The Pilates System: Beyond Basic, Intermediate and Advanced

The Pilates System: Beyond Basic, Intermediate and Advanced

For Nan-Young

At Vintage Pilates in Los Angeles, passionate Pilates students convene from all aroundΒ the world.

We Pilates teachers seek intimate acquaintance withΒ the source of our beloved Pilates method: Joe.

How did Joe Pilates look at the body in front of him?

One student in particular, Nan-Young, inspired this post. Originally from South Korea, Nan-Young is a delightful fixture at Vintage Pilates. It’s a pleasure to witness the amazing work and progress she puts in every day.

Make no mistake, she’s a Pilates bad ass.

I hope you find this post to be of help,Β it was a fun one to create.

Exercises for the Body in Front of You

Jay Grimes tells usΒ “Joe Pilates would take one look at you and know your whole life story.”

Joe Pilates knew what your body needed and would give you a vigorous workout plus some exercises ‘just for you.

In Joe Pilates’ studio there were simply “Men’s exercises” and “Women’s exercises.” Along with Joe’s order of exercises on the Reformer and Mat, teachers would consider the body in front of them and select appropriate exercises.

Circa late 80s-early 90s

With theΒ advent of formalized teacher training programs, exercises came to be classified as ‘beginner,’ ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced.’ The labels were added in an effort to codify the broad range of material and teach it precisely and efficiently.

I have now come to understand these labels as guidelines or as a stepping-off point. As you continually observe your students, keep asking yourself questions about what you see (or don’t see)Β in the body and what exercise you might choose to address this.

Basic Pilates Exercises

The Pilates System: Beyond Basic, Intermediate and Advanced

In Pilates there are no black-and-white hard facts.

We learn rules and guidelines in our training programs, but real-life clients rarely fit into neat and tidy categories like ‘basic,’ ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced.’

Everything exists in a gray area. As a new teacher, this can be a scary prospect.

Persevere.

Within the murkiness you’ll find liberation.Β Many options exist and our expertise helps us to choose the most effective exercises for any given individual.

That said, let’s first consider the basic exercises done on the Reformer and the Mat.

Basic Reformer Exercises

  1. Footwork
  2. Hundred
  3. Frog/Leg Circles
  4. Stomach Massage Series
  5. Short Box Series
  6. Elephant
  7. Knee Stretches
  8. Running
  9. Pelvic Lift

Basic Mat Exercises

  1. Hundred
  2. Roll Up
  3. Single Leg Circles
  4. Roll Like a Ball
  5. Single Leg Pull
  6. Double Leg Pull
  7. Spine Stretch

What makes an exercise “basic?”

When working with new clients – even those with prior Pilates experience – we often begin at the beginning. Sure they’ve taken Pilates classes for years somewhere, but in that first lesson we’re checking them out to see just what Pilates skills they’ve got in place.

A basic exercise offers support for the body. Looking at the list above, 5 out of 9 Reformer exercises are done lying down. 5 out of 7 Mat exercises are also lying down. Lying down on either the Reformer or the Mat you are fully supported by the apparatus.

On the Reformer even your head is supported.

How nice.

At the basic level only 1 Reformer exercise has us touching the apparatus with hands and feet only: the Elephant.

Basic Exercises offer straightforward and simple movement patterns. Only 1 of our Reformer Basics works on 1 side at a time: the Tree on the Short Box. There are 2 one-sided Mat Basics: Single Leg Circles and Single Leg Pull, although here you’ve still got that lying down aspect goin’ for ya.

In a basic exercise the body shape is consistent throughout. Nearly every basic exercise on our list keeps the body in the same shape for the entire exercise.

A basic exercise puts the body in pedestrian positions.Β Lying down, sitting up, standing and kneeling are the only demands of our basic exercises. Most people will be able to do them. We’re accustomed to these positions of the body regardless if we’ve done Pilates or not.

Real-World Basic: Now what?

Armed with your order of exercises and our basic exercises, look at the body in front of you. As the student begins to move through these first Pilates exercises you’ll assess the body.

