5 ways to keep Pilates clients engaged, retained and interested in virtual workouts

5 ways to keep Pilates clients engaged, retained and interested in virtual workouts

Pilates, yoga and meditation have all seen a boost in popularity during the pandemic and following as more people have sought mindful movement practices for stress relief that they can do at home with limited space and equipment.

Among the many challenges for instructors in this new environment is dealing with Zoom fatigue— their own and their clients’.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well people adapted to virtual training at the start, It’s probably because people were doing less movement in their daily lives, and this online class popularity seems to have carried on following the pandemic.

While there is always a lull in numbers online during the summer as people go on holidays or opt to do outdoor workouts instead, the numbers boost once again every September.

Here’s are some top tips to keep clients engaged in your online pilates classes:

1. Create a teaching template to guide your week

At the start of each week create a clear template, or program design that informs clients of  classes and sessions.

This template is a jumping off point; it provides some structure, sequence ideas, and a theme or focus area to her week ahead, while still allowing you to be spontaneous and adjust her programming for individual clients’ moods, strengths, weaknesses and fitness goals.

2. Experiment with different workout times

If clients are starting to feel bored, switch up the time of day when they practice with you. See what times are working for them- take a poll- ask your clients!

3. No equipment? Leverage all the props

Props are a great way to add challenge, instability, weight and resistance to any workout routine and come in handy to progress and regress clients through the repertoire.

If she feels like they’ve hit a plateau or they’re struggling to stay engaged, a new prop can go a long way to re energizing them.

4. Move your ‘studio’ setting around

Keep changing up the setting so it is fresh and interesting! Try outdoors in the Summer!

5. Focus on what more you can learn to improve your offering

Keeping on learning and offering more to your clients is so important to keep classes interesting, find a range of our online Fitness Pilates courses HERE  and try out some new masterclasses HERE