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Level 4 Pilates instructor course

Get ahead with the most advanced Pilates qualification in the active leisure sector

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An HFE tutor leading Level 4 Mat Pilates instructor training

Advance with the leading level 4 Pilates instructor course

Reach new heights in your career as a professional Pilates teacher with this advanced Level 4 Matwork Pilates course. Discover how to work with clients with more complex clinical needs, including amongst others, postural dysfunction and movement impairment syndromes.

  • Flexible study options:

    Complete the practical aspects of the course live and virtual

  • Internationally recognised:

    Active IQ, CIMSPA and Ofqual regulated

  • Cutting-edge content:

    Aligned with the latest evidence and guidance for pain and dysfunction

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Book your place for only £100 deposit

£995


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Payment Options

  • Pay in full

    Total payable £945.25 5% discount £49.75
  • 6 month payment plan

    1 x £150 and 5 x £149 Minimum deposit £100 Total payable £995

Enrol Now, Train Later

Enrol today and book your training days at a later date.

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Enrol Now, Train Later

For our attended and virtual courses, if you don't know your availability right now but you want to get started, no problem...

With our enrol now, train later facility, you can:

  • Start your learning today
  • Select your attendance later
  • Get full access to all your materials
  • Complete your online assessments
  • Get full support from our team
  • Make good progress towards completion

Note: You'll have 12 months from your enrolment date to book your course dates.

This facility is provided in-line with our Terms of Business

Course overview: Level 4 Pilates instructor

Become an elite Pilates teacher by achieving the highest regulated Pilates qualification in the sector. This advanced matwork Pilates course is rich in learning content and is aligned with the latest evidence around posture, pain, movement dysfunction, and how to use Pilates to improve outcomes for clients.

Our Advanced Level 4 Matwork Pilates course is the highest level Pilates qualification in the UK. If you want to take your career as a Pilates teacher to the highest level, then this is absolutely the programme for you. The Advanced level 4 Pilates certificate is accredited by Active IQ and fully endorsed by CIMSPA. It’s also internationally recognised, meaning the opportunities to use this qualification are far reaching.

This level 4 Pilates instructor course content expands on the classical matwork repertoire, applying more depth to both the anatomical and applied elements. Additionally, it incorporates more contemporary scientific thinking and models about movement control, dysfunction, impairment and musculoskeletal pain and disorders, which is a common reason why many people turn to Pilates in the first place.

The course starts with around 8-weeks of home-study that is supported by our Learning Support Team. Then, you’ll be required to attend 4-days of practical training in a live and virtual training format, from the comfort of your own home.

If you don’t yet have the entry requirements for this programme, or if you’re looking to maximise the impact of your learning when entering the Pilates profession, you may wish to consider one of our Pilates career packages. With these, you’ll be able to work towards your level 3, level 4 and/or reformer studies simultaneously.

  • Entry requirements

    Entry onto this programme requires that you have already achieved, or are working towards, a recognised Level 3 Diploma in Matwork Pilates. You will also need to have some practical experience of performing Pilates on a regular basis in a class or on a one-to-one basis.

    We also have packages that incorporate our ground-breaking reformer Pilates course.

  • Study methods

    Our advanced matwork Pilates course is completed in a live virtual environment (Zoom) by our team of Master Pilates Teachers. The virtual Pilates courses are structured in exactly the same way as the traditional in-person courses are, and both the theory and practical requirements are the same. However, with the virtual course delivery method, your final practical assessment will be completed remotely and assessed via video. Essentially, you’ll record yourself delivering your assessment and submit this to us for grading.

  • Accreditations

    This advanced Level 4 Certificate in Instructing Pilates Matwork is a fully Ofqual-regulated qualification that is awarded by Active IQ. It is fully recognised by CIMSPA, both as CPD for CIMSPA members needing to demonstrate ongoing professional development, or as a means of joining CIMSPA as an associate Pilates teacher.

  • Learning materials

    Everything you need to achieve this qualification is included... you certainly won't need to purchase any additional resources. Upon enrolment, we'll supply you with a comprehensive training manual that includes all of the technical knowledge and learning needed take your Pilates career to the next level. We'll also supply you with over 50 online lectures presented by a veteran Pilates teacher and physiotherapist, helping you to better understand how the advanced anatomy and physiology content related to Pilates in practice, pain, movement impairments and dysfunction.