Some questions may arise:

  • Is it appropriate for their head to be up for the whole Hundred?
  • Is the individual in control enough to deal with their feet in unstable straps?
  • Are they stiff?
  • Can they sit up with their feet on the Footbar?
  • Do they feel unsafe sitting on the Short Box?
  • Are the first exercises done on the Short Box already so challenging that you’ll leave Side-to-side and Twist out?
  • Should they stand on the Reformer?
  • Can they kneel?

Whew! That’s a lot of Pilates problem solving.

Questions like these allow you to determine the appropriateness of even these basic exercises for an individual. Your questioning mind will serve you well as we examine our next tier of exercises: intermediate.

Intermediate Pilates Exercises

The Pilates System: Beyond Basic, Intermediate and Advanced

Many exercises are in the intermediate category. It’s huge! I’ve included the full list with the basics in here too. Intermediate exercises are inΒ orange.

Intermediate Reformer Exercises

  • Footwork
  • Hundred
  • Frog/Leg Circles
  • Coordination
  • Pull Straps and T Straps
  • Backstroke
  • Teaser
  • Long Stretch
  • Down Stretch
  • Up Stretch
  • Elephant
  • Stomach Massage
  • Short Box – Twist/Reach
  • Short Spine Massage
  • SemiCircle
  • Knee Stretches
  • Running
  • Pelvic Lift
  • Side Splits
  • Front Splits

Intermediate Mat Exercises

  • Hundred
  • Roll Up
  • Single Leg Circles
  • Roll Like a Ball
  • Single Leg Pull
  • Double Leg Pull
  • Single Straight Leg Stretch
  • Double Straight Leg Stretch
  • Criss Cross
  • Spine Stretch
  • Open Leg Rocker
  • Corkscrew
  • Saw
  • Swan
  • Single Leg Kicks
  • Double Leg Kicks
  • Thigh Stretch
  • Neck Pull
  • Side Kick Series
  • Teaser
  • Seal

What makes an exercise “intermediate?”

The Intermediate exercises are many and varied. Some are simpler and less complex than others.

An intermediate exercise will incorporate skills you achieve in the basic exercises. The Pilates method has a POV that’s unique. With focus, repetition and consistencyΒ you’ll accumulate skills to serve you as your workout progresses.

Intermediate exercises include potentially unfamiliar body positions.Β Now our exercises will include twisting and back extension. You must also lie on your side and be upside down. The rolling exercises are more elaborate than our basic rolling exercise, Roll like a Ball.

Intermediate exercises demand considerable coordination and balance. At the intermediate level our balance will be tested in several body positions and orientations to the apparatus. We’ll be standing up on the Reformer for two exercises done kneeling and standing on 1 side.Β 

Real World Intermediate: Now what?

As you work your student through the manicured paths of the basic exercises you’ll make some decisions about moving their workout into the prickly landscape of intermediate exercises.

Let’s think of this a little differently. Collect all the skills your client possesses and see what you come up with.

  • Can he lift his hips?
  • Does he roll well?
  • Is he stiff or flexible?
  • What skill is missing that you want to see? What are some things you might use to address this?
  • What does your student do exceptionally well?
  • How aboutΒ the mental component of the student? TheΒ more challenging the exercise, the more the willpower of the student must be present.

Now looking at our 2 groups of exercises, the basic and intermediate, you’ll notice basic exercises that may serve as prerequisites for the more involved and challenging intermediate exercises.

This is the key to moving beyond the labels of ‘basic,’ ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced.’ What does the body need? What is the body capable of currently?

The progression of skills may fall along the lines of our basic, intermediate and advanced distinctions, but maybe not depending on the body in front of you. Assessing your student’s skills will aid you in adding more complex exercises over time until they may be able to accomplish all of them and beyond.

Again, much of this depends on the student.

For example, if a student struggles with the Roll Up, you may choose to delay adding the Neck Pull until the Roll Up skill is secured. And why can’t they Roll Up? Find some exercises for that.

Perhaps your student rolls very well but is stiff. Open Leg RockerΒ might build on his rolling skill and challenge/address his flexibility.

Keep thinking about the skills we’ll build on as we move from basic to intermediate. Now get ready for taking those skills to the next level when things get crazy in the advanced exercises.

