Can Pilates flashcards replace a workout manual?
Are you looking for an easy way to do your Pilates workouts or stay consistent? I’ve got just a tool for you. I’m going to dive into that today to explain how you can use my OPC flashcards to put Pilates exercises in the palm of your hand to create your own workouts and stay inspired. So let’s get into it.
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Years ago, I was asked multiple times to create a manual. I had the pleasure of studying with Jay Grimes, one of Joseph Pilates’ clients, and so many other amazing Pilates professionals and leaders in this industry who’ve studied with Jay and other people who studied with Joseph Pilates. And so I had this knowledge, and people wanted manuals. A manual is a hard way to actually learn Pilates. You learn Pilates by doing I understood what they like, why they wanted a manual from me. And I had been a teacher trainer, and I remember even being an apprentice, the big binders of manuals people are carrying around, and it’s not easy to put together your workouts or understand the Pilates method that way, especially if you’re a client. OPC Flashcards vs. traditional manuals really shows the difference here—you’re a client, you have no manual, right? If you’re someone who just does Pilates on your own, what are you gonna do?
And so one day, I was sitting around at a party, and someone was doing some tarot readings, and I was looking at the tarot cards, and it made me think about flashcards. And I was like, Brad, my husband, I was like, we should make OPC flashcards, and I’ll have the exercise on one side and how to do it on the other side. And so people can use them how they want to. It can help people create workouts or classes or just nerd out about Pilates better. So each Pilates deck of cards is very special, and I can’t wait to dive into each one and why you need it right now. If you want to nerd out about Pilates, I have a great video for you that will help you nerd about the real story about Joe Pilates, everything about him. It’s in this video, and I hope you check it out, because once you understand the man who created this method, you kind of understand the exercises a little bit more.
What are Pilates flashcards?
Well, in essence, each deck, there are six decks, is around a topic in Pilates. So we have the Pilates Mat flashcards, which is all the Mat exercises, including the standing exercises. So the original Mat order from Joe Pilates, the exercises that were added in from the classical world, and some standing work that he did so that you can have a Mat practice wherever you go, right? There is the Reformer Pilates flashcards. The Reformer deck has the classical order from Joe Pilates in there, and it has also related Mat exercises. So if you are somebody who needs assistance or would like some help to see how the exercises work together, you can do that. Then we have the Cadillac deck, also known as a Tower deck. It is marked for that. We can dive in deeper to that in a second, but the Cadillac deck is all the exercises that you could do on the Cadillac, and including on which ones are accessible on a Tower. And this is really great, especially if you are someone who sees this big piece of equipment and kind of just like, why is your arm and leg springs on there? There’s over 100 exercises on that, on that piece of equipment, and it’s such a beast, and that they’re so helpful for teaching Pilates concepts to your body that will help benefit your Mat and Reformer.
The Chair’s deck. This is where it got a little more complicated, because it has multiple pieces of equipment in one deck. It has the Wunda Chair, the High Chair, and the Arm Chair, also has the Baby Chair. This deck I really wanted to bring together, because the Chair is a smaller piece of equipment that could be accessible to anyone’s home, and I wanted them to see how they can make a Wunda chair also mimic a High chair. And because I truly am on a mission for everyone to have access to Pilates. In case an Arm Chair comes into your world, I want you to know how to use it. So I put those in there. Then we also have the Barrels deck. So the Barrels have multiple pieces of equipment in one deck. It’s got the Spine Corrector, Small Barrel, Ladder Barrel, and then a C-Shaper, which is a reverse barrel. And the Spine Corrector, Small Barrel and Ladder Barrel do have a lot of exercises that you could do on each one, but they also have ones that can only be done on that piece of equipment. So they really nerd out. And lastly, we have our accessories deck. This is amazing. The Accessories deck has all the different props and other pieces of equipment that weren’t included in these other decks. So we’ve got toe corrector, foot corrector, two by four, push up devices, towel exercises, marbles, pencils, and yes, I did put the breath-a-sizer, and I put a guillotine in there and a pedopul, not because I wanted to overwhelm you, because I’m so eager for you to know that all these things exist.