  • Career and progression

    With this advanced level 4 Pilates instructor course, you will place yourself in the elite ranks of Pilates teachers and amongst few others that have attained this standard. From here, you'll be eligible to apply for any Pilates opportunity and do so with confidence, knowing that your credentials will make you stand out.

    Whether you want to work for yourself, or alongside physios, osteopaths or other rehab-focused services, you'll be more than prepared to enter this space and work with clients in this capacity.

    If you're looking to add more knowledge and skills to your repertoire, then why not consider our ground-breaking reformer Pilates course.

Payment Options

We take pride in the fact that our courses offer some of the most widely accessible, versatile and highest-quality training materials in the fitness industry.

Utilising our many years of experience, we have crafted our ‘Level 4 Mat Pilates’ qualification to the highest standard, delivering it at a cost which is fair and affordable.

Special Offers, Discounts and Deals

We are committed to quality, fairness and transparency, which is why we openly list our course prices on our website for all to see. We don’t engage in discounting, bargaining or deal-making and our price promise ensures that all our students pay the same fair price for their training and qualifications.

Pay in Full

£945

Get a 5% prompt payment discount
when you pay your fees in full.

Buy Now, Pay Later

£995

Term: 6 months

Buy now and pay later with
our INTEREST FREE payment plans.

Purchase Order

£995

Provide a purchase order on enrolment
and settle the invoice within 30 days*

*Only available for business bookings and subject to the appropriate due diligence.

You're in safe hands

Our level 4 Pilates instructor course contains everything you need to pass first time, including a world-class level of support from our Learning Support team. From the moment you enrol, you'll have access to a team of tutors who will be on hand to help and guide you through your studies. What's more, they'll also be able to help if you need a little friendly career advice.

Support is completely limitless and we usually provide this service via:

  • Phone

  • Email

  • Video call

  • Webinars

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Why complete this level 4 Pilates qualification?

We’re frequently asked by students that have completed, or are working towards, our Level 3 Diploma in Mat Pilates, why they should complete the level 4 Pilates qualification? After all, they can teach in most health clubs and Pilates studios with only a level 3 qualification.

There are a number of possible ways in which we could answer this question, and we’ve supplied some of our responses in the following bullets. Ultimately, if you’re committed to becoming the most knowledgeable and skilled Pilates teacher that you can be, our answer is why wouldn’t you want to complete this qualification?

With many G.P’s, physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and midwives now advising their patients to participate in Pilates in order to improve their musculoskeletal health, and/or to reduce specific symptoms of pain and dysfunction, the lines between clinical outcomes and general fitness are evermore blurred. Today’s Pilates professional needs more than just a foundation level of knowledge relating to anatomy and movement science if they are going to meet the complex needs of modern participants.

Here are 5 strong reasons why you should complete this advanced level 4 Pilates qualification:

  • Develop a more comprehensive understanding of musculoskeletal function, and dysfunction.

    This level 4 Pilates qualification will provide you with greater knowledge and understanding of a wide range of factors that give rise to musculoskeletal disorders, dysfunction, and pain. These are often the very reasons why participants turn to Pilates in the first place.

    With this cutting-edge course content, you’ll develop more understanding and confidence around the science of movement, impairment syndromes, kinesiology and the ways in which muscles and groups of muscles integrate with the myofascial system. You’ll go beyond the simple isolated muscle theory taught at level 3, and develop a richer and more advanced understanding of how muscles, nerves and fascia integrate to create patterns of movement (engrams).

  • Make a commitment to higher standards of professional practice.

    We understand that many of our prospective students aren’t motivated by being the best that they can be. If your number one priority is simply to get a qualification, or you only want to teach fitness-related Pilates, then this qualification is probably unnecessary for you.

    However, if you want to align your Pilates planning and teaching with the latest clinical standards and scientific thinking around injury mechanics, dysfunction, compensation, facilitation, inhibition, pain, and reprogramming these challenges, then this qualification is absolutely for you.

  • Meet the needs of a more diverse and complex range of participants.

