I asked Steph Claire Smith for her advice on getting into Pilates as a beginner
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
“Take the focus away from how you look and focus on how each movement makes you feel.”
I’ve always wanted to be a Pilates girl, but for most of my life, the mere thought of attending a class filled me with dread. I envisioned a room full of tiny, incredibly toned women dressed head to toe in picture-perfect Nagnata, a take-no-prisoners instructor and poses and equipment I was deeply unfamiliar with (in this vision, the instructor and Nagnata-clad women would shame me for my ineptitude).
This deranged vision was enough to scare me off trying Pilates for the entirety of my twenties. But now I’m 30, more and more of my friends are becoming Pilates converts, raving about how much stronger, healthier and confident they feel.
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When Kic, the fitness and wellness app founded by Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw, recently invited me to a preview of its new Begin With Pilates home workout series, a bolt of fear ran through me. Would all the other attendees know more about Pilates than me? Would I feel uncomfortable about my body and self-conscious that my activewear wasn’t sleek enough?
As it turns out, these fears were unfounded. I knew very little about Kic’s inclusive and body-positive ethos before the event, but after hearing Steph talk about setting intentions related to how you want your body to feel rather than look, I felt immediately at ease. What followed was a gentle introductory class by their incredibly calming and kind instructor Christina, who made me realise that Pilates doesn’t need to be so scary – it’s just about moving in a way that makes you and your body feel great.
So for anyone else who’s always wanted to dip their toes into the world of Pilates but has felt hesitant, I spoke to Steph about breaking through those barriers. Below, she shares her best advice and tells us what you can expect from Kic’s new beginner’s program.
What would you say the biggest barriers are that prevent people from getting into Pilates?
Pilates is trending, but there’s this perception that you have to look a certain way and train a certain way in order to ‘enter your Pilates era’ when that is definitely not the case. Through Kic, we surveyed over 4000 women and found that 48 per cent haven’t tried Pilates or consider themselves beginners – that’s nearly half of us! So, although social media paints this picture that everyone’s doing it, if you’re new to Pilates you’re definitely not alone.
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The majority of beginners (53 per cent) said that the cost of Pilates is what’s holding them back, which is absolutely valid when you consider the cost of a reformer studio class to be around $30 per class, but there are affordable and accessible ways, like the Kic app, to get your Pilates fix.
One in three beginners said ‘having no idea what they’re doing’ is holding them back. They might’ve tried a Pilates class but felt lost and intimidated because they didn’t know the lingo or were comparing their form to the person next to them. On top of this, women are feeling self-conscious about their bodies and fitness levels, which is heartbreaking to hear, because I’m a big believer that Pilates is for every body and every fitness level.
I’m a complete beginner when it comes to Pilates. What advice would you give to someone like me who’s keen to give it a go for the first time?
Remember that everyone has to start somewhere. There’s a reason we call it a Pilates practice – it’s not something we instantly know how to do. Be kind to yourself. Just like anything in life, it takes time to learn a new skill. Take the focus away from ‘how you look’ and focus on how each movement makes you feel. Lower your expectations, remove any judgment and just give it a go. You’ll be surprised by how capable you are.
What are the benefits you can expect to see from doing Pilates regularly?
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Pilates is incredible for your body and mind. From a physical perspective, it can improve your core strength, flexibility, balance and posture. If you’re a runner, Pilates is a great way to build strength in your glutes and help reduce injury, and it’s recommended to weave in one to two Pilates classes per week to support your training.
Although the physical benefits are important, it’s the mental benefits for me! It’s all about the mind-body connection. Pilates requires you to be present and move mindfully with every exercise while focusing on your breath. So, it helps to reduce stress because you’re taking your focus away from your busy brain and into your body. The mental clarity I get when I squeeze in a 10 to 15-minute Pilates flow before Harvey [Steph’s son] wakes up makes such a difference to my day.
Can you tell me about Kic’s new Begin With Pilates series? What can people expect from it and what inspired you to create it?
Begin With Pilates is a 14-step guided series with our beautiful Pilates instructor, Christina. We strip it back and start at the very beginning, so if you’ve never tried Pilates before, or you’re looking to rebuild your strength after taking some time off, it’s made for you. With each five to 20-minute workout, you’ll learn something new and by the end of the series, you’ll be confident in the common Pilates movements, lingo, form and breathing techniques.
When speaking with our Kic community, for a lot of them, getting started was the hardest part of their fitness journey so the idea of this series is to break down this barrier. When you think about it, everyone celebrates the finish line – when you run your first 5km or complete your Pilates challenge – but in reality, getting started is the hardest part, and we believe that’s worth celebrating.
You can find out more about Kic’s range of Pilates classes here.
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