Online pilates certification courses vary in quality and requirements, with fees ranging from under $100 to several hundred dollars. Topics covered include working with different body types, anatomy, and specialized equipment. The Pilates Method Alliance offers a rigorous certification process requiring a 450-hour training course or 720 hours of employment as a Pilates instructor.
An online pilates certification exam may or may not require successful completion of a prerequisite course. There is usually a fee associated with the certification and any required coursework, from less than a hundred dollars to several hundred dollars. Pilates is not a standardized fitness program, and the term “pilates” can legally be used to describe various fitness methods. So, there are some pilates certifications that are lower quality than others.
Online Pilates certification typically includes topics such as working with different body types and skill levels, basic and advanced Pilates techniques, and anatomy and physiology. Some certifications also include sections on working with specialized pilates equipment such as a barrel, chair, and cadillac. Typically, only individuals who have experience with the pilates method as a student seek instructor certification, but other fitness instructors may take pilates training to broaden their instructional repertoire.
Online pilates certification courses can be text-based or video-based. In some cases, there may also be a component with a professor and a group of peers for lecture and discussion. Video-based course certification is certainly helpful when learning new pilates method techniques, but there are many concepts that can be learned by reading appropriate texts.
The term certification is ambiguous. There are no official requirements for the certification process; therefore, the education offered by two programs can be completely different. For example, an online pilates certification may require many hours of course work, interaction with the instructor and classmates, video examples of student apprentice work with student or volunteer classes, and multiple exams. Another may require one or two tests, which can be taken multiple times until the required score is achieved, before certification is granted.
Naturally, the course that requires the student to practice the pilates methodology and the apprentice as an instructor will offer a better education and higher quality certification. It is important for interested individuals to investigate the online companies offering the certification thoroughly before paying the fee to take the course and test. There are some unscrupulous companies that offer a certification in name only, not providing actual training.
The Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) is one of the few third-party and professionally recognized international organizations that conducts a rigorous pilates examination and certification process. To qualify for certification, a candidate must complete a 450-hour training course or show documentation of a minimum of 720 hours of employment as a Pilates instructor in the previous 12 months. Typically, this exam is taken in a pencil-and-paper format, but there are computer-based testing sites that allow the test to be taken online.
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