STUDIO PILATES SHADOWING CRITERIA The Shadowing component of your Platinum Certification involves working with a Studio Pilates Mentor for approximately 30 hours in a practical class setting. You will begin your Shadowing by assisting in Platinum classes and correcting clients technique while the Mentor cues the group. Over the duration of the Shadowing, you will gradually instruct a solo Studio Pilates Platinum Class following the Platinum System with both group cues, physical corrections, individual cues. By the end of your Shadowing period, you will be responsible for the safety of all clients and the facilitation of all exercises. You will also be required to meet with your Mentor to workshop and implement feedback for approximately 6 hours during the Shadowing process. At the end of your Shadowing, you will instruct a full Studio Pilates Platinum class to real clients with your mentor assessing your performance based on the following criteria. To pass your Shadowing, you have the capacity to be able to perform all of the following criteria. BEFORE THE CLASS The instructor has checked and knows the class sequence before class and this knowledge is displayed during the class The instructor has checked for client alerts on the system prior to class and knows of any injuries that clients may have in advance The instructor has arrived to work in adequate time prior to the shift (if applicable) The instructor is wearing the SP uniform correctly including their name badge The volume is set at the correct level in the studio as indicated If a client has arrived early to the first class, the instructor is servicing the client, talking with them and giving them stretches and possibly warm up exercises to do i.e. they are not checking the ipad ignoring the client or out in the team room eating food for example. The instructor is welcoming the clients and inviting them through to the workout space correctly. They are saying their name when they do this & smiling, greeting the member nicely As each client passes them to move in to the workout space, the instructor is welcoming the class participants and using clients names if known to them This correct script is being used: Please find a reformer, If you have a favourite
stretch, please do this otherwise, today s program has a lot of in it and so we are going to do a stretch. This is how you do it (demonstration + explanation), please hold this till I say to swap When the instructor is asking the 3 start questions that form Energy check #1 (How are you feeling today? How is your body? Ready for a challenging workout then?), they are: Doing this discreetly, quietly so that only the person being asked can clearly hear Mixing up how the question is being asked and in what sequence so they don t sound like a robot Giving advice or encouragement in replacement of question #3 if & when appropriate They are actively using the information gathered from the client energy check #1 to modify exercises if needed & set resistances etc in class. They are displaying that they are using the information gained in the start questions and applying that practically to their session They have displayed empathy and sympathy consistently to the client in this process when the client is not feeling 100% They have given good advice about the upcoming workout in relation to the client to all participants They are checking people in on the Mindbody system (ipad) correctly They are smiling and maintaining eye contact with the client The instructor keeps the class moving and stretching whilst doing the Client Energy Check #1 i.e. they haven t forgotten about them and just stretched one side Just before the class commences, the instructor is giving some sort of phrase based encouragement to the whole group such as enjoy the workout everyone, let s make it a good one or similar DURING THE CLASS Personal Corrections When an exercise is commencing, the instructor is scanning the room for safety. They are getting to anyone who looks like they may be in danger immediately and correcting their technique straight away The instructor is scanning the room during the exercise. They are watching for people potentially falling off of a reformer or hurting themselves in any way The instructor is pre positioning themselves near people who will need their assistance the most i.e. injured, elderly, uncoordinated
The instructor is getting to every person in the class at least once for every exercise to do a personal correction prior to the voiceover finishing The instructor is spending on average, approximately 3 seconds with each person and not longer than this unless the client is in danger When the instructor is making their personal corrections they are doing the following: Checking that the client is safe. If not, they make them safe. They compliment them and move on. If the client is already safe, then... They are checking the clients resistance. They are modifying it if required. They compliment them and move on. If the clients resistance is correct already then... They are checking clients technique to improve the physical effectiveness & outcome of the exercise. They are modifying if required. If technique is great already, then... They are simply complimenting the client on their great technique and moving on. All client technical modifications are always and immediately followed up with a compliment by the instructor, once the improvement has been made by the client The instructor is only correcting one to two things per person at any one time so as not to overload the client When making personal corrections & modifying technique, the instructor is getting into the client's line of sight, making eye contact so that they can be seen and smiling whilst doing so The instructor is verbalising their personal corrections loud enough for the client to hear but not too loud so that others can hear & possibly embarrass the client The compliments that the instructor is giving are phrases, comprising of several complimentary words and not just good job or awesome The instructor is not making unnecessary superfluous corrections which can make the client feel bad about themselves i.e. their corrections have a profound physical impact on the exercise and are not just choreography. The instructor is not skipping clients as they pass by (1st, 2nd or 3rd pass) and missing opportunities to compliment each client as they go i.e. they are telling people who are doing it well that they are doing it well, even if they have already done so. If the client is injured in anyway, the instructor is asking the injured person where they are feeling each exercise and how each exercise is feeling in their injured part. The instructor is using their voice, hand gestures and body movements all together as one in order to communicate their technique requirement/instruction to the client in their personal corrections The instructor checked the all of the client s T zone by touch at least once The instructor got hands on to modify or correct technique repeatedly, in the correct and appropriate manner, with all class participants. The instructor is assessing the clients technique and their requirements for resistance changes in a fraction of a second and they are not staring at the client making them
