STOTT PILATES® Certification FAQ
STOTT PILATES® INSTRUCTOR TRAINING FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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- Certification
- Getting Started with Instructor Training
- Instructor Exams
- Instructor Training
- Selecting Courses
IMP and IR are prerequisites for all other instructor courses. Both of these courses are longer in length, cover Essential and Intermediate Repertoire, as well as include a hands-on approach to studying postural analysis. Completing IMP and IR sets you up to seek certification. Upon completing your practice and observation hours, you may move forward to take the Mat and Reformer exam, upon passing you will become a Level 1 STOTT Certified Instructor.
It really depends at what level you’d like to get certified. Each course has certain requirements beyond the actual course meeting time. Observation hours, physical review, and practice teaching hours are required for each course. You work at a pace that works best for you. The more you practice the more confident you will become the more likely you will be better prepared for your exam.
If you wanted to become fully certified, the process would likely take at minimum two years. Whereas, if you wanted to just be Mat and Reformer Level One certified, that could likely be done less than one year.
Some people will become Level One certified, begin teaching and then continue to take course work. So there are many ways to approach getting certified.
To complete each course, a minimum number of hours of observation, practice teaching, and physical practice are required. You can attend class here at the Pilates Loft as part of your practice. Physical review of the material (your personal practice) is very important to ensure full understanding you’re your own body before you attempt to teach someone else. We recommend that you complete this at a facility with STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor. Observation can be logged watching Merrithew Connect, or in person at the Pilates Loft, Merrithew recommends that you spend 50-80% observation of a STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor. Be sure to obtain permission before you observe.
Practicing teaching can be done to family and friends, or even current clients where you can practice cueing and correcting them through the workout. Hours will be logged and turned in within 7 days of your exam.
Pilates Loft in Mendota Heights is currently the only STOTT PILATES Host Training Center in MN. Whether you seek a full STOTT PILATES certification, level 1 mat and reformer certification, continuing education credits to maintain your certification, the Pilates Loft in Mendota Heights has what you need.
STOTT PILATES Curriculum at the Pilates Loft
- Intensive Mat PlusTM (IMP)
- Intensive Reformer (IR)
- Intensive Cadillac (ICAD)
- Intensive Chair (ICHR)
- Intensive Barrels (IBRL)
- Advanced Mat (AM)
- Advanced Reformer (AR)
- Advanced Cadillac, Chair, Barrels (ACCB)
- Injuries & Special Populations (ISP)
See Courses for a detailed list of currently available courses. See About for information on certification.
Level 1 (Essential & Intermediate)
Format: Written and Practical
- Matwork
- Reformer
- Matwork and Reformer
- Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrels
Level 2 (Advanced)
Format: Practical Only
- Advanced at work
- Advanced Reformer
- Advanced Matwork and Reformer
- Advanced Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair and Barrels
Combined Levels 1 & 2
Format: Written and Practical
Levels 1 & 2 Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrels
All certifications are cumulative, so exams will cover material from previously completed courses. You are no obligated to take and pay for more than one exam. If you are looking for a FULL certification. Complete the course work and we recommend you take one cumulative exam. Many people will take a level 1 exam to gain employment and then take the level 2 exam later, if they deem it necessary for their career. We do not recommend that you test on part of the repertoire you learned, we encourage you to test on all levels of repertoire for the courses you have taken. You are only eligible to take a FULL certification exam if you have completed all the levels of training on all pieces of equipment AND taken Injuries and Special Populations (ISP).
There is no specific order you have to follow to except that IMP and IR are prerequisites for other courses. So you would start with one of these. IMP and IR courses cover postural analysis and are longer in length. You can always ask us questions and we can help you determine what is best for you!
You can take your written and practical exam right here at the Pilates Loft with a Certified Instructor Trainer.
You must receive an average score of 80% (practical and written) and achieve a minimum score of 75% on each portion in order to pass. Both of these requirements must be met in order to achieve certification. IMP and IR will go over the specifics of the exam. Practical exam portions are anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the level you take. In order to fully understand the material conceptually and physically the best way to prep for the practical exam is to practice teaching as many people as possible (family, friends, classmates) to apply your knowledge and adapt to different body types.
