Personal trainer to pilates teacher
A personal trainer already meets 55% of what the pilates teacher role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.2/ 100
1 How much of what a pilates teacher is expected to do is already part of a personal trainer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the pilates teacher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A pilates teacher role treats 10 of its required skills as things a personal trainer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess physical conditions of clients
- collect client fitness information
- correct potentially harmful movements
- ensure safety of exercise environment
- identify customer objectives
- integrate exercise science to the design of the programme
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pilates teacher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a personal trainer background worth leading with.
- already held collect client fitness information information skills
- already held integrate exercise science to the design of the programme assisting and caring
- already held identify customer objectives communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held motivate fitness clients management skills
- already held inform clients of healthy lifestyle benefits communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prescribe exercises assisting and caring
All 14 carried skills, including the 10 the pilates teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adapt Pilates exercises required
- still to learn deliver Pilates exercises required
- still to learn demonstrate professional Pilates attitude required
- still to learn integrate principles of Pilates training required
- still to learn manage fitness communication required
- still to learn safely instruct about fitness required
- still to learn attend to fitness clients under controlled health conditions required
- still to learn prepare Pilates exercise session required
- optional, not held endocrine physiology optional
- optional, not held cardiovascular system optional
- optional, not held musculoskeletal anatomy optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a pilates teacher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt Pilates exercises practise this
- 02 deliver Pilates exercises practise this
- 03 demonstrate professional Pilates attitude practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held assess physical conditions of clients skill
- already held collect client fitness information skill
- already held correct potentially harmful movements skill
- already held ensure safety of exercise environment skill
- already held identify customer objectives skill
- already held integrate exercise science to the design of the programme skill
- already held motivate fitness clients skill
- already held prescribe exercises skill
- already held provide fitness information skill
- already held show professional responsibility skill
- already held analyse personal fitness information skill
- already held inform clients of healthy lifestyle benefits skill
- already held promote healthy fitness environment skill
- already held promote healthy lifestyle skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held endocrine physiology optional
- optional, not held cardiovascular system optional
- optional, not held musculoskeletal anatomy optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
13 held skills the pilates teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt fitness exercises skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate professional attitude to clients skill
- not needed by the target role develop codified movements skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves skill
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role integrate principles of training skill
- not needed by the target role monitor children's physical development skill
- not needed by the target role nutrition of healthy persons knowledge
- not needed by the target role older adults' needs knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare exercise session skill
- not needed by the target role sports nutrition knowledge
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held endocrine physiology optional
- optional, not held cardiovascular system optional
- optional, not held musculoskeletal anatomy optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a personal trainer become a pilates teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A personal trainer already covers 55% of what a pilates teacher is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 10 of which the pilates teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a personal trainer need to become a pilates teacher?
8 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt Pilates exercises.
How hard is the move from personal trainer to pilates teacher?
Its learning distance is 51.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.