Two professionals, one plan
Pilates and strength coaching overlap more than most pairings. Both care about how your pelvis and ribcage line up, and both will correct you. That is the benefit and the risk: two sets of cues can contradict each other, and each professional can assume the other is keeping an eye on your back. The fix is to agree at the start who decides what.
For who can use RPM's studio and what to ask before booking, see Pilates at RPM. This page is about running Pilates and one-to-one coaching side by side once you have both.
Who decides what
A split that works for many people. Agree it with both of them together, or at least in the same message thread.
| Decision | Usually made by | What the other one needs to hear |
|---|---|---|
| Loads, sets and reps on the floor | Strength coach | Which weeks are heavy, so Pilates in those weeks stays lighter |
| Spring settings and apparatus | Pilates instructor | Any lift you are learning, so the studio can support the same positions |
| Cues for a squat or a hinge | Strength coach | The breathing and trunk cues used in Pilates, so the language matches |
| Mobility work between sessions | Either, by agreement | Who set it, so you are not handed two different routines |
| Rest days and lighter weeks | Strength coach, with your input | The dates, so the instructor knows when you can work harder in the studio |
| Stopping an exercise that hurts | You, then a doctor or physiotherapist | Both of them, the same day |
A twelve-week pairing in three blocks
One way to run the first three months. The strength side is described in more depth in what coached strength sessions look like.
| Weeks | Pilates sessions | Coached strength sessions | Joint check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Breathing, trunk control and setting up the apparatus, ideally with a private session or two first | An assessment, then the main movement patterns at light loads | Both see the assessment notes |
| 5 to 8 | Firmer springs and longer sequences | Loads rise week by week on the main lifts | Review soreness and sleep, and move any session that keeps colliding |
| 9 to 12 | Harder variations that use the control built earlier | A lighter week, then a check of the main lifts | Agree what the next block will emphasise |
Keep the hardest Pilates session and the heaviest lifting day at least a day apart. Scheduling reformer classes around strength days shows how to match class focus to your lifting split.
Briefing both of them in week one
- Your health history, with any clearance from a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist. If you are pregnant, postnatal, injured or managing a medical condition, that clearance comes before either kind of session.
- Your goal in one sentence, written the same way for both.
- Your whole week, including work hours, school runs, other sport and the days you cannot train.
- Whether they may share notes about you. Say so plainly, because neither should pass on health details without your consent.
- One shared record, such as a phone note, listing every session, how hard it felt and anything that did not feel right.
Private Pilates or group classes alongside coaching
Private sessions cost more, but the instructor can work on the exact positions your coach is building on the floor. Group classes cost less per visit and suit you once the basics are in place.
- Start with private sessions if you are new to Pilates or coming back after a long gap.
- Move to group classes once you can set up the apparatus and hold the basic positions without constant reminders.
- Keep an occasional private session if your coach and instructor want to look at the same movement from both sides.
When the cues clash
It happens. A strength coach may ask you to brace hard and hold your breath briefly before a heavy lift, while the Pilates instructor wants a steady breath that keeps moving through each repetition. Both can be right, each in its own setting.
- Ask each of them why. A good coach can explain the purpose of a cue in a sentence or two.
- Often the answer is that both cues stand, one for heavy lifts and one for the studio.
- If one of them asks you to change something the other set, check with the other before you change it.
- Pain is not a cueing problem. Stop that exercise and see a doctor or physiotherapist.
Pilates and one-to-one coaching at RPM
RPM's studio sits inside the Ladies section, which is for women only, so at RPM this pairing is open to women. The section also has its own strength equipment, so a coached strength session and a Pilates session can take place in the same space. On the roster, Giana Suleiman Daqnoush is the studio's Pilates and aerobic coach, and Coach Maria covers strength and conditioning in the same section. RPM's female personal trainer page explains how to ask for a female coach.
Of RPM's three tiers, Atelier is the one organised around 1:1 coaching. Prices are not published online, and how Pilates sessions sit alongside coaching is confirmed on enquiry. Points to raise:
- whether Pilates sessions come with your tier or as packages, and whether private sessions are offered
- whether the coach and the instructor can share notes, with your consent
- whether a coached session and a Pilates session can be booked on the same visit
Men can book strength coaching in the Mixed section, but the Pilates studio is for women only.
Questions, answered.
Can one person coach both my Pilates and my strength work?
Some coaches have both skills. RPM's roster lists separate roles for Pilates and for strength and conditioning, so ask whether one coach can plan both or whether you would work with two.
How many sessions a week should I start with?
One of each is a sound start if your week is full. Add a second of either once both feel routine.
Is paying for both worth it?
It is if you want strength you can measure as well as the control Pilates teaches, and you will keep both going. If money is tight, a short coached block to learn the lifts, then your own plan alongside Pilates classes, costs less.
Should my strength coach watch a Pilates session?
It is not essential. A shared session, or a short video taken with your permission, helps them agree on cues.