As a Fletcher Pilates® Qualified Teacher, I pride myself on my ability to teach techniques that offer the student methods of finding control and building resiliency upon that skill. I’ve been teaching movement in Chicago for the past 11 years, 9 of them with a focus on Pilates. A former “perfectionist” (working on that one every day!) I loved the information that Pilates offered to my body, in turn inspiring me to offer others the same skills through teaching. Over the past few years, my curiosity about movement has led me to find new ways to challenge my Pilates foundation. Enter the stand-up-paddleboard or “SUP.”
In February of this year, while on an annual “girls trip” to Treasure Island, Florida, I came across an article on SUP Pilates. I had minimal experience with the SUP (rented boards in Hawaii) as well as a history of motion sickness. But, I thought “Hey! There’s that big lake in Chicago…. I could do this!” I contacted the pioneer of SUP Pilates, Karen Mirlenbrink and found out that she was literally 20 minutes away from where I was staying in Dunedin, FL. Karen is a Pilates teacher who also has a strong paddling and kayak racing background. She explained how she had combined the two skills to make a fun and challenging class format. It was too cold in February to start our training, but I made plans right away to return for a weekend workshop in June.
In the meantime, I had no boards and really no clue if I could do this. I started reaching out to local kayak places to see if they rented SUP’s and found Kayak Chicago, who I now partner with. As a business owner, I made some tactical decisions to run registration through Kayak Chicago as they would have the outdoor liability coverage as well as the equipment. We set dates and a marketing plan. Now, I had the Pilates part down, I just needed to learn to teach the paddling (yikes!)
The June training was amazing. We learned basic skills and tricks of the trade to work with the board. All of my Pilates skills were in full use. On the 2nd day, we began to integrate a full class on the board. The moves were so popular that a family of manatees approached us for a closer look. I thought this was cute until I realized one of them was attempting to make “sweet manatee love” to my board. The quote was “Did anyone hear that? I think he’s singing Barry White!”
Upon returning to Chicago, I immediately set up times to rent a board and work out my class. I would recommend this to anyone trying out this format for the first time. You never know how luxurious it is to teach in a studio that’s not moving underneath you until you get on the water. Mother Nature does what she wants and it’s in your best interest to go with her flow if you want to survive the class. Obstacles that I’ve come across include:
- Weather and Current: some days the wind blows you in to shore, some days out to “sea.” You have to be constantly up to date on the near shore forecast as well as visually aware of the wind and direction of current to keep yourself and your class safe.
- Water Obstacles: Namely, fishing lines. In the lake we have many avid fisherman who use clear fishing lines (the nerve!) When unaware, these lines offer a “clothes-lining effect” to paddlers – unsafe for you and also tends to upset the fishermen
- Noise control: You are in constant competition with jet-skis, boats, beachapalooza festivals and wind. I recently purchased a “water –resistant” personal P/A system. It has been a godsend and helped my class hear my directions with clarity – not to mention saving my voice.
After you’ve considered all of the obstacles, it’s time to have FUN! The best thing about SUP Pilates is that it is outdoor exercise. There is a sort of “Jesus Complex” that one gets while standing on the water. This same complex is quickly revoked as soon as the balancing exercises begin. My class format includes:
- On land Pilates warm up that introduces some of the exercises we will revisit on the water
- Safety review
- Basic Paddling Skills
- “Circuit” type approach alternating between Pilates exercises and bursts of paddling for a cardio infused workout
- Exercises that start in standing, progress to quadruped and kneeling, seated, supine and prone.
Benefits include:
- Total Body Conditioning
- Balance Training
- Awareness training (knowing when a wave is going to knock you off)
- Community Workout (working together to keep the group moving as a unit)
I am always up front with my class and tell them that some days it’s going to be more paddling, and some days more Pilates, but that the skills and maneuvering to control the board will always be present.
SUP Pilates is the most difficult format I’ve ever taught because of the classroom management. Not only do you need to stay up on your board, but also make sure that others are up on theirs, and staying somewhat together as a group. Students will fall in frequently, which is part of the fun but you are always keeping a class count to make sure you have all of the people you started with. In addition, this format tends to make your students stare at you with either blank or terrified looks until they get the hang of it. My favorite is at the end of class when as soon as they get to land, they smile and say: “That was amazing!”
