Looking for a good Pilates instructor is like finding a craftsman in any other profession: You have to do your homework to find someone qualified and experienced. Unfortunately, these days you can hang out your shingle–Pilates Studio–without any teaching experience or education whatsoever. This is why it is good to ask a few questions of your local studio before you jump into privates or classes.

What is your background? This is a good first question. If you are talking to someone with experience, they may first tell you how they found Pilates; what it is about Pilates that attracted them to become an instructor; and (here’s the most important part) where they did their training.

What is the name of the Teacher Training program you did and how extensive was your study? There are a handful of quality Teacher Training programs out there. Some require a touch of anatomy, while some require passing anatomy tests and lectures with anatomy experts. Some programs encompass 250 hours of study, while some require a much greater commitment of 1000 hours of study. All of these thing make a difference. Ask about each of them.

Do you have training to work with special populations? This question is asking whether or not your prospective instructor has the background to work with people who are taking Pilates for more than general fitness purposes. Even if you are uninjured, it is nice to work with someone who is accustomed to rehabilitation work because they understand the body on a different level than someone who is just teaching the choreography of an exercise. And everyone has something going on in their body. Everyone.

If you don’t check up on what kind of experience your local Pilates studio has, don’t be surprised when you don’t get the results that you are looking for. You wouldn’t pay someone with no training to fix your car, right? Why would you trust your health to someone with a weekend “certification?”