First Class Pilates Coaching Courses

Looking around for a Pilates Instructor training course? Can't see the wood from the trees? That's probably because most course providers have such a wide range of general-purpose courses to choose from. Most of them aren't of course specialists in fitness courses so have a truly massive selection of courses. Such a massive selection that it's often hard to locate the one course you want.

You know the course you take must be accepted worldwide by gyms, sports centres, spas and other health and fitness related organisation, so why are there so many other courses to choose from? Why are there lower level courses? And why are there courses that are not accepted widely?

First Class Pilates cuts through all that, by concentrating on the one course you do need — the Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates. That's the only course we offer Pilates newbies. That's because we are Pilates specialists. The Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates we offer is Government-approved, fully accredited by the YMCA, accepted worldwide, and — above all —

the Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates is the
one qualification that potential employers are actually looking for.


Having said that our course doesn't just stop with you getting your Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates. After all, we are real world Pilates specialists who know how to create a real business, and who know what you need to be able to teach in the real world, with clients who are real people, each one with their real requirements from Pilates. We want to give you that knowledge, so that you don't waste time in further continuous professional development training after getting your Level 3 Diploma, and we also show you exactly how to make money from your Coaching qualification with us immediately.

So, our Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates Coaching course is a comprehensive course, encompassing far more than just the Level 3 Diploma. Yes, of course you get the Level 3 Diploma as your qualification, but you will be trained to a much more comprehensive level at the end of the First Class Pilates Coaching course.

Our First Class Pilates Coaching course offers real value-added content you simply won't find anywhere else under one roof, integral to one course. This includes:

  • guidance in multiple modifications of the 34 original Pilates exercises devised by Joseph Pilates to suit the widest range of clients and abilities
  • the extra exercises (over and above the original 34) you will need to be able to create a massive variety of Pilates sessions that are rewarding, interesting, challenging but attainable and fun for all your clients
  • the ability to work with and coach everyone — from 16 to 80+; from Olympic athletes and professional sportspeople through to clients requiring remedial and clinical Pilates; ordinary people and celebrities; from group matwork classes through to one-to-one clients
  • use of Pilates equipment — the Reformer; the Tower; the Wunda Chair; the BOSU; Isotonic Rings; softballs; bands — all to make your Pilates more specific to your clients
  • marketing your matwork and one-to-one classes — your website; flyers; organising your classes; getting clients to join; cost structures that work for you; taking monthly payments from clients
  • skills required to start, build, and maintain a successful Pilates Coaching business with a potential turnover of £50,000+ in just a couple of years from scratch.


Our First Class Pilates Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates Coaching Course equips you to be the most complete Pilates Coach you can be.



First Class Pilates Coaching Course Support

Our Pilates Coaching course is an ideal mixture of online and distance learning, coupled with dedicated face-to-face instruction. Much of the work you can complete at home, so that only four weekends of intensive face-to-face learning is required. You will also have allocated work to do in between face-to-face sessions to make sure your progression from start to finish gives you the very best grounding in teaching Pilates you can possibly get.

All students have automatic membership of our exclusive and dedicated Facebook group, where you can meet and interact with fellow course participants and already qualified
First Class Pilates Coaches. The group is a friendly, informative place where you will be able to get the very best advice, see what other First Class Pilates Coaches do in their classes, ask questions, and get the best information possible to help with your First Class Pilates Coaching Course and beyond that with your very own First Class Pilates Coaching business.

You are fully supported from the moment you join us, through all of your learning, and all the time you are working to build your own
First Class Pilates Coaching business.



Joining a First Class Pilates Coaching Course

As our
First Class Pilates Coaching courses are a mixture of online and distance learning, coupled with dedicated face-to-face instruction, you can start a course at any time. Depending on which course you apply for, because much of your work can be completed at home, you can be well advanced in the course theory before your first Workshop Weekend of face-to-face practical learning. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can be teaching Pilates, and making money from doing something you love.

It's all down to you. We provide the tools for you to be a great Pilates Coach — a
First Class Pilates Coach! — it's up to you how to best use these tools.

Available courses and their costs are below, at the bottom of the page. We look forward to welcoming you onto a course, and showing you how you can become as passionate as we are about Pilates — and make money too!



Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the common — and not so common — questions we are asked about Pilates, your qualification, routes of entry, what we offer, and what you achieve with us.



Q: What is the qualification?
A: Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates. This is the minimum requirement for most gyms, leisure centres, sports and fitness centres.


Q: Is this a standard qualification?
A: Yes. It is Government-approved on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), and is fully accredited by YMCA Awards — the UK's leading health, fitness and wellbeing specific awarding organisations.


Q: Is this the best Pilates teaching qualification?
A: Yes. Not only that, but the Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates is the
de facto qualification you should be aiming for to teach Pilates. Most gyms/leisure centres/fitness and health clubs/spas etc demand it as the standard requirement. Yes, you can teach a Pilates-based class with a lower qualification — and even, unfortunately, with no qualification at all — but the Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates means you teach the Pilates exercises correctly as they were designed to work, and your clients know that you know how to teach — and are capable of teaching them — correctly.