feel uncomfortable (stalking them) The instructor is moving swiftly between each person When the exercise requires it, the instructor is going in between every second machine and correcting to the left and right of them and not wasting time going in between every machine The instructor is helping clients with the equipment, putting boxes on or off, changing springs, getting head cushions and helping them up on to the machine etc. The instructor is increasing or decreasing at least one client's spring for almost every exercise in a class and they are consistently doing this The instructor is getting the spring correct for each individual client. It s heavy enough for them and it s safe When the springs need to be increased, the instructor is inviting a client to go up in a polite manner and they are using the correct script/approach When the spring needs to be reduced for the client, the instructor is using the correct script/approach and they are lifting the clients spirits back up again i.e. not allowing the client to feel like a failure The instructor is performing the Client Energy Check #2 at some appropriate stage of the workout. They are checking who each individual is feeling and they are getting to everyone, saying the right thing and smiling when doing it Group Cues The instructor is not instructing over the top of the voiceover at all unless it is for client safety The instructor s group cues are prioritised and are effective. They are saying the most important things first by explaining how to make the clients feel it more in the right spot, how to improve safety & how to make it easier or harder with modifications before anything else. The instructor is doing their group cues it in a tone of voice that is uplifting and is a positive customer experience for the class The instructor is actively displaying different pace, pitch and tone in their voice when performing their group cues in order to enhance the effectiveness of their communication and to emphasise the most important things in what they are saying i.e. they are not sounding like monotone robots. The instructor is performing their group cues promptly, leaving no blank spots in the communication that group is receiving The instructor is using their voice, hand gestures and body movements all together as one in order to communicate their technique requirement/instruction to the client in their group cue. The instructor is pre facilitating each exercise with a brief group cue, prior to the exercise commencing with the following information; What resistance is required (generally narrowing from the range given on the voice over)
The resistance recommended is accurate (check the manual) How the equipment should be modified if required Any safety pointers, giving clients ways to prevent injuries The instructors group cues are layered with information, then encouragement, information then encouragement repeatedly. It is not just all information or all encouragement. When the instructor is encouraging during a group cue, the chosen words are short phrases or sentences rather than just one word and the encouragements are reflective of what is going on in the exercise/class. The instructor is congratulating the class at the end of each exercise with a compliment and a congratulations. They are mixing this up and they not saying the same thing over and over again. Again, this is being displayed as a phrase/sentence rather than just one word. If required, the instructor is giving exercise swap outs for clients with injuries and they are choosing ones that do not make the client feel embarrassed and will not increase the injury at all. They are ideally in the same group/plane of motion of the current exercise. The instructor is giving exercise challenges in order to challenge fitter and more advanced clients as required. The modifications are simply harder variations of the same exercise and not different ones. The instructor is still actively moving around the room with purpose and interacting with the clients when they are performing their group cues. They are not simply standing out in front of the group motionless. General No accidents have occurred in any classes and all clients appear to be safe The instructor is always smiling and they have a happy demeanour. They are smiling when they are doing their personal corrections, they are smiling when group cueing and they are generally smiling all of the time END OF THE CLASS When the workout segment of the class is finished & just before the stretch/es commence, the instructor is group cueing some words of congratulations on a job well done The instructor is performing the Client Energy Check #3 (the pat on the back for a job well done during the stretches) and they are: Getting to everyone in time during the stretch/es and not taking more than a few seconds per person What they are saying is positive, reflective of what the member did well in the
class and boosts the members self confidence Giving advice to the client when appropriate on what their plan is for them ongoing Confirming when they will see them again / should be booked in again (asking for a return visit) The instructor congratulates the entire group again at the conclusion of the stretches The instructor farewells the class as a whole as the class is preparing to leave the studio The instructor exits the finished class in adequate time to welcome, stretch and check in the new incoming class The instructor updates client alert notes when applicable