Adapting one Pilates exercise for different clients in a small-group class

Small groups make every difference visible

More studios are moving to groups of six to eight. At that size you can see every client, and every client expects you to have seen them. The client who can't kneel today and the one who wants more load are both standing in front of you, in the same exercise.

You don't need a separate class for each of them. You need the same exercise in a few versions, and a quick way to hand them out.

Keep one intent, offer two or three versions

Name what the exercise is for, out loud if it helps: “this is for hip extension” or “this is about keeping the pelvis still”. That's what the whole group shares. What changes from client to client is the position, the range or the load.

Two or three versions is plenty. More than that and you spend the exercise explaining instead of watching.

On the reformer, springs are per machine

A shared count and individual springs go well together. Give the group the rhythm and the reps, then walk the room and set or say each person's spring as you pass. Clients who know their usual setting can set it themselves.

If a client needs a different version entirely, such as seated instead of kneeling, give it before the group starts so they're moving with everyone else on the first rep.

Decide who gets which version before you start

The best time to choose a version is before the client is on the machine. A glance at your notes before class tells you who said their knee doesn't like kneeling and who asked for more challenge. Then the adjustment is an instruction, not an interruption.

Watch one thing per version

Each version brings its own compensation. Pick one thing to watch in each, such as ribs in the supine version or knees in the standing one. Your eyes then know where to go as you move across the room.

When you need an option for one client

Sometimes a client walks in with something new and you haven't got a version ready. In Syllene you pick that client, ask while the group sets up, and get up to three options with why each suits them and what to watch for, starting from your own library.