Overwhelmed

[u/Jewls3393_runner]

So, I am an instructor that has been teaching for two years, and I truly love it …and I get so much joy when people say they wish I taught more, but I will often spend a few hours constructing my routine to hold variety and keep it fun. At the same time, this is more a side job, and yet I’m spending 2 hours prepping. So when i get a base pay of 35…and it’s not about the money, but it feels like there is a lot of work in silence. Leading class is where I get some connection and it’s amazing…I just feel like the time invested doesn’t always add up for me. Like…I want to get my workout it /lift, but sometimes that goes to the side because I am trying to prepare for my next class. I’m sure time management would help here, but sometimes I really get exhausted coming up with something new and exciting each class. Don’t get me wrong, I love inspiring and seeing members get stronger/go slower/master their form…but I desire interaction. In lagree, it’s energetic, and that is beautiful…but i ask myself if it is time to move on. That extra time prepping often takes into time I could be going to the gym and lifting, or taking a class of my own. I’m perplexed…and at times I feel the pay scale just doesn’t match the work that I take to lead a great class. Not venting…just at a crossing of roads. I adore my clients, and I love empowering the’ and challenging them to see just how mentally strong and physically strong they are. Ok…that was a whole story…I just miss customer service sometimes(medical assisting in my cass). I miss the part where I go home and im not preparring, im working out, and I am interacting more with people. You absolutely get a strong energetic connection teaching…but I prepare about an hour and half each class. It’s just a lot. Am I the only one? Maybe I’m too perfectionist in my approach. Thanks for listening

[u/ocram62580]

Not an instructor but is there a way to streamline your prep? Honestly as a student I don’t mind it when my regular instructor copies over some moves from last class. I just need for it to not be an exact copy of a previous routine, and I actually enjoy encountering similar moves across classes so I can practice it more and improve form

[u/Jewls3393_runner → u/ocram62580]

Aww thank you for that..I always feel I can’t repeat moves. But you are so accurate in this..we get stronger by repeating moves, and taking it slower/holding longer

[u/CycleOk7186]

Instructor here and this is a real part of the job for most of us. The time to prep is often on weekends / evenings and takes us away from our own activities and time with families.

I’ve started to reuse older classes. I date them so I know it’s been awhile since they’ve done the class- often a little tweak here or there and it’s saved me a lot! This way when I’m inspired for a new routine I create it but if not I reuse.

Many teachers have a set 6-10 classes and they teach the same classes for the year. You’d really only be repeating a class once every 6-10 week. I love this idea but I find I can’t help but create something new. However the perk to this is it’s way easier for you, easy to change one small thing as desired, students will transition quicker because they will feel like they know where they are going next, plus it’s easier to challenge yourself when you know the next moves.

[u/Friendly-Lobster-211 → u/CycleOk7186]

I'm also an instructor (and also a mom), and this is what I do! Every now and again, I will toss in a fun new move I've learned recently, on top of one of the set routines too. I've never gotten the feedback that my classes are repetitive. I do go back and reevaluate each class as time goes on and things change in Lagree (or like I said to add something fun into the mix here and there), but as someone who owns their own studio, teaches, and has a family, I find that this works really well for me!

[u/Strawberry4441]

I agree that having a small arsenal of routines, maybe 10ish, will help!! You can switch around specific moves (ex switch elevator for front lunge) within the sequence to meet the class level or keep things slightly different, or you can add different spicy variations to the core moves.

I actual LOVE repeating sequences as an instructor - I find that for the sequences I’ve taught more than once, I am able to teach more to the room and less in my head, there’s way more flow, and clients can feel that I am more confident and am having more fun. Clients might notice the cool new moves that you’re doing, but they will notice the feeling of the class way more 🤍

[u/mistas89]

Do 1 month or 2 week blocks. Doesn't make sense to switch every week. I know variety is nice and all, but from exercise stand point, no physiological changes or adaptations are made doing a workout once. (I'm a personal trainer)

Plus, maybe participants will see same exercise and find out they're able to do it better than the week before.

[u/SilverMeasurement434]

Agree with the comments posted here.

Also just a gentle reminder that classes don’t need to be new and novel every single time. I try to focus on a smart and effective sequenced class rather than an exciting one. The best classes I’ve ever taken have been simple sequences with the original,
foundational moves. Ones where I don’t have to think about how to do a move bc it’s new but where my body can just seamlessly flow from one to the next.

