When a Pilates Client Won't Progress: How to Move Forward Without Pushing Too Hard

"I have a client who has been with me for almost a year. Sweet person, shows up consistently, works hard. The problem is: she is not progressing. We are basically doing the same session we did six months ago. I've tried introducing new things and she shuts down — gets nervous, says she's not ready, asks to go back to what she knows. I don't want to push her too hard, but I also don't want to be wasting her time or mine. What do I do?"

— Spinning My Wheels

Dear Spinning My Wheels,

You are not wasting her time. I want you to hear that clearly. The fact that she keeps showing up — consistently, for a year — tells you that what you're doing is working on a level that matters deeply to her, even if you can't measure it in reps and progressions.

That said, your instinct is right. Growth is the point. And if she's contracting every time you introduce something new, that's information. Your job is to figure out what the resistance is actually about.

In my experience, when a client digs her heels in at the edge of something new, one of three things is usually happening: she's afraid of looking stupid, she's afraid of getting hurt, or she's had an experience — in class, in life, in her body — that told her the unknown is dangerous. None of those things get solved by pushing harder. They get solved by building trust.

So here's my suggestion. Stop announcing new things as new. Instead of "let's try something different today," simply begin moving her in the direction you want to go. Adjust the variation slightly. Change the tempo. Add a layer. Let the "new" sneak in under the door rather than knock loudly at the front.

And when she notices — because she will — meet her there. "Yes, that's a little different. How did it feel?" Give her the language and the safety to explore rather than the pressure to perform.

She's not holding you back. She's asking you to be a more creative, more intuitive teacher. Rise to it.

Jessica