Season 6, Episode 9: How do I plan one class that works for everyone in the room?

Tania Huddart: Picture a gym class. You've got a beginner on one mat. Someone who's been coming for a while on the next. And a very sophisticated mover at the back. You can't send anyone away. And you don't have to. You can still have one theme for the class. You just need a lot more choice.

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 episode was about images and stories. Today we start Part 3 of the course, planning and teaching your classes. How do I plan one class that works for everyone in the room?

Tania Huddart: You start with a shape, and a theme. Then you build in the choices, so everyone in the room can feel successful.

Host: Where does planning start?

Tania Huddart: With the shape. In the course, a class has six movement blocks. A warm-up. Abdominals. Ribcage, arms and legs. Extension. Integration, which is where you put it all together in one more complex exercise. And a cool-down.

The warm-up, the integration and the cool-down always sit in the same place. The others you can move around, so the class flows. We went through each block back in Season 2, so I won't do it again.

Host: And the theme?

Tania Huddart: The course quiz puts it simply. Choose a theme, and create exercise options for different clients, so everyone in the class feels successful.

The theme might be breathing. Or balance. Or the spine. Or you might be working towards one particular exercise. You don't have to announce it. It just helps you choose your exercises, and gives the class a thread.

Host: How much should I plan?

Tania Huddart: Less than you think, and hold it lightly. If something comes up that needs more attention, give it the time. Leave out the exercises that don't help you reach your goal. Your clients don't know what you planned. Save it for the next class. It's a lovely feeling, finishing a class with something left over for next week.

Host: In an ideal world, wouldn't everyone just start in a beginners' class?

Tania Huddart: In an ideal world, yes. New clients would start in an introductory class, or with a few private sessions. Before they join a group, it helps if they can breathe well while they move. Keep their alignment while they move. Know a few of the basic exercises. And choose the position or the version that's right for them. That last one matters more than people think.

But that's not always possible. You might teach at a gym, where every age and every level walks in the door. So you need a way of teaching one class to all of them.

Host: How do I make one exercise work for everyone, then?

Tania Huddart: With modification. It's probably the teaching technique we use most. And mostly we do it by instinct. But it pays to spend a little time thinking about how we break movement down for our clients. In the course, there are five ways.

The first is the one we use most. Simplify the movement. If two or three parts of the body are working together, you might do the legs first. Then the arms. Then add the spine. And at the end, put it all together. That might happen in one lesson, or over a series of lessons.

Host: And the others?

Tania Huddart: You can shorten a lever. A lever is an arm or a leg working away from the body. Say the leg is up towards the ceiling. Some people's hamstrings, the backs of their thighs, aren't long enough to be comfortable with the leg straight. Or the pelvis is really unstable. So you bend the knee. Now it's more accessible.

You can add a prop. A towel, a ball, anything that makes the exercise more accessible. And you can add assistance. If it's too hard to hold a leg up in the air, a strap or a band can support it. On the equipment, you might use a heavier spring, or sometimes a lighter one. It depends how their body responds.

And the one people forget is speed. Doing something very slowly is often a lot harder than going a little faster. Slow is honest. The important thing is that you don't lose the intent of the exercise, whether you go slower or faster.

Host: Is a modification the same as a variation?

Tania Huddart: No. A modification makes the exercise more accessible. A variation is either just as complex as the original exercise, maybe with a twist or a weight added, or it's a bit more difficult. Or it comes at it from a different angle.

Host: How would I practise this?

Tania Huddart: Take an exercise like the teaser. That's the one where you balance on your sitting bones in a V shape, with your legs and your arms reaching. How many of the five could you use to lead your clients there? What prop could you use? How could you break it down? Would you keep the knees bent in the V, or lengthen the legs? Would it help to go slower, or faster?

It might take you a whole month to get there. It really doesn't matter.

Host: So, back to the gym class. What happens in the room?

Tania Huddart: Tell them at the start that there are going to be plenty of choices. And if they choose one that's too hard, they go back to the one before. Then they can keep checking in with themselves, and choose what's best for them.

Everyone gets the baseline option first. The very simplest version. They repeat that two, three, four, five times. Then you layer the next option on top. "If you feel like it's available to you, you can go to this next one. If you're comfortable where you are, and you feel like you're benefiting, stay with it." Then a third, if you can see people in the room who are ready.

It's a ladder. Everyone starts on the bottom rung. Then they climb as far as they want today. It's completely possible. It's just a different way of teaching, and a different kind of awareness.

Host: What does that look like with a real exercise?

Tania Huddart: Say we're in the abdominal block. My beginners lift one leg, keeping the pelvis still. They can put their hands on the front of their pelvis to feel it. Then, with the leg up, turn it out and in. Then a small circle with the knee, like drawing the belly of a letter D. And if that's too much, bring the leg down, and go back to lifting and lowering. All of that leads towards a leg circle.

Or press-ups. Some people do them on their hands and knees. Some in a modified plank, with their knees down. A plank is a long, straight line from your head to your heels, like the top of a press-up. And some in a full plank. You might not even get to the full exercise. That's fine. That's the job. Not getting everyone to the top.

Host: Here's my sceptical question. Won't everyone just pick the hardest version?

Tania Huddart: Some of us are funny creatures. We think that if we do the harder version, it's going to be better for us.

That comes down to educating your clients. If you can see someone really struggling, encourage them to choose the easier option. And explain how it will build the strength for the harder one, without all the stress and strain, and the risk of injury. Choosing the easier version is a skill.

Host: And while I'm layering all this, how do I cue it?

Tania Huddart: Keep the different learning styles in mind, from Part 1. Demonstrate if you need to. Use a sound, or touch, or their own hands. And plenty of encouragement. Every second repetition, give them a new idea. Or say the same idea a different way, for a different learner.

And always cue for safety first. That's in the quiz. If you see something going amiss that could hurt someone, that comes before anything else. Check the springs and the straps, too.

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

Tania Huddart: Take your class plan. For one exercise in each block, write down three levels. The baseline. The next one. And one more. Then plan one sentence for the start of class. Something like, "There'll be lots of choices today. If one feels too much, go back to the one before." Say it, and mean it.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Start with the six blocks and a theme. Then build in options, so everyone can feel successful.

Two. Give everyone the baseline first. Then layer. Simplify, shorten the lever, add a prop or some help, or change the speed.

Three. Make it safe to choose the easier version. And cue for safety before anything else.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: Think of your last mixed class. Who left feeling successful? And was there anyone who might have gone home feeling they'd failed?

Host: Everything we talked about today is in Part 3 of Tania's online course, Teach Pilates with Confidence: Planning and teaching your classes. It's open now. You'll find it at taniahuddart.com/academy.

Next episode is the season finale. How do I keep long-term clients challenged, and keep growing myself?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: Everyone in that room came for a reason. Give each of them a version they can do well, and let them choose it. They'll leave feeling successful. And that's what brings them back.