Studio Pilates International® 1

MATWORK LEVEL 1 COURSE

STUDY GUIDE & CHECKLIST

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Matwork Level 1 Study Guide Please use this step-by-step study guide and checklist to ensure that you have covered off all that

you need to learn by the time you come in for the face-to-face component of the Matwork Course.

The more that you study the course material, the easier you will find instructing at the course. There

is a lot of information to learn, and it is all laid out very clearly, so please utilise your study tools

effectively.

If you follow the instructions, spend the time learning your course material and practice, practice,

practice, you will have no problems at all passing the theory and practical exams after the course.

Course Assessment

Precourse Exam

After completing your 30 hours of precourse study, you will complete an online precourse exam.

This exam is a theory test and is multiple choice. To pass the exam, you must obtain a mark of 80%

or higher. If you do not pass the exam, it will tell you which questions you got incorrect and you will

need to retake the exam again until you receive a minimum passing mark.

Practical Assessment at Course

There is a practical exam on the last day of the course where you will need to instruct a few

exercises to a small group. After this you will be told one of 3 things:

1. If you are already excellent at instructing and are ready to start instructing with minimal

further practice, you will be told this and then you just need to complete the online theory

exam to obtain your certificate.

2. If you are progressing well but just not quite ready to instruct yet at the end of the 3 days,

and simply need a little more practice prior to starting teaching, you will be asked to go

home and practice then submit a video of yourself instructing when you feel confident. This

video submission costs $50. Once we receive this and you complete the online theory exams

you will receive your certificate.

3. If there are a lot of basic concepts that you fail to demonstrate competency in during your

practical exam you may be required to resit the course again, which will mean that you will

in the end come out a fantastic instructor, you just need a lot more study and practice to get

there. This costs $299.

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Of course the idea is to pass the first time, and as long as you are practicing and covering off learning

the information in the steps below prior to the course you will be well prepared for the course and

should be well prepared for the course and should be great! And don’t forget that we are here to

help you anytime leading up to the course and throughout the course as well – we want you to be

the best instructor you can possibly be by the end of the course.

Post Course Exam

After completing your practical course you will go online again to complete a final postcourse exam.

This exam is a theory test and is multiple choice. To pass the exam, you must obtain a mark of 80%

or higher. If you do not pass the exam, it will tell you which questions you got incorrect and you will

need to retake the exam again until you receive a minimum passing mark. Please note that you will

not receive your instructor certification until you have completed and passed the precourse exam,

practical assessment and postcourse exam.

Assessment Support

Yes that’s right - we are here to help you! So if at any stage you feel you need some guidance or help

to understand something, please contact us either by email at educationadmin@studiopilates.com

or phone 07 3899 4555 or at 0422 023 222.

If you are having technical difficulties accessing the online training centre please contact us ASAP so

we can help you with that. Good luck and happy studying, now is the time to start your first step to

becoming a great Pilates Instructor!

STEP 1 – Obtaining the manuals and workout DVD

If you have paid for and ordered the Manuals and workout DVD, they should arrive in the post

shortly. In the meantime you can also download them from the website so you can start studying.

If you opted to simply download the online manuals – the Body Essentials Manual is found in the

Body Essentials Module where it can be downloaded from there, and the Matwork Manual can be

downloaded from the main page of the online training centre.

Note that you will need to bring along the manuals to the face to face component of the course, so if

you have ordered them - great you will receive them soon, if you opted to download them you can

either print them out to bring them along or have them at the course in the computer version on an

iPad or something similar.

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The workout DVD can be downloaded at

https://www.studiopilates.com/process/shop/productView.html?itemId=9488

When it asks you for the discount coupon code, enter the word matwork and it will allow you to

download the workout for free.

STEP 2 – Start practicing the workout DVD /download as

many times as possible

Start practicing the workout DVD in order to start learning the exercises and listen to

how the exercises are explained, the words used, tone of voice and rhythm of instructing. Please

note that by the time you attend your practical course, you should have practised the DVD at least

10 times.

(Estimated time to complete: 10 hours)

STEP 3 – Start to Study the Body Essentials Manual and watch

the online videos as follows

Begin studying your Body Essentials Manual (BE). As a part of this study, you will learn about

Posture, Core stability, Pilates Basics and Verbal Cueing. For each of the areas to study below, please

make sure you read over the recommended pages in the manual.

Pilates Principles

o Learn the principles of Pilates (p6-9 BE)

Postural Types

o Learn each of the posture types: flatback, lordosis, kyphosis, swayback, scoliosis

and hypermobility. Understand which muscles are tight and weak for each posture. Be able

to look at your friends and family and tell which posture types they have (p10-17 BE).

