The Fitness Pilates Blog

8 Commonly asked questions on becoming a pilates instructor

Can you make a living as a pilates instructor?

See our commonly asked questions about becoming a pilates instructor in the UK

What can you expect to be paid?

The national average salary for a Pilates Instructor is £27,956 per year in United Kingdom. (June 2022)

The highest salary for a Pilates Instructor in the United Kingdom is £46,204 per year.

2. Is it worth becoming a pilates instructor?

This career allows you to create the work-life balance that might be missing in your life right now. Most find that becoming an instructor is one of the best choices they’ve made.

3. How long to become an instructor?

Qualifications on average take between 3-6 months to complete. You need a formal qualification to teach pilates.

4. What makes a good pilates instructor?

A good Pilates instructor must be passionate about the class…intelligent, imaginative, intuitive, creative and able to think quickly. He or she is a professional who always keeps a good attitude, makes learning fun, is punctual, organised and encouraging.

Pilates exercises are a lot more intense and results may be noticed much quicker than yoga. Through frequent Pilates exercises, improvement in posture, balance, mobility and flexibility can be seen. If you have back issues, care has to be taken with some yoga poses as they can sometimes exacerbate the problem.

About 20-30 hours per week

39% work full-time (20 hours or more per week) 88.5% say it was very easy to find a job as a Pilates instructor, and they feel secure in their position.

There are options to work in a gym, your own studio, live or online, on retreats and much more.

7. Do I have to be flexible to do Pilates? No, absolutely not. Flexibility is important for healthy movement, but it will come with regular practice. In the meantime, there are always modifications you can use.

8. What qualifications do I need to teach Pilates?

If you have no previous qualifications you need the Level 3 Pilates diploma, if you are a level 2 group fitness instructor or above you can do the Fitness Pilates training course. Both courses are online and endorsed by CIMSPA.