Pilates classes in Singapore are highly recommended by rehab practitioners, chiropractors, and medical, and at the same time, these classes are also very popular among fitness enthusiast who wants to build core strength, tone their body or are just looking for a challenge.

Because of this wide range of interests, Pilates studios are serving the needs of the population by offering different types of classes that suit their reason for joining the session. Though this is generally good, it is confusing for first-timers on which class is best for beginners.

Pilates mat, Reformer Fundamentals, and Strength Pilates mat classes are the best ones suitable for beginners. These classes will take you step-by-step in going through the exercises, progress you gradually and safely. The Pilates teacher will also modify the exercises accordingly to suit your level.

Though different studios will have different names of these classes, in general, these classes can accommodate first-timers. At UMove Fitness Singapore, we created these classes for attendees who don’t have any experience at all in mind. You can start your Pilates sessions smoothly without getting stressed on thinking about whether the class is too advanced for you or not.

Pilates Class that is designed for beginners

Though most of the classes are multi-level, that means it can accommodate both beginners and advanced practitioners, a class that is created for beginners is always the best place to start. 

These Pilates classes that we offer at UMove will work on:

• Improving your general body awareness
• Better postural alignment
• Increases overall strength
• Improved general flexibility
• Better coordination 

which are what a first-timer should work on before moving on to more advanced classes like the Reformer Strength Series and Reformer Allegro classes.

Learn the Pilates exercises properly before progressing

It is very exciting to learn new exercises but it is also very important to learn and understand the movements properly before progressing. This is even more true in learning Pilates exercises as it is a very detailed approach in the movement where you have to be fully mindful of how your body is moving in space, where your arms and legs are placed, and working on deeper movements like the articulation of the spine.

In deeply understanding the exercises, your form and control will be much better. You will not only look good as you move, but you will also be safer and reap the benefits of exercise sooner.

Once you have learned the movement, the teacher should give you another version of the exercise to stimulate your learning deeper and also to challenge your body to progress better.

High movement repetition helps the participants learn faster

Your main goal as a beginner should be to learn the movements first. Once you have understood how to do it properly, repetition is the key to mastery. 

Pilates was originally designed to be practiced with lesser repetitions as preached by the founder Joseph Pilates, but we have to consider the fact that this was taught in the early 1900s, where the general population is stronger and moves better. 

Compared to the current lifestyle we have where we are seated on most hours of the day, and more and more of our regular activities are automated, we need to work on repeating the exercises more to slowly regain back our body’s natural ability to learn movements.

The same exercises between sessions

It is a common practice in Pilates classes to cover a wide variety of movements in the session. The logic is to work the entire body and establish a more balanced approach in training. And the next time you come for the class, depending on the teacher that is teaching, the exercises will most likely be different from the previous session. 

Though this system has its own place in your practice, it doesn’t necessarily work well with your learning progress. Your understanding of the movement will be shallow. Sometimes, the variety of the exercises will confuse you on how to do one correctly.

So a beginner’s class should have lesser exercises in the session that are repeated more, and at the same time, the exercises in the next session should be the same or quite similar in order to optimize the learning potential of a beginner.

You can try our Pilates mat and Strength Pilates mat for 3 sessions with this Introductory package.

What is Pilates Mat class?

These exercises are done around the mat, either in standing, kneeling, or lying down. The main goal is to improve your posture, develop better body awareness, increase overall strength and flexibility.

The spine corrector, Roller foam, or the Pilates Magic circle will sometimes be used in the class to aid in stretching, releasing, or strengthening the muscles.

This class is best for beginners to meet the Pilates teacher so the teacher will be able to assess how you move in the class. Once the teacher gets to know you and your level, you will be recommended to either continue with the class or go to a class that suits your goals and level.

What is the Reformer Fundamentals class?

This class is an introduction to the Pilates Reformer machine, where you get to know the parts of the machine, how to safely use and exercise on it. Basic exercises will be covered in this class, done at a pace where a first-timer can catch up with the instructions.

It is highly recommended that you should join this class if it is your first time using the Reformer machine. Though this class is meant for beginners, advanced practitioners can benefit from attending it to review the basic movements to polish their practice.

Attending the Pilates mat class is not a prerequisite as this class will also cover some basic mat exercises in the first part of the session. Here is a 3-session introductory offer for our Reformer Fundamentals class.

What is Strength Pilates mat class?

This class is specifically designed to work on making you stronger. The movements in this class will be a lot fewer than a regular Pilates mat, and the repetitions will be a lot higher.

This class is done in a 6-week block with the same movement done from the 1st week to the 6th week. Regardless of which teacher or timing you are joining, the movements will be the same.

Because of the simplicity of its approach, this class suits a beginner well at the same time, a more experienced practitioner who wants to focus more on working on the strength of some specific movements.

Here is a table of comparisons between Pilates Mat, Strength Pilates Mat, and Reformer Fundamentals class