Core Stability

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o Learn the stabilising muscles of the body – where they are situated and their

function, and how to find them on yourself and someone else. The muscles to look at are

Pelvic Floor, Transversus Abdominus, Obliques, Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius, Gluteus

Minimus, Deep Hip Rotators, Iliacus, Lower Trapezius, Serratus Anterior and Deep Neck

flexors (p18-24 BE)

o Learn how to assess the function of each of the core stability muscles, what good

and bad stability looks like and the ways people will cheat and compensate for each test.

(p29-35 BE)

o Look at the whole assessment procedure, and preform an assessment on a family

member of friend. (p36 BE)

Pilates Basics

o Learn about and practice teaching the Pilates Basics – Neutral and Imprinted

Spine, Ribcage position and breathing, Scapula position, neck position, t-zone, oblique

activation with the breathing.

o Watch the Basics Chapter of the workout DVD or download and listen to the

basics being explained and try to mimic this.

o Try to explain the basics to a friend or family member until you sound clear and

concise. (p37-46 BE)

o Understand the difference between neutral and imprinted spine, and the rules

for when you use neutral vs. imprinted spine (p37-38 BE)

o Understand the breathing rules and when we should breath in or out and why. If

you learn these breathing rules you won’t have to necessarily learn the breathing patterns

for each exercise, you should be able to work them out if you understand the rules (p45-46

BE).

o Understand the 3 different learning styles of clients and how to tailor your

instructing to suit all 3 (p47-49 BE)

o Learn the Cueing Formula *** this is one of the most important things to learn as

it makes it so much easier to instruct if you follow the cueing formula. When you practise

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the DVD workout, listen out for the cueing formula as it is used to instruct the exercises.

Notice the flow and rhythm of the cues, the way the voice changes up and down in tone and

the more you listen to the cueing the easier it is to copy and do later on. (p50-53 BE)

o Learn the things you will need to look out for in terms of the safety of both

yourself and clients. (P54 BE)

o Read the Mat Class Preamble many times over, get to know what must be said in

there and more importantly practice saying it yourself. You don’t have to repeat it word for

word but do need to cover off all of the important points.

o Practise saying the preamble to a friend or family member, or record yourself on

your iPhone and play it back. Make sure you cover off all of the points and sound clear and

concise, and can cover off all of the points in around 5-6 minutes. (p55 BE)

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STEP 4 – Start to Learn the Actual Exercises in the Matwork

Manual (MM)

Learn the Exercises

In order to learn these exercises, you will need to use a combination of reading over the Matwork

manual, watching the online video tutorials for each exercise, physically practicing doing the exercise

with the video tutorials and also with the workout DVD/download and then practice cueing and

talking yourself or a family member through the exercise to work out the words to say.

It is best to work in sections, master one section of exercises before moving on to the next. If you

can’t physically perform the exercises yourself due to injury or weakness that is fine, you will just

need to watch the online video a lot more and practice teaching it rather than doing it.

Below are the exercises to cover and the recommended order to learn them in:

For each exercise you will need to know:

Name of exercise

Where it works

Start position

Neutral or imprinted spine

Breathing pattern

Movement pattern

Specific body position needed for each body part

Common things people may do wrong and things to look out for to correct

How to make the exercise easier or harder and how to adjust for injury

How to perform the exercise yourself

How to teach the exercise/the verbal cueing to use

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Supine Abdominal Series

o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p 30-71

o Watch the Supine Abdominal Series videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

Side Lying Series

o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p72-95

o Watch the Side Lying Series videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

Supine Buttock Series

o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p 96-101

o Watch the Supine Buttock Series videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

Kneeling Series

o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p 102-109

o Watch the Kneeling Series videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

Prone Lying Series

o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p 110-131

o Watch the Prone Lying Series videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

Plank Series

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o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p 132-139

o Watch the Plank Series videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

Stretches

o Read over the series in the Matwork Manual - p 8-29

o Watch the Stretches videos through your Online Training Centre

o Practise talking through the cues out loud

(Estimated time to complete: 8 hours)

Note: You may also wish to order or download more workout DVDs to practice the exercises and

also work on your own body – a lot of course participants find this particularly helpful, and the

people who do the DVDs the most always perform the best in the course.

You can buy and download more workouts for $9.95 at

http://www.studiopilates.com/shop/category/cat13737/PILATES_DVD_DOWNLOADS.html

or buy a hardcopy DVD which will be sent out to you for $24.95 at

http://www.studiopilates.com/shop/category/cat1853/PILATES_DVDs.html

STEP 5 – Learn about Programming

o Read over the programming principles and take a look at the sample programs

given and watch the corresponding online video (p140-148 MM)

o Have a practice at making up your own workout program, physically do the

workout and see how it feels

o Do the workout DVD/download and purchase other DVD/downloads (see above

on how to do this) to get ideas on programming, and become used to how to sequence

exercises to get the most out of the workouts

(Estimated time to complete: 1 hour)

