problem, they're with you.

Taking part matters too. Adults learn by doing, and by working things out. So ask what they noticed. Let them try it two ways and choose. When they work something out for themselves, it belongs to them.

Host: So what could a teacher do in their very next class?

Tania Huddart: Take your class plan. Next to each exercise, write one sentence. Where does this show up in their day? Getting out of the car. Picking up a bag of shopping. Reaching for the top shelf.

You don't have to say every sentence out loud. But choose two or three, and say those. Then ask one client what they find hard in their day. Just one. And listen to the answer.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Adults already know something about how they learn. Watch and listen, and they'll show you.

Two. Give every exercise a practical reason. Build a bridge from the mat to their everyday life.

Three. Keep your words plain and your room kind. Nobody learns while they feel small.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: Think of the exercise you teach most often. If a client asked you, "Why am I doing this?", what would you say? And would it have anything to do with their life?

Host: Everything we talked about today is in Part 1 of Tania's online course, Teach Pilates with Confidence: Understanding your clients. It's open now. You'll find it at taniahuddart.com/academy.

Next episode, we stay with the people on the mat. What keeps clients coming back, and what keeps them away?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: Your clients aren't children, and they aren't blank pages. They walk in with a whole life. Find the bit of that life your exercise can help with. Then show them. That's what they'll remember.