Mbodies aligns its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Pilates Teacher Training with the latest UK insurance company requirements

The UK Fitness Industry as a whole accepts you as a qualified Pilates Instructor by virtue of passing your First Pilates certification course – any additional Pilates instructor training need only be CPD!


To the benefit of Pilates Teachers themselves, insurance companies have re-focussed to align with the training needs of the individual Pilates Instructor, rather than the somewhat commercially influenced rules of Pilates Instructor Training Companies. In the past, the Insurance Industry in the UK had considered Pilates as a more niche discipline, and they were prepared to adopt the certification requirements stated by Individual Pilates training companies.

Previously, in order to remain a certified instructor, a Pilates certification training company stipulated CPD from their own Pilates Instructor courses and also dictated the hours required each year. Without prior experience the Insurance companies accepted and adopted this as the UK rules for Pilates Certification.

This practise was detrimental to Pilates Teachers, as you would be controlled, having no choice but to accept the stipulated annual amount of continued training with your initial choice of Pilates Training provider. Only by re-training with another company from the start, could you escape this monopoly.

Only in the last five years has the Insurance industry become more aligned with the interests of the ‘Individual Instructor’ (their actual customer) rather than the ‘Training School’.

The Pilates Instructor is now recognised by the Insurance Industry in the same way that the Gym instructor is recognised by the Fitness Industry. Once Pilates Teacher certification is obtained you are a Pilates Instructor and there is no need to re-train. Move from initial Matwork teaching to Pilates Reformer teacher training, using the same transferable skills on Pilates apparatus instead. Continuing Professional Development should be taken when required, but specifically tailored to the instructor skills and commercial requirements, rather than those of a Pilates Certification Training school.

To extend your scope of practice from Matwork to become a Pilates Reformer, Tower, Chair or Barrels Instructor Presently the Pilates Instructor who has qualified in Matwork must take a formal Pilates Apparatus Instructor course taught by a recognised training School, such as Mbodies Training Academy, who, in turn, have had their course accredited by an organisation like CIMSPA, or accepted by the underwriters of the main Insurance companies themselves. These courses need to cover the basic induction on the Pilates Reformer, Tower, Chair or Barrels to know how to teach safely on the apparatus and then learn a range of Repertoire.

However, other than a certificate to say that you have fully attended or learned the material on the course, and you are deemed safe to teach the Repertoire, there is absolutely no requirement for you to take a further Pilates examination before gaining insurance. Of course, you are limited to what you can teach on the apparatus – No inventing your own exercises or learning from the internet. Those who want to widen the scope of what’s teachable have the option to undertake further qualification in their chosen discipline as opposed to just CPD.

If you find yourself worrying that you’ll lose your Pilates Instructor status unless you undertake your training School’s brand CEC courses, you have nothing to fear. In the eyes of the UK Fitness Industry, and its insurers, once you’re a Pilates Instructor, you’ll always be a Pilates Instructor, provided you continue to take ongoing training and maintain professional standards in areas that you choose, with a Pilates training provider of YOUR choice rather than a requirement of the Brand you initially trained with.

Mbodies Training Academy accepts qualified Pilates Instructors wherever you undertook prior learning and offers Reformer, Tower, Chair and Barrels training on a modular system either as CPD or, if you prefer, as a qualification (online/part online/part face-to-face/fully face to face). This seems to be a route that other brands will be forced to follow – about time too!

Author:  Chris Onslow - Pilates Consultant

Chris Onslow, has run Pilates focussed businesses since 1998.  He and his team specialise in supporting Pilates entrepreneurs and business owners.  With a rich history of owning and running successful Pilates studios in the UK, and supporting others in Europe and the Middle East, Chris has broad expertise in maximising profitability and optimising operational efficiency.  His agency provides top-tier advice on selecting new, pre-owned, and hireable Pilates equipment from renowned brands such as Align-Pilates, Balanced Body or Stott-Pilates/Merrithew.  

As the founder of Mbodies Training Academy, Chris continues to revolutionise Pilates education, offering premier online and hybrid CPD and qualification courses for Pilates apparatus instruction and special population CPD.  Discover more about how Chris can support your Pilates Business or home exercise choices at www.pilates-consultant.co.uk Chris Onslow has been in the Pilates industry since 1998. He has sold or distributed Balanced Body, Stott-Pilates and Align-Pilates equipment in the UK and Europe and has owned Pilates Studios in the UK ranging from 600 square feet to 6000 square feet in size, with studios in Oxford, London and Witney. Chris brought Stott Pilates Training to the UK in 2006 and now runs Mbodies Training Academy. He is a consultant for several Pilates studio operators and owners seeking to use his experience in the industry to ‘launch’, ‘develop’, and ‘refocus’ their Pilates focussed companies.

For information about Mbodies Training Academy visit:https://www.mbodiesacademy.com/

For Online Pilates Teacher Training visit: https://mbodies.thinkific.com/