April is here, and as the buds begin to bloom and the bees begin to buzz, the month of renewal and rebirth sets free our collective, inherent desire to do new things and grow our capacities. However, this well of enthusiasm for learning can quickly be drained if your interest is not nurtured with care.
Whether it’s Pilates or GYROTONIC®, cooking, art, golf, or signing, growing a skill set requires you walk the same path of learning. Coaching, Community and Consistency will get you from daydreaming about being good at something, to being able to say with confidence that you can do it, and do it well.
Coaching:
Getting better at something you know little about is almost impossible without at least some guidance. Even if it’s a periodic check-in with a coach to make sure that your self-teaching is proceeding in the right direction, every athlete needs a coach, every student needs a teacher, every learner needs a mentor. Taking some time to research and find the right coach, teacher, or mentor for you is well-worth it and will pay back high dividends in your long-term success.
When looking for a Pilates or GYROTONIC® instructor, ask questions about her or his training. A “certified” instructor means that the instructor has participated in an organized training program as well as a directed apprentice-teacher program, and has passed a certification exam.
Certification in the GYROTONIC® world is very easy to determine and can be verified at www.gyrotonic.com. Certification in the Pilates world gets a little dicey. Currently, the only certifying body for Pilates (no matter where or when an instructor trained) is the Pilates Method Alliance, and certification can be verified at www.pilatesmethodalliance.org. (However, this is a relatively recent development in the Pilates world and many very qualified instructors, who have ample experience, trained before the PMA was formed.) Does s/he attend continuing education conferences on a regular basis? What equipment is present in the studio?
Once you have determined that you have found a qualified instructor, give him/her a try and see if you get along. Feel out how the interaction goes, by noting if the instructor is professional, kind, and encouraging. Or, is her/his teaching style punishing? Do you feel comfortable and seen, or do you feel passed over and insignificant?
Community:
Once you’ve found the instructor for you, and you know you’ll be receiving good coaching, look for a community of people who, like you, want to increase their skill set. In a boutique fitness studio, there is usually a community of like-minded enthusiasts ready to welcome you, encourage you, and support you. Let them! Make friends at the studio. Talk about your classes, your weaknesses and your strengths. You might be surprised that the one person in your class who seems to be able to do anything and everything finds bridging really difficult. Or, maybe it took him a whole year to be able to make it through the full Hundred.
Finding a community of those who enjoy what you enjoy, and who are going through the learning process together with you, is essential to keep you on track and not feeling defeated. Showing up to class will continue to be a treat and a joy when you know that smiling faces and friendly people await you. Instead of thinking of exercise as a chore, you will begin to think of it as a gift, to your body and to your mind. That is the best kind of motivation!
Consistency:
To be consistent at something requires elements of both frequency and duration. If you want to become better at push-ups, for example, doing 20 push-ups once every two months will not effectively increase your strength and stamina, and success may seem elusive. Similarly, doing one push-up every day for a week, and then quitting, will not get you much closer to your goals.
With a Pilates or GYROTONIC® practice, frequency means that you must commit to putting in the time, on a regular basis, to not only learn how to move your body, but also for your body to develop the strength and agility necessary to do what you will be asking of it. You will not be able to accomplish this with one class a month.
When new clients come into the studio, one of the first questions they usually ask is, “How many times a week should I be doing this?” There is no correct answer for everyone. Once a week is good, and you will see and feel results. Twice a week is better, and you will see and feel results faster.
But, the truth is that whatever works for your schedule is the best for you. If you have to manipulate everything on your calendar to make classes twice a week happen, it becomes a chore that soon becomes something you don’t want to stress over. Stick with once a week, and when you’re ready to start coming twice, you will know, because it will become a priority that requires zero sacrifice.
Good frequency, however, is nothing without duration. Every January, gyms are flooded with people with the best of intentions, showing up multiple times a week, until they burn themselves out by the end of February. They are motivated and they want to work as hard as they can, as many days as they can, until they realize that it’s not sustainable. Their initial frequency may be too much and they don’t stick around long enough to enjoy any results.
Here’s the thing about both Pilates and the GYROTONIC® Method: You will begin to see and feel results within 10-20 sessions. But, your skills continue to evolve FOREVER. Devoted practitioners of both methods will tell you that there are exercises that finally come to you years after faithfully not giving up. You must accept that the duration is long-term and look forward to witnessing your practice grow and develop.
The Movement Studio offers quality coaching via our excellent instructors, and a fantastic movement community! The consistency component is up to each client. Here are a few ideas on how to keep your practice consistent:
-Bring a friend with you!
-Plan an after-class outing with a friend you’ve met in class.
-Schedule your classes a month in advance.
-Immediately after your next class, write a sentence or two about how great you feel.
-Read your notes the next time you wonder if you have time for your next class.
Congratulations on finding something that you love, you value, and you want to get better at! Keep the three Cs of success: Coaching, Community, and Consistency, in mind, and watch your skill increase.
See you at the studio,
Emma