How to recognise progress in Pilates beyond how you look
Progress in Pilates doesn’t always show in the mirror. Which signs to look for in class, how to keep track of your progress and what to do in a harder week.
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Progress in Pilates doesn't always show in the mirror. It may be in a movement you perform with more control, a position you can hold more easily or a sequence you now follow with more confidence.
Research has found improvements in capacities such as muscular endurance, flexibility and balance in healthy people who practise Pilates.1
What signs can you look for during class?
In exercises you already know, try to notice whether:
- You can start and finish the movement in a more controlled way;
- You hold a position with less effort, without losing control;
- You get through a similar sequence needing fewer breaks;
- You move your arms and legs with easier coordination;
- You recognise the position of your trunk and pelvis more easily.
This sense of body position can also be trained. In a study of healthy young adults, an online Pilates programme improved the sense of trunk position and core muscle endurance.2
Does progressing mean doing harder exercises?
Difficulty is only one form of progression. Repeating a familiar exercise with more precision or less effort can also be progress.
You don't always need to seek a bigger range, more repetitions or less support. The challenge should let you stay in control of the movement.
Learning to recognise when you need a break or an adaptation is also part of the learning.
How do you track your progress?
Choose two or three movements that come up fairly often in classes and, every now and then, notice how you perform them. For the comparison to be useful, consider a similar version of the exercise, with the same support and roughly the same duration.
You can keep a short note at the end of class:
- Which movement felt easier?
- Where did I feel more control?
- Was the effort similar, greater or less?
These observations help you follow your experience without turning every class into a test.
What if one week feels harder?
A single class doesn't tell you anything about your overall progress. The demands of the sequence and how you feel that day can differ.
Look for trends over several weeks, rather than expecting to improve in every session.
At DUO
Because the class plan changes every week, sessions can bring different challenges. Rather than only comparing whether you managed to finish each class, pay attention to how you perform similar movements over time.
Pay attention to what you can already do and to how you move.
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