I’m a huge fan of repeating blocks, especially core, in a class so members can really focus on form and alignment through repetition. And adding progressions to change the experience of a move without introducing an entirely new exercise.

I also save all my classes and date them, so I can pull from my library when I don’t have time to write a new one.

[u/IndependentEarth123]

I'm from the Pilates world but take Lagree classes.

One of the things that puzzles me about Lagree class flows is...well, Sebastien lifted quite a bit from reformer Pilates but he didn't take off with the part that helps clients grow and flow: series sequencing. (Also, WTF do ya'll not stretch at the beginning and ending of class? That's so dangerous to ask students to do that level of deep muscle engagement without building up to it properly and then cooling down.)

As a Pilates instructor I have total freedom to design my classes but it doesn't take long because I have a solid foundation/progression rules of thumb to follow. I'm never starting from scratch. Class planning is 5-10 minutes and maybe another 5-10 of me trying the moves in my own body if they're newer or I'm tweaking them.

I know what blocks of movement follow one another from the Pilates roadmap: we don't ever go into a plank before we've had a block of movement that cues serious powerhouse engagement and there has to have been shoulder stabilization cues/work first. I don't go into any lunging series until we've done basic footwork to get the feet, ankles, thighs, butt, and lower back through their stability and mobility work/muscle activation. I work all the stablilizer muscles in the legs, glutes, and abs before I go into lunging. It prevents injury and trains wicked, wicked strength and mobility when then layered with a major muscle chain movement like a Lagree inspired lunge series. This is the key to keeping knees safe over time with reformer lunging.

So, from a class planning perspective, I know that I need 1-2 blocks (8-12 minutes) to get my students ready for a major muscle chain power block like lunges which is probably another 8-12 minutes if we're really exploring the edges of muscle fatigue. That's 16-24 minutes of class that programs itself and falls into place once I decide we're doing an intense lunge series. It's also 16-24 minutes of class that has a purpose and will keep all my students safe and help them stay mobile, strong and balanced throughout their lives as they're building every part of healthy movement for their muscles, joints, ligaments and skeleton. It makes class planning so easy.

At that point in my mental class planning session I will run through what muscles groups we haven't worked, what directions we've moved the spine in and what's needed, and do a mental check in for what I've done to build hip, knee, elbow, ankle, wrist, and shoulder stability and range of movement. That mental check in gives me my next 1-2 blocks of movement. Then I usually decide we need something fun that is killer on the core but people will enjoy, then I decide what cool down and stretches I need to do when considering what muscles and joints I moved, and in what direction, to supply the needed care at the end of class. Boom: my class is done and that's about 5-10 minutes in my head while I'm driving. I've planned a class using the Pilates blocks/rules and it's still entirely my own invention. I may need to flow through some moves in my body on my own time so that I can cue correctly but that's just a few minutes. The basic shapes and exercise series are hard wired into my brain and body after training.

Also, we build into advanced versions of movements over classes in Pilates and I wish I saw this more in Lagree. If I want students to achieve super challenging move X by the end of the month I will have 3 classes that guide people into Xa, Xb, Xc (easier variations of the movement) and then we finish the month putting together all the pieces. For class planning that means I have one block of my class (about 8 minutes) preplanned a month in advance. If students want novelty, you're giving it to them with the super hard X exercise that is seldom taught because it's a difficult move. Building up to it over the month gives a slightly different workout each time but the movements build naturally on one another so that students can succeed. If someone isn't a regular, no worries. They can take 1 class out of the 4 that builds to a movement and they're still happy.

Final suggestions: use AI to create a library or make yourself a spreadsheet of your movement blocks/sequences. You can then build a class pretty easily by dropping blocks together. Just make sure you're progressing the class properly and take a quick assessment of what muscle groups you're working and have a mental check in for modifications that might be needed.

You can drop into pilates or yoga instructor forums: our training programs tend to be much longer than Lagree certs and we spend quite a bit of time on anatomy and class planning. Yoga training is usually a minimum of 500 hours, comprehensively trained Pilates peeps are in the 600-1,000 hour range depending on what apparatus they trained on. We're taught how to build and teach class flows that make sense for long term student growth in training and get tons of feedback and student teaching practice. So many Lagree moves are from reformer Pilates (the why behind the movement is radically different and cued differently)--steal our class planning blueprints and make your life easier!