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STEP 6 – Learn about the Common Spinal Injuries, Pregnancy

and How to Program for These

Read over the injuries and pregnancy section of the Bod Essentials Manual and watch the

corresponding online video tutorials (which are housed in the Body Essentials section of the online

training centre videos) to learn the following:

o What is osteoarthritis, symptoms of osteoarthritis, and exercise you may need to

avoid or watch out for (p57 BE)

o What is pelvic instability, the symptoms of instability, and think about which

exercises may need to be avoided or be careful with for someone with instability? (p58 BE)

o Why postural neck problems occur, the muscles which are tight that usually need

stretching and the muscles which are weak and usually need strengthening. Think about

which exercises may need to be modified, and what abdominal exercises you can do with

the head down. (P58 BE)

o What is a wry neck and what do you do with someone who presents with a wry

neck to your class? (p59 BE)

o What do you need to avoid for someone with a muscle strain and what can they

do? (p59 BE)

o Disc problems – learn the difference between a disc bulge, rupture and

degenerative disc. Learn which movements generally are unsafe for someone with a disc

bulge and go through the contents page of the Matwork Manual and look at each exercise to

determine whether or not it would be safe for disc problems based on the movements

needed to be avoided. (p60-61 BE) and Contents page MM)

o Sciatica – what is sciatica, what are the causes, what is the neural tension

position? Learn which movements generally are unsafe for someone with a disc bulge and

go through the contents page of the Matwork Manual and look at each exercise to

determine whether or not it would be safe for sciatica based on the neural tension position

that needs to be avoided. (p62 BE) and Contents page MM)

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o SIJ Problems – what is the SIJ? What symptoms are usually present with SIJ

problems? What exercises or movements may need to be avoided or used with care with SIJ

problems? (p63 BE)

o Watch the Spinal Pain Video located in the Body Essentials section of the Online

Training Centre

o What is osteoporosis, what may happen to someone if they have osteoporosis,

what are the contributing factors to getting osteoporosis? How does exercise and Pilates

help Osteoporosis? (p64)

o What exercises are safe to do and which exercises need to be avoided in the 1st,

2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy? When do pregnant women need to stop lying on their

back? (p67 BE)

o How many weeks after giving birth can a woman recommence Pilates – for both a

vaginal and caesarean delivery? (p68 BE)

o What is a pelvic floor prolapse and what are the rules for the intensity of exercise

after a prolapse or any pelvic floor problem? What exercises would be good to start off with,

which ones are likely to be too difficult? How can doing incorrect abdominal exercises make

a pelvic floor problem worse? (p68 BE)

o What is a rectus diastasis? How do you test for a rectus diastasis? What are the

rules for the abdominal exercises for someone with a rectus diastasis? What exercises would

be good to start off with, which ones are likely to be too difficult? How can doing incorrect

abdominal exercises make a rectus diastasis worse? (p69 BE)

o Watch the Pregnancy Video located in the Body Essentials section of the Online

Training Centre

(Estimated time to complete: 1 hour)

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STEP 7 – Complete the Precourse Exam

To complete your exam, log on to your Online Training Centre by clicking here:

http://www.studiopilates.com/matwork-course.html

Alternatively, you can access the Training Centre by going to www.studiopilates.com, selecting

Online Training Centre from the menu on the left hand side of the screen, and then selecting

“Matwork Course.”

Once you are logged in to the training centre, simply click on the “Precourse Exam” button to sit

your exam. Please note that once you begin your exam, you cannot save your answers and come

back to the quiz at a later time. This exam needs to be completed before the face to face component

of the course.

(Estimated time to complete: 1 hour)

STEP 8 – Attend the 3 day face to face component of the

course

Once you have completed all of the above, you are well and truly ready to come along to

the course and practice your instructing and consolidate your knowledge and receive help and

support along the way.

You will receive an email a few days out to confirm the start and finish times and course venue.

Remember to bring your manuals along to the course (or the manual on a tablet or iPad), wear some

comfortable exercise gear and bring along a Pilates mat if you have one. You can purchase a Studio

Pilates Mat at: https://www.studiopilates.com/shop/category/cat1899/HOME_WORKOUT.html

There will be a practical exam to determine the competency of your instructing at the course. The

more you prepare for the course by following the steps above, the easier you will find it and the

better you will be.

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STEP 9 – Complete the Postcourse Exam

After you have attended the Matwork Course, you will need to complete the Postcourse

Exam in order to pass and gain your certification and CEC letter. You can do this at your leisure, so if

you feel you need more time to study prior to taking the exam, that is absolutely fine.

The online exam can be found in the online training centre, or by following this link:

http://www.studiopilates.com/matwork-course.html

Once you have logged in to the training centre, simply click on the “Postcourse Exam” button to sit

your exam. Please note that once you begin your exam, you cannot save your answers and come

back to the quiz at a later time. The passing grade is 80% and once you have completed the exam,

you will be able to view your results, as well as any answers you may have gotten incorrect.

(Estimated time to complete: 1 hour)

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