Who are Pilates flashcards for?
It really depends on where you are in your Pilates practice. If you are a teacher who’s teaching in a fully equipped studio, you’re gonna want all six. If you are a practitioner and all you do at home is the Mat, you’re gonna want the Mat and the Accessories deck. But if you are someone who has a Chair, you want the Mat and the Chair and the Accessories deck. Either way, all these decks do work together, and you’ll start to see that as you go through each card. OPC Flashcards vs. other teaching aids make this clear. We do have related Mat and Reformer exercises on many of our decks, and then we have complementary exercises listed in our decks, except for the Mat and Reformer.
How do you use Pilates flashcards?
Well, it’s really easy. With the Mat and Reformer, they have an order. And what you can do is take the deck. And then go through and pull out any exercises that are not in your practice yet, put them in the bottom of the box, and there you go. You have your workout. It’s done for you, right? If you are teaching it, you can also do the exact same thing, just pull out the exercise cards are not right for the client that you’re teaching and boom, you’re done. But the other extra, all the other different decks, you can actually mix and match them. You can put together a whole workout. So maybe you want to start and do the Mat for five exercises. Then you want to go and do the Reformer for 20 minutes. You got about 10-20 exercises there. And then you want to go do the Cadillac. And so you can lay all these cards out, you can snap a picture, and your workout is made for you, right? And if you forgot how to do an exercise, you can flip it over, and you can read up on how to do it with some quick tips on what to think about, especially or if you’ve never seen an exercise before, you can scan the QR code on the front. It will take you to a video on exactly how to do it. Because I know some of us are visual learners.
So you can use them for class and session planning, workout planning. You can mix them up to also understand like, “Oh, I’m really struggling with this exercise over here. But look this card also looks a lot like that on the barrels. I wonder if I do it there, how it will work out with this over here.” It’s really fun. It’s fun to use with a friend, and it’s also fun to just nerd out and study about some things that you’re wanting to do in your practice. There are endless ways to use these cards. I’ve seen people put them at stations and studios, and so that’s a workout on the Chair. That’s a workout on the Tower. I’ve seen people also put them on boards, either with magnets or clips, and told their clients that this is your workout, so that people can have individualized, tailored workouts. I’ve also seen people just pop them in their gym bag and take them to the gym so they can do their Pilates Mat after they weight train. It’s endless what you can do with them, and I’d love for you to share that with me below.
What comes in the OPC flashcard deck?
Well, a few things. First, I wanted to say that I write them, and then they’re reviewed by a contemporary trained teacher. So while I’m a classically trained teacher, they’re reviewed by a contemporary teacher who uses contemporary equipment, and then they’re reviewed by someone who’s never done Pilates at all. So every single card has to make sense to just anyone who’s looking at and reading it. And we really, really pride ourselves on that. They’re also quite durable. You can take them anywhere. You can take them to a studio, on a trip, or anything you want. They’re nice and glossy, so they don’t get dirty. They don’t show signs of dirt. They’re easy to read as well. We actually have every single card set up to have the act like the setup like, how do you actually start the exercise? Then what the action is, and if there’s a transition, we have how to get into the next exercise, right there. We also on our Cadillac, Barrels, Chairs and Accessories that have complimentary exercises that are inside the deck. So you can see how the whole deck works together. We also, on those cards, have related Mat and Reformer, so again, you can see how all six decks work together. On the Reformer deck, we actually have the related Mat exercises. There’s also information on ways to substitute exercises, like if an exercise isn’t right for you, there are some substitutions. There are things to be thinking about, precautions, information on springs, if that’s appropriate, and headrest, foot bar, whatever it is, it’s all in there. So if you don’t have access to the internet, to hit the QR code, which is also a great feature, you can still do the exercise from just the card itself.
Real-Life Ideas & Favorites
I want to share