Advanced Pilates Exercises

The Pilates System: Beyond Basic, Intermediate and Advanced

Some students may not do every exercise labeled ‘advanced.’ Many of the advanced exercises depend on the strength, control and stamina that must be cultivated from the very beginning.

These exercises are not just going to happen. The student must be disciplined and will themselves to rise to the challenge.

It’s not unusual to work for many years to accomplish these exercises. It’s taken me considerable time to feel proficient at many of the advanced exercises. And by considerable I mean over a decade…

I’ve included the full list with the basic and intermediate exercises in here too. Advanced exercises are inΒ orange.

Advanced Reformer Exercises

  • Footwork
  • Hundred
  • Overhead
  • Coordination
  • Rowing 1-6
  • Swan
  • Pull Straps and T Straps
  • Backstroke
  • Teaser
  • Breaststroke
  • Horseback
  • Long Stretch
  • Down Stretch
  • Up Stretch
  • Elephant
  • Long Back Stretch
  • Stomach Massage
  • Tendon Stretch
  • Short Box
  • Short Spine Massage
  • SemiCircle
  • Chest Expansion
  • Thigh Stretch
  • Arm Circles
  • Snake/Twist
  • Corkscrew/Tic Toc
  • Balance Control
  • Long Spine Massage
  • Frog/Leg Circles
  • Knee Stretches
  • Running
  • Pelvic Lift
  • Control Push Up Front
  • Control Push Up Back
  • Side Splits
  • Front Splits
  • Russian Splits

Advanced Mat Exercises

  • Hundred
  • Roll Up
  • Roll Over
  • Single Leg Circles
  • Roll Like a Ball
  • Single Leg Pull
  • Double Leg Pull
  • Single Straight Leg Stretch
  • Double Straight Leg Stretch
  • Criss Cross
  • Spine Stretch
  • Open Leg Rocker
  • Corkscrew
  • Saw
  • Swan Dive
  • Single Leg Kicks
  • Double Leg Kicks
  • Thigh Stretch
  • Neck Pull
  • High Scissors
  • High Bicycle
  • Shoulder Bridge
  • Spine Twist
  • Jackknife
  • Side Kick Series
  • Teaser(s)
  • Hip Circles
  • Swimming
  • Leg Pull
  • Leg Pull Front
  • Side Kicks Kneeling
  • Side Bend
  • Boomerang
  • Seal
  • Crab
  • Rocking
  • Control Balance
  • Push Ups

What makes an exercise “advanced?”

WithinΒ our beloved Pilates method you’ll find exercises that speak to your strengths as well as those which challenge and exploit your shortcomings. Revel in your ability to do the former and doggedly practice the latter for years until you whip your body into compliance.

Adding these exercises into your students’ workout is very individual. Some you may add quickly and others they may never see…although I never say never.

An advanced exercise is complex, usually including 2 or 3 body positions in the same exercise. Think of your Snake/Twist which requires the body to be round and then arched and then a combination of round and twist.

In an advanced exercise you will be minimally connected to the apparatus. The number of exercises done with just hands and feet connected to the apparatus increases significantly. The student must have a strong center to survive and support the weight of their body while performing the exercise.

Advanced exercises continually place the body in unfamiliar and challenging positions. You’llΒ be upside down now for many exercises. You’ll also be rolling off the ReformerΒ and getting back on again.

In advanced exercises you must lift yourself off the apparatus without the assistance of straps. On the Mat we have the Roll Over and on the Reformer we have the Overhead. These are at the beginning of the workout and will continue throughout.

And perhaps most importantly…

An advanced exercise requires a complete focus on the exercise at hand. These exercises are no joke and if the mind is not focused to control the body they can be dangerous. If your student is mentally out to lunch, these exercises may not be for them.

Real World Advanced: Focus and Control

Just like some of the intermediate exercises, we’ve got several options around the studio to address the demands of these challenging advanced exercises.

Sure the student needs the skills of, for example, Chest Expansion, but maybe not on the Reformer just yet.

What a brilliant system!

Using all the apparatus to build the student’s program will progress their workout slowly and steadily.

For example, the Arm Chair will teach 4 of the Rowing exercises brilliantly. The Cadillac can address Chest Expansion and Thigh Stretch (which they’ll also be doing on the Mat).