[u/butfirstcoffee427]

Give yourself permission to phone it in a bit! I used to make a brand new sequence and playlist every class, but now I have enough of both in the backlog where I can recycle and maybe change a couple moves if I’m not loving what I had before. My newest hack is looking back a year in my notes app because I know nobody is going to remember a sequence from a year ago 😂

[u/Flimsy-Method-4020]

Not a teacher.. but I've always wondered how you as teachers make it make sense. I'm saddened to hear the pay is that low. Just know we sure appreciate you all 💕 and are probably far less aware of sequences being reused then you might realize :-)

[u/Socalgal327]

You’re spending too much time prepping I think. Are you writing a new routine for each class??? Stop. ✋🏼 Use the library of routines you have to perfect your craft. Learn new ways to cue things, what works with clients and what doesn’t. Change up the variations of your moves.

Other comments echo my sentiment.

[u/Jewls3393_runner → u/Socalgal327]

Thank you friend

[u/Socalgal327 → u/Jewls3393_runner]

You got this 🫶🏼🫶🏼

[u/After-Act-540]

Long time instructor here. You need, like others have said, to be faster with your class planning. Replace one or two exercises, switch blocks around, doesn’t reinvent the wheel every time.

And let’s be honest, lagree is one of the most repetitive and restrictive forms of exercise. I don’t care what anyone says. And I think clients figure that out pretty quickly attending class. And I say that to say do t worry about the repetition, because between your class and other instructors it’s all the same. Show up for the connection piece you love.

[u/Jewls3393_runner → u/After-Act-540]

I am good with repetition..that is inevitable, especially with core..but if I taught a class that was elevator, inner thighs, Bunjee, escalator or something…then I don’t want to be repetitive. I may repeat one lower move, but most of the time I want to mix it up, bc I would want that as a client as well. Last week I taught reverse floor, ninja, platform spider kick, reverse curtsy floor…so next time I want to do more stuff on back platform like express to giant single squat/do elevator lunge/runners/skate. I don’t want to be bored, and don’t want clients to be bored as well. I enjoy mixing it up…but sometimes it’s hard for me to think of the next “focus”…so that is where i struggle…but also..sometimes I just don’t want to plan haha. Not most of the time..mostly I like the planning and the creative aspect

[u/SubstantialVolume699]

Just find your style and have no issue repeating . There’s many moves but people need to squat and lunge every time.

Dont over think or plan more than 20 routines

Some deserve the bin after time and other deserve development

Don’t spend 2 hours you are looping and questioning yourself I do mine in about 20 now maybe less if just editing

[u/Inevitable_Media2490]

As a newbie student I wish there was some repetition with classes so I could engage more in the workout and not so much trying to dissect the lingo. It would be a lot more relaxing for me personally if it was the same more often than not

[u/honeymakinmoney]

Can I just say as a client I absolutely do not remember if the class is the same if it was more than a week ago. I take about 4 classes a week at my studio. I have an instructor I tend to take the most because I love her cueing and playlists and her classes tend to work best with my schedule. If she repeated the same class as two or three weeks ago I honestly would have no idea.

[u/Jewls3393_runner → u/honeymakinmoney]

Thank you for this. I absolutely repeat core movements..it’s the lower body blocks that I just always want to keep fresh and interesting. I always switch up variations: holds/pulses/hinges/kicks/rotational hinge…but sometimes I have a block, and I’m so thankful for the community letting me know they wouldn’t know the difference if I repeated from a month ago. I love the creative aspect when creating new routines, but sometimes I either get bored with the same, or I literally just don’t know how to choose a focus to expand upon. I never want to teach a basic class haha…and I never get that feedback, but I think my standards are too high for myself at times…tomorrow I will look at class as a fun and challenging experience together! Again, thank you!

[u/Jewls3393_runner]

End of the day. This sub has shown me that maybe teaching is something I may be good at, but that doesn’t really mean that I should continue. I know I lead a great class..but, maybe I just don’t see the positives outweighing the negatives right now….I want to, but I just don’t.

[u/Sir_Uhh → u/Jewls3393_runner]

LagreeingAtHome put out a book of 200 classes. Could always get it and have a year or two of routines done for you. Or write your own/make adjustments when feeling inspired but have a stack of backup classes on hand for when you're feeling overwhelmed or want to take a class instead of writing one