Q: What is the First Class Pilates Coaching qualification? Why is it different/better?
A: Your First Class Pilates Coaching qualification is a standard Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates, with several value-added components you won't normally get anywhere else at the same time as completing your Level 3 Diploma:

  • the ability to modify all the Pilates exercises you give, to be able to teach everyone, any age, any ability, any strength
  • an appreciation and knowledge of Pilates hardware — Reformer, Tower, Wunda Chair, BOSU, softball, bands, Isotoner Rings and so on
  • the knowledge and ability to market your own Pilates classes and one-to-one sessions
  • the ancillary skills needed to create your own Pilates business, based on your Pilates classes and one-to-one sessions, with a potential turnover of £50,000+

Best of all — with all of this — you are tutored and mentored on a specifically one-to-one basis — yes, that’s right, you are not in a large group of people, instead you work directly with your allocated trainer alone.


Q: What can I do with my First Class Pilates Coaching qualification?
A: For starters, you are qualified and able to teach Pilates in any gyms/leisure centres/fitness and health clubs/spas you care to work in, working at the hourly rate they set. Second, you are qualified and able to run your own Pilates classes in venues you hire. Third, you are qualified to be a Pilates Coach on a one-to-one basis for individual clients. Last — but definitely not least — you have the knowledge and business skills to make a career out of your qualification, including:

  • marketing your own classes (websites, flyers, emails, social media, advertisements, client lead generation)
  • taking payments (pricing structures, advance payments, monthly payments, client inducements)
  • maintaining the backoffice administration (keeping your accounts, email strategies, mailing lists, follow-up techniques) you need to keep your business operating and profitable.

Imagine having a £50,000+ business generating a regular monthly income for you, all in the first year after you complete and pass your First Class Pilates Coaching Course qualification! This is not a dream. This is possible. We know this, because this is what we do.


Q: Is the First Class Pilates Coaching Qualification approved by REPs?
A: The Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) is an independent register which recognises qualifications and expertise of exercise instructors. REPs provides regulation of instructors to ensure they meet the industry’s agreed standards. REPs provides assurance and confidence to the public and employers that all professionals on the Register are appropriately qualified and have the knowledge, competence and skills to perform their role effectively. As such, most gyms/leisure centres/fitness and health clubs/spas etc require their instructors to be registered with REPs and have REPs recognised qualifications. Your First Class Pilates Level 3 Coaching Qualification is recognised by REPs, allows entry to REPs at Level 3, and affords you a total of 20 REPs continual professional development points.


Q: Is the First Class Pilates Coaching Qualification endorsed by CIMSPA?
A: The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector. CIMSPA provides leadership, support and empowerment for professionals working in the sector, and provides a single unified voice on its behalf. Your First Class Pilates Level 3 Coaching Qualification is endorsed by CIMSPA.


Q: How will I be assessed?
A: A combination of online assessment, multiple choice written examination, practical examination, and your portfolio of evidence.


Q: Do I need any required qualifications to train with you?
A: No, not really. You should have some personal ability in doing Pilates exercises — ideally having attended Pilates classes taught by a Level 3 qualified Pilates Instructor for several months prior to starting your course with us. Alternatively, if you are already a fitness professional yourself you will have a working knowledge about taking exercise classes of another form for a period of time prior to starting your course with us. But actually, if you are prepared to put the time in to cover the background knowledge as and when required, and are able to cope with the face-to-face course days (which are necessarily quite physical), then you are not precluded. In fact, our only requisite is that you must be at least 16. There is no upper age limit.


Q: I already have a Level 2 Pilates teaching qualification. Is this a help to me?
A: In terms of the Level 3 qualification, you have already completed your Level 2 Anatomy & Physiology, which will make your progression to Level 3 Anatomy & Physiology somewhat easier. In terms of your Level 3 Pilates Coaching qualification cost with us, a discount is available. Contact us directly, using the contact form for further information.



Level 3 Pilates Coach Training Courses, Dates & Prices
As our First Class Pilates Coaching courses are a mixture of online and distance learning, coupled with dedicated face-to-face instruction, you can start a course at any time. Depending on which course you apply for, because much of your work can be completed at home, you can be well advanced in the course theory before your first Workshop Weekend of face-to-face practical learning.

It's all down to you. We provide the tools for you to be a great Pilates Coach — a
First Class Pilates Coach! — it's down to you how to best use these tools.




Course Dates & Prices


First Class Pilates Coach Level 3 Diploma Training Courses
are personalised to you. There are no specific course dates, as the course is fitted around your schedule. You can start the course when you want, and end it when you’ve passed all elements of the course: portfolio of coursework; theory examinations; and assessed observation of group teaching.

You can do the course as fast, or as slow, as you want (minimum 12 weeks: maximum 2 years). The course comprises contact days, regular coaching FaceTime/Skype calls, and required worksheets for you to complete. Generally, the number of contact days depends on your personal requirements and previous experience.

There are two main ways to pay:
1 Cost is £1800 when paid in full, on registration, which gains you a discount of £200 on the full price.
2 Second, you can pay in monthly instalments, with an initial payment of £800 to register, and three monthly payments of £400 (totalling £2000).


Note that no qualification will be awarded prior to receiving payment in full.




First Class Pilates — Pilates Done Right!
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First Class Pilates — 9 Great Central Road — Loughborough — LE11 1RW