Written exams will consist of multiple choice, fill in the blank or matching type questions. There is a muscle identification section. There is no time limit. The exam tests your knowledge of the following:
- Basic anatomical terms such as anatomical neutral, anatomical directional terms, anatomical movements, plane and axes, joints & articulations, tendons, ligaments, and body prominences, etc.
- Muscle origin, insertion and action (please refer to list of muscles in the Matwork/Reformer Support Materials book)
- Recognition of diagrams of individual muscles
- Concentric, eccentric and isometric contractions of specific muscles during specific movements and exercises
- Movements that make up exercises and their proper anatomical descriptions
- Order of Essential and Intermediate Matwork (Matwork, Matwork & Reformer or Matwork, Reformer, & CCB exam)
- Order of Essential and Intermediate Reformer (Reformer, Matwork & Reformer or Matwork, Reformer, & CCB exam)
- Ideal postural alignment and groups of opposing muscles
- Poor postural alignment and muscular imbalances
- Modifications to exercises for poor postural alignments
- Programs to accommodate poor postural alignments
- Proper set up of equipment, starting positions, movement patterns, and major intent or goal for each exercise
If you have to retake a portion of or the entire exam, this should be completed within 6 months of the original exam date. If six months pass, you must take both the written and practical exams again. Scheduling one on ones with your Instructor Trainer is highly recommended to work on specifics. IF you take your exam for the first time and fail both portions, you may retake the exam within 6 months. If you fail both portions a second time, you must wait 6 months before testing again.
STOTT PILATES® curriculum is broken down into two levels. Intensive courses are Level 1. Advanced courses are Level 2.
Intensive Mat Plus™, and Intensive Reformer are prerequisites for all other courses, so you would start with one of these. After that, there are many pathways towards certification. Please reach out to the Pilates Loft to determine your best pathway.
To prepare for the Level 1 certification exam, each course requires additional practice.
Intensive Mat Plus™ (IMP) course is 40 hours and covers all essential and intermediate Mat Pilates exercises – a total of 63 exercises. Additionally, students will be require to do:
- 10 hours observation
- 30 hours physical review
- 15 hours practice teaching
Intensive Reformer (IR) is 50 hours and covers all essential and intermediate Reformer Pilates exercises- a total of 139 exercises. Additionally, students will be required to do:
- 10 hours observation
- 40 hours physical review
- 25 hours practice teaching
Preparing for full certification includes taking all Intensive and Advanced courses plus Injuries and Special Populations. In addition, observation, physical review and practice teaching is required on all apparatuses and at all levels. Obtaining full certification can be done at a pace that works best for you. Discuss with us to determine how best to proceed.
Yes, part of earning your certification is physical review. Practicing the repertoire you will teach is essential to succeeding as an instructor.
Yes! There are several ways to join classes at the Pilates Loft. Reach out to us any time!
STOTT PILATES® curriculum is broken down into two levels. Intensive courses are Level 1. Advanced courses are Level 2. Intensive Mat Plus™ and Intensive Reformer are prerequisites for all other courses, so you would start with one of these. After that, there are many pathways towards certification and can be discussed during courses with any of the instructor trainers, or with any of the instructors at the Pilates Loft.
There are several levels of certification. You can choose the path that works best for your career goals. Certification can range from taking IMP and IR, then preparing for Level 1 Mat and Reformer certification exam to taking all Level 1 and Level 2 courses plus Injuries and Special Populations (ISP) then preparing to take a Level 2 exam to become “Fully Certified”. Talk to us about your career goals and we can recommend the path that is right for you. Ideally, you only take the exam ONCE 😊, but you choose the courses you wish to test on.
No. You can take courses and be STOTT trained, not STOTT certified. However, experience shows that those who take the extra time to prepare for the exam are better instructors, more employable, and more confident to work with people who have contraindications.
The STOTT exam has a written and practical portion. The NPCP exam is just written and was designed to validate, preserve, and advance what Jospeh and Clara Pilates created. NPCP sets standards for professional competency to safely and effectively teach the Pilates Method. If you take the time to be STOTT trained, we would recommend that you take the STOTT exam because you learned their method. NPCP exam would demonstrate proficiency to a wider industry standard and is more classically based.