The Spine Corrector will take care of the High Scissors and High Bicycle as well as train your body to be a mean rolling machine. It’s just such a perfect apparatus!

The Breaststroke can be developed on the Cadillac as well and there’s nothing Tower and Monkey cannot address.Β Remember lifting the body off the apparatus? Here’s your training ground.

Life Beyond Labels

Keep the qualifications of the exercises foremost in your mind as you move past the “rules” and learn to look at the body deeply and effectively.

Keep the student safe and err on the conservative side.

Work to understand the thought behind the labels of ‘basic,’ ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced.’ With practice and getting the exercises in your own body, you’ll begin to see how the exercises early in the workout progress and transform into exercises of great complexity.

Questions or comments about progressing your students?Β 

Leave me a question and I promise to answer in a followup post πŸ™‚

Stay tuned!

10 Responses

  1. Thanks so much, Andrea, for the breakdown of the 3 Levels. I teach in a fitness center only mat classes. I am about to start up a more “advanced” class that will be an intense 1/2 hour. Orientation tomorrow…good thoughts are here! We both had foot issues and you gave me some great hints…the stress fracture is healing so that the doc can hardly see it on the x-ray. Good luck to you…stay well…Keep the Balance!

    1. Oh Pam – SO good to hear your foot is fully healed! Mine is nearly 100% as well – I hardly notice it anymore. Yay for our feet! Thanks so much for your kind words on this post – and so glad you found it helpful with regard to your mat classes. Keep up the good work πŸ™‚

  2. Thanks for answering my question!!!!
    How about approaches this level according to spine shape??? (Of course, there is lots of thing to consider as you wrote.) I wonder why basic level program consists of “Round shape” exercises. Easy to execute? Stretch their back first? Lots of contemporary pilates has pointed out Classic pilates overemphasize round shape even though people who lives today need opening chest more. (Of course, I have learned I could stretch and elongate my body when I do round shape, though.) But I am sure there is a reason for it.

    1. Oh Nan-Young you bring up a good point with regard to the shapes of the body and the labels of basic, intermediate and advanced. You are right – there is a reason! I will answer these questions in a follow up post in a couple weeks. Thank you again for your questions. They are excellent!!! See you soon πŸ™‚

  3. this is sooo useful! And thought provoking… Even if our client can’t yet perform the full version of each exercise we can teach a suitably modified version, as you say, maybe using a different piece of equipment,but still stick to some kind of order throughout! Yay! and of course, that applies to our own practice too…. It amazes me still, how much actually there is going on, even in the ‘basic exercises ‘ …. I think I’ve mentioned my growing love affair with the so called basic moves ????
    With the vast, but amazing, repertoire of pilates exercises, I find I sometimes can forget the essence of what I’m trying to achieve! Reminds me how important it is to look at the body in front of me and really consider their needs….
    So thanks again for a great post (and a great lesson yesterday!) and I look forward to the next installment!!
    #rockon Andrea ????

    1. Thank you so much Alessandra. I too particularly enjoy the pursuit of perfection of the so-called basic exercises. I had a client once that said we learn those first because they are super hard to do perfectly and we had better get started on them LOL. Lately I have been feeling much better about my Hundred – I have made it hard again πŸ™‚
      Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your thoughts here – and maybe some day you will be in Solana Beach and we can have a proper visit (and Pilates lesson). xox #rockingon #inpursuitofthebasics

  4. Love love love this post. Then again I love all your posts. Very informative and educational . Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge.

    1. Thank you so much Jodie – I am so glad you found it to be helpful to you πŸ™‚ I feel so blessed by your kind words…again thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts here. xo

  5. Hi Andrea, this is an absolutely brilliant article. Thank you so much for sharing your breakdown so clearly and eloquently. It makes so much sense to look at the system in this way, and although my clients and myself are used to doing the “intermediate” and some of the “advance” we have all reviewed the basics. I am now adding on according to what I see and in myself what I feel. It is helping me decide on and have time to include what the body needs exercises for my clients. Thank you for such a useful resource xx

    1. Hi Karen πŸ™‚ Thank you so much for your kind words on my post. And super glad you are finding it to be helpful to you. Please feel free to share it with others who may find benefit as well. And hope we can see each other very soon!! xox

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