The infamous universal question: How often should I come to Pilates? Are you a beginner or new to Pilates? Struggling to figure out how often you should be attending class? I’m Zoe, a PPF instructor, and I’m here to help you out!
When new clients arrive at the studio, most ask, How often should I attend? – and truthfully, this question deserves more than a quick answer. Sure, there are national guidelines about how often we should be moving our bodies each week, but I believe it’s sometimes more complex than that! The truth is, it depends on a lot of different factors, which I’ll explain in this blog.
Let’s start by going through a few simple questions to get a baseline of where you’re at…
- Have you ever done Pilates before?
- How often do you move your body at the moment?
- Are you dealing with any injuries or chronic conditions?
- What are your goals when it comes to moving your body?
Now, depending on your answers to those questions, you might feel like you’re already in a good spot – maybe you move your body 2-4 times a week, you’re not injured, and you’ve done some Pilates in the past. If this sounds like you, you’d likely benefit from attending 3-4 classes a week, and that’d be totally fine!
But, if your answers are more along the lines of: never done Pilates before, chronic knee and back pain, and not much movement throughout the week – your approach will need to be different. If this sounds like you, you might benefit from attending 2-3 classes a week to start, spreading them out over a few days to allow for rest. You’ll also want to be more specific in the types of classes you attend and might need some extra support from the instructors for guidance around your knee and back pain (which we’re more than happy to provide!).
You’ll also want to consider your lifestyle – are you under heavy stress at work? Have you recently been ill? Not sleeping well lately? Weeks like these might mean you need to tweak your exercise schedule to better reflect what your body is capable of and, more importantly, what your body actually needs.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors that come into play when figuring out how often you should attend classes – and it might change from week to week! It’s important to remember that our lives are always changing, so our exercise schedule needs to be flexible too. Pilates is a time to connect with your body, give your mind a break from everyday life, and focus on what your body needs on that specific day.
Here at PPF, us instructors are here to support your movement goals, but we also get that sometimes you don’t sleep well, you’ve got aches and pains, and life is just a bit crazy (we’re human too, and totally understand – haha!).
So, my long-winded answer to How often should I attend Pilates classes? is: It’s completely up to you! Enjoy!
If you are interested in finding out more about Pilates, check out What is Reformer Pilates? 5 Things You Need to Know and What to Expect in Your First Barre Class.
Or why not give it a try at one of our pilates studios in Brisbane or at our online studio!
