What is Pilates?

Are you looking for Pilates classes in London? At Complete Pilates, we offer 1:1 Pilates classes which are tailored specifically for you. Whether you see us in one of our London Pilates studios or opt for an online session, your Pilates class will be taken by one of our physiotherapists or our highly experienced clinical Pilates instructor who will completely bespoke the session based on your needs and goals.

Pilates is suitable for anyone looking to strengthen the body in an even way whilst improving postural alignment and flexibility. It is mainly non-impact and has a focus on distributing movement and core strength.

All our face-to-face sessions utilise the Pilates equipment including reformer, Cadillac, chair, ladder barrel and spine corrector. We will also give you mat-based exercises for you to practice at home.

If you are new to our London Pilates studio’s, our new client offer of two 55 minute sessions gives us the ability to fully assess your movement and any injuries and determine how we can help you achieve your goals.

The aim of all our Pilates classes is to help you reach your goals. Whether this be returning to sport, or simply walking up the stairs, we can help with our Pilates classes in London City.

Why should you come to a Physio Pilates class?

There are so many reasons you should attend one of our Pilates classes:

• rehab from an injury or surgery
• pain management
• return to sport
• improving your running
• increasing your mobility
• improving your posture
• for cancer rehab
• post-natal recovery and return to activity
• to maintain strength during pregnancy
• if you want to start exercising
• increase your strength
• improve your balance
• if you have osteoporosis
• relieve stress and tension
• to supplement your existing training programme
• active recovery
• reduce the risk of injury
• adaptable for everyone, particularly when using the equipment
• improve your core strength
• improve your body awareness

Choosing the right Pilates class in London

Choosing the right Pilates class for you is so important. Firstly, you need to choose whether you join a group class or invest in 1:1 sessions.

If you have any medical complaint or history of recurrent pain, then we would strongly recommend a 1:1 Pilates class. This is also suitable for those who have tried classes and haven’t enjoyed them or can never quite understand what you are supposed to do.

The next thing to decide is whether you choose to do mat or equipment.

Again, equipment Pilates is suitable if you have struggled with exercise, are never quite sure if you are doing the exercises well, or you have an injury, are post surgery, or have a medical complaint.

The great thing about equipment Pilates is that it can be assistive or resistive. This means that it can be less than body weight if you are partial weight-bearing, or can be harder for strength challenges. The assistive nature of the springs also makes sure that you are doing movements well. It is really hard to cheat on a reformer!

Mat Pilates is incredibly accessible and can be done anywhere! It challenges you to know where your body is in space and uses your body weight for resistance so is great for strength building.

At Complete Pilates we offer a mixture of everything. We specialise in 1:1 clinical Pilates to where everything is tailored to you. Whether you see us online, or face-to-face in one of our fully-equipped London based studios, we can offer a mat or equipment-based Pilates session. We also have online mat group classes that span different abilities from beginner to advanced.

For all our group classes we offer exercise modifications and flag up where you should be feeling things so you have a thorough understanding of what you should be doing. If you are ever in doubt, we also have a back to basics class which really focuses on the detail of movements so you perfect your technique.

Getting you started

Before your initial 1:1 Pilates class we ask all clients to fill in either our general registration form, antenatal registration form or post-natal registration form or our oncology rehabilitation registration form. This gives us more information about you and shows us if you have any injuries.

Once you have had an assessment, we will talk through with you how we think we can help you achieve your goals. This assessment will give us the information we need to tailor the programme to you.

You do not need a referral from the PT, other physio or GP to see us. However, if you do have a medical complaint or injury and are seeing any other health care practitioners it is great to put us in touch with them so we can all work towards the same goals.

What are the benefits of Pilates?

The benefits of Pilates are huge but include:

• increased core strength
• increased posture
• increased body awareness
• increased flexibility
• improved mobility
• low impact sport
• pain relief
• mindfulness
• stress management and relaxation
• improved balance and co-ordination
• can be partial weight-bearing to help with surgical recovery
• improve breathing mechanics
• injury rehab
• works alongside other training programme
• sports performance improvement

Why choose Complete Pilates?

At Complete Pilates we have a large team consisting of both physiotherapists and clinical Pilates instructors. All our team have undergone extensive training and continue to learn through post graduate study.

We have three Pilates studios across London City, including Lime street – in the heart of The City, Angel – in the iconic Business Design Centre and Chelsea – near Chelsea and Westminster Hospital helping you to access Pilates classes in London with ease.

We all have a passion for movement and understand that you do not have to medicalise everything. We do however believe in collecting objective data so that you can see how you are improving. These centre around you and your goals so that your programme really is individual to you.

At Complete Pilates, we will link up and communicate with anyone who is involved in your care. We believe that by openly talking with people we can ensure we are all working towards the same goals.

Whether you have an injury, sporting goal or simply want to move with more ease, why not get in touch and see how we can help you.