When I was working as a Welding Engineer, I had a teammate named Dave. Like many Welding Engineers (myself included), Dave was a bit of an odd duck. With thirty years in the field, he loved to talk welding. During one of his long monologues on welding shop cleaning practices, I interrupted him to ask about his email signature, which read:
“Practice Makes Permanence.”
Curious at the diversion from the usual “practice makes perfect”, I asked him what it meant.
Dave explained that most people believe “practice makes perfect”. The common assumption being that repetition leads to mastery. But after years spent welding, managing QA shops, and working in the automotive and oil & gas industries, he had learned otherwise. He had learned firsthand that practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, it makes permanent.
What we repeat becomes our habit, whether it’s helpful or not. If his team practiced a flawed welding technique over and over again, that mistake became their default welding technique. But if they practiced the right techniques with consistency, those skills became second nature.
This lesson applies just as much in the gym, on the track, or in the Pilates studio as it does in a welding shop. How we practice our lifts, our runs, our rides, and our every day movements and activities becomes our default operation.
Why Pilates Results Vary
Every now and then, a client leaves the studio feeling like they didn’t get the results they wanted. That always stings because Laura and I put a lot of time and energy into creating individualized programs designed to help our clients reach their goals.
Typically, these clients fall into three categories:
- They felt like they weren’t getting any results at all.
- They felt like they were getting better results from another program.
- They wanted immediate results.
Here’s the truth: these clients probably weren’t seeing the progress they expected at the pace they wanted. But it’s not because Pilates or Stretch Therapy don’t work or because Laura and I are bad at our jobs.
1) The “No Results” Clients
Clients who feel like they aren’t making progress typically aren’t attending sessions consistently. The movement patterns that led them to Pilates in the first place, whether that’s poor posture, muscle imbalances, or chronic tightness, don’t just disappear after a few sporadic sessions. If we never get the opportunity to challenge and rebuild those patterns, they stay the same.
No matter how effective a program is, we won’t get results without consistency and commitment.
2) The “Better Results Elsewhere” Clients
When a client tells me they’re getting better results from another program, it’s easy to assume that the other program or other trainer is simply better. But when I take a step back, it almost always comes down to one thing: consistency.
Most of these clients were following the other program exactly. Whether that was daily workouts, three times a week, or some other structured progression, they were following the other program closely. In contrast, their attendance at Pilates was often inconsistent.
Just like Dave’s welders, inconsistent practice leads to inconsistent results.
3) The “I Want Results Now” Clients
This group is trickier to address because they are showing up. They’re doing their homework and they’re putting in the work, but they’re on a firm deadline. They expect to see and feel drastically noticeable changes in just a few sessions and if they don’t get those immediate changes, they decide it’s not working.
We live in a world that normalizes unrealistic expectations and there are thousands of programs out there promising six-pack abs in 30 days or instant pain relief. My personal favorite are all of the Instagram and TikTok videos captioned “I learned this one simple exercise and now my chronic back pain is gone forever!”.
But Pilates, and any sustainable fitness practice, doesn’t work like that. Real result, whether that’s strength, flexibility, or pain relief, come from progressive adaptation over time.
Some clients start feeling better after just a few sessions. Others take weeks or even months to notice significant changes, especially if they’re addressing long-standing issues. Sometimes clients have limited body awareness and just don’t realize they’re progressing or feeling any different. That doesn’t mean nothing is happening, it just means the body is adapting at its own pace.
If you want faster results, the best thing you can do is increase consistency and manage expectations. Instead of asking “How fast can I see results?” let’s reframe to “Am I giving my body the time and practice it needs to create lasting change?”.
How Often Should You Do Pilates to Get Results?
Joseph Pilates famously recommended doing Pilates four times a week. But that advice was given nearly a century ago to two very different groups: elite dancers training at a high level and NYC office workers who weren’t exercising much at all.
Today, the general exercise recommendations are:
- Strength training: 2-3 days per week
- Aerobic activity: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week
Where does Pilates fit in? That depends on your goals.
- If Pilates is your only form of strength training, aim for 2-3 40-60 min sessions per week. (Check out our post on Is Pilates Strength Training?)
- If Pilates is part of your aerobic activity, it should contribute to that 150-minute guideline.
- If Pilates is cross-training for another sport, aim for 1-2 40-60 min sessions per week as active recovery.
- If you’re using Pilates for injury rehab, frequency depends on where you are in your recovery. Some folks may need 4 sessions/week to ease back into a routine, while others may only need 1-2 sessions per week.
Pilates Native Recommendations: The bulk of our clients at Pilates Native are one-on-one clients and are either Injury Rehab clients or Cross-Training clients. We tend to recommend 1x/week minimum with us with additional sessions or Stretch Therapy/Thai Yoga sessions recommended by your instructor as needed. We do recommend 2x/week for clients who are just starting back to training after an injury/surgery/birth or for clients who are training at a super high level for an endurance event like an ultramarathon, ironman, etc.
The key to getting results isn’t necessarily hitting a magic number of sessions per week—it’s finding a schedule you can stick with long-term…and then doing it.
Practice Makes Permanence
Committing to weekly sessions, showing up, practicing with purpose, and making it a habit, creates the foundation for lasting change.
That said, I fully understand that Pilates may not be the best fit for everyone. Like any other form of movement, it requires commitment and patience. If another program better suits your goals, lifestyle, or schedule, that’s okay too. My priority is helping you find what works for you, even if that’s not with us.
But if you’re ready to commit—to practice with intention and turn progress into permanence—I’m here to support you every step of the way.
Let’s make it happen.
Cheers,
-Rubecca
p.s. To read more about the transition from Welding Eng to studio owner, check out this blog post.
p.p.s. To help some of my favorite clients really optimize their time at Pilates Native, we’ve created a special 10-pack offering for them. “The Works” is a 10-pack that includes 8 50-Min Pilates Sessions and 2 50-min Stretch Sessions (FST or Thai Yoga). If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please reply to this email and let me know! We can upgrade your current 10-packs to “The Works” or include an add-on to monthly memberships to include a stretch session. The Works is offered at $889.20.