Worthless Certificates and Self-Proclaimed Specialists. The sad truth: most Pilates instructors aren’t actually qualified.
- GrumpyJogger
- Sep 22
- 5 min read
Pilates has become a playground for self-proclaimed specialists. Certificates are handed out like candy, and suddenly everyone’s an “instructor” even if they’ve never studied anatomy or corrected a spine in their life. Thanks to weekend workshops, fast-track online courses, and Instagram bravado, the industry is now full of people teaching movements they don’t fully understand.
Here’s the problem: Pilates isn’t just another trendy workout. Done properly, it’s technical, therapeutic, and transformative. Done badly, it can reinforce poor posture, waste your time, or even cause injury.
A Flood of Worthless Certifications
Fitness has one of the lowest barriers to entry out there. Unlike medicine or physiotherapy, there’s almost no regulation on who gets to call themselves an “instructor.” A two-day course or a flashy PDF can magically “certify” someone, and clients rarely know the difference.
The result? An industry stuffed with people who are better at marketing themselves than they are at teaching safe, effective movement. It cheapens Pilates as a discipline and puts real clients at risk.
From Back Pain to Full-Time Pilates
I didn’t stumble into Pilates through a weekend course or a trendy video. My journey started with chronic back pain and a physiotherapist who introduced me to real Pilates, the kind that teaches you how your spine, posture, and muscles actually work.
At the time, I was a runner, climber, and sports & physical recreation student with a core so weak it shocked me. Hyperlordosis (yep, the fancy name for an over-arched lower back) meant I had to strip things down to basics: strengthen, lengthen, rebalance. That was my entry point.
From there, it snowballed into years of study: a Bachelor's degree from a University of Physical Education, spine workshops, personal training diplomas, postural analysis, injury-prevention, functional training, Pilates... you name it. (More about me here.) Seven years later, I took the leap and pivoted fully into Pilates.
It wasn’t glamorous. I was surrounded by physiotherapists, constantly questioning if I knew enough, and stressing through every class. But I kept going. It took me 15 years, during which I studied, trained, worked with physios and senior instructors, managed studios and fitness clubs, taught thousands of clients and dozens of trainers, to be where I am now. And I still err on the side of caution and refer out when needed.
Why am I telling you this? Because this used to be the standard. You studied, you earned your hours, you proved yourself. Fast forward to today, and the landscape looks very different.
By 2022, I was Studio Lead, juggling management, training instructors, building programs, and running classes. That’s when I saw the industry for what it had become, and why I quit my full-time job
What Changed
When I started, Pilates was niche. Most instructors were physiotherapists who taught it alongside their clinical work. Part-time Pilates instructors weren’t even a thing. I was literally the only one in my gym for years.
Today? Pilates is trending, Instagram loves it, and studios are multiplying. Which sounds amazing, except for the fact that most of the new instructors are nowhere near qualified.
Here’s what I’ve seen first-hand, interviewing, training, and hiring dozens of instructors:
Weekend wonders: Certified after a 3-day workshop, or worse, entirely online.
Hobbyists: Office workers teaching 1–2 classes a week “for fun" and extra cash. No time for training, team meetings, or ongoing education.
Exam skippers: Many finish training but never sit (or pass) the final exam. Some even get promoted to “senior” roles.
Studios looking the other way: Hiring based on availability, not skill. Handing out fancy titles like “Senior Instructor with 1,000 hours of teaching experience” (context: that’s less than a year).
Zero anatomy knowledge: Many can’t identify muscles in a basic exercise or adapt for injuries, pregnancy, or posture issues correctly. Some think they do, but they don't.
Bootcamp mindset: Treating Pilates like HIIT. “Harder” = “better.” Result: clients in pain, sometimes injured.
Made-up schools: Certificates from unknown “academies”, sometimes even from the studio itself. No standardisation, no oversight.
Choreography memorisers: They skip anatomy and postural analysis, instead memorising sequences, e.g. lying down, standing, on a box, without ever learning why.
And the cherry on top? Some never even start proper training. I know of people running entire studios without a single valid certificate. Others flunked exams or were fired, yet moved to another studio and are now not only training clients but also teaching workshops.
Meanwhile, class sizes balloon to 20 reformers, 30 mats, even group chair or Cadillac sessions. Looks great on Instagram, but Pilates is about precision, detail, and control. Do you think you can deliver that in a room packed with mixed levels and injuries? Studios know this. They just don’t care.
But Wait, Aren’t Certifications the Answer?
Not anymore. Even some of the “prestigious” schools have lowered their standards. Overcrowded classes, scripted exams, and instructors memorising flows just to pass, not to understand.
When I did a mock exam at one of them, it turned into a debate. My approach, assessing the client and tailoring exercises, was marked “wrong.” Why? Because it didn’t match the school’s pre-written script. Translation: they want choreography, not critical thinking.
Exams now look like this:
You pre-write your plan months in advance.
Your “client” is actually another instructor who already knows every exercise by name.
You deliver generic, rehearsed movements that could apply to anyone.
This is why so many “certified” instructors have no idea how to teach. They memorised, they passed, but they never actually learned.
I even asked for a refund of my exam fees. Not because I doubted my ability, but because I refused to support a system that rewards memorisation over education.
Before, you could trust a handful of schools to uphold standards. Not anymore... I once hired someone from a “well-known” school, and within two weeks, I had to let her go. CCTV footage made me sick with worry when I saw our clients being seconds away from serious injuries.
That’s how bad it’s gotten.
Why This Matters
Pilates isn’t a circus act on a reformer. It’s not cardio. It’s not about flashy Instagram moves.
Done properly, Pilates helps people manage injuries, improve posture, and build real strength. Done poorly, it causes pain, injuries, and even serious accidents (I’ve seen clients fall face-first off reformers).
When studios chase profit and instructors cut corners, clients pay the price. With their bodies, not just their wallets.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I’m not here to play Pilates police. If you want to invent a new workout, be my guest. Just stop misleading innocent people who truly need help and don’t call it Pilates.
But if you’re a:
Client: Ask questions. Where did your instructor train? Did they pass their exam? Do they understand anatomy?
Instructor: Ask yourself why you’re teaching. Is it just a side hustle, or are you committed to learning the method and the body behind it?
Studio owner: Stop hiring based on availability alone. People’s health is on the line.
School: Decide whether you want to build real instructors or just churn out certificates for profit.
Pilates deserves better. Clients deserve better.
If we don’t raise the bar, Pilates risks becoming just another fitness fad, another bootcamp with prettier equipment.
And that, to me, would be a waste of a method that can truly change lives.
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