    Today, people are more sedentary than ever before, largely due to the advances in science, technology, and automation that have occurred over the past fifty years or so. Never in the history of human civilisation have people been so inactive, which is creating somewhat of a postural pandemic, poor movement mechanics, injury and pain. We are literally seeing millennia of evolutionary adaptations unravelling before our eyes, and this effect isn’t just happening in the older populations.

    If you want to equip yourself with the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to help those in search of solutions that will help them to break free from their daily pain, then this qualification will be perfect for starting you off on that journey.

  • Maximise your career opportunities.

    Many health clubs and active leisure facilities only require their Pilates teachers to hold a Level 3 Pilates qualification because in the main, these teachers are delivering general fitness-related Pilates classes to apparently ‘healthy’ individuals who do not have complex conditions, injury or dysfunction.

    However, if you plan to secure work in a dedicated Pilates studio, open your own studio, take referrals for 1-2-1 sessions, or deliver any form of therapeutic or clinical Pilates service, then you will really need to develop and demonstrate that you have sufficient knowledge and understanding to operate in this space and to work with these populations. This qualification will definitely deliver these results for you.

  • Attain the highest mat-Pilates qualification in the active leisure sector.

    If the above hasn’t convinced you that you need this qualification, then realistically, you probably don’t. However, if you are motivated by status, then this is the highest level mat Pilates qualification (regulated) in the active leisure sector and so if you want to be qualified to the highest level in Pilates, then you do need this qualification.

What you'll learn

Throughout this advanced level 4 matwork Pilates course, you’ll complete a wide range of theory and practical learning specifically designed to prepare you for a career as an advanced matwork Pilates teacher. Here’s an outline of some of what you’ll encounter during your journey to become an elite level 4 Pilates instructor:

  • Advanced matwork Pilates movement analysis

    Adaptations to mat-based Pilates using small equipment
    Adaptations to mat-based Pilates using a standing position
    Modes of progression and regression
    Advanced teaching methods
    Movement assessment and analysis
    Contraindications and further adaptations

  • Applied and classical principles of Pilates

    ABC principles of Pilates
    Spinal and pelvic alignment
    Scapula stabilisation
    Pilates breathing techniques
    Centring techniques
    Classical matwork Pilates repertoire

  • Modern core training concepts and approaches in Pilates

    Integration of core muscles
    Effective core stability training
    Specific core exercises and analysis
    Progressive stabilisation training
    Progression of motor control exercises
    Functional integration of core exercises

  • Movement-based concepts, dysfunction and impairment

    Functional anatomy and kinesiology in Pilates
    Joint and muscle actions
    Postural disorders and dysfunction
    Movement impairment syndromes
    The myofascial system
    Muscle inhibition and facilitation

  • Physical activity and bone health in Pilates

    Osteoporosis in the UK
    Effects of ageing on bone density
    Risk factors for low bone density
    Stimulating bone growth with exercise
    Applying bone health knowledge to support clients
    Designing physical activity programmes

Physiotherapist recorded lecture on iPhone screen

*Images and videos are for illustration purposes and may not depict specific course materials.

One Pilates career. Unlimited possibilities.

Join our elite-level Pilates instructor graduates working with some of the world's leading gyms and health clubs. Taking your education a step further means your career can reach new heights - where will you take yours?

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How you'll be assessed

Through this level 4 matwork Pilates course, you'll complete a range of theory and practical assessments to demonstrate that you have sufficient knowledge and skills to practice as an advanced-level Pilates teacher. Most of the knowledge-based assessments will be completed remotely online, although the practical aspects of your training will place a great deal of emphasis on preparing you for these. For the practical assessment, you'll deliver a session remotely, which you'll need to record and submit for marking.

Here’s a summary of the assessment methods you’ll encounter:

HFE student on Pilates reformer
40%

Workbooks

  • Functional anatomy and kinesiology
  • Progressing and regressing Pilates
  • Movement concepts and impairments
40%

Coursework

  • Movement analysis case-study
  • Bone health case-study
  • Matwork Pilates session plan
20%

Practical

  • Group practical Pilates session
  • Adapting classical Pilates exercises
  • Record session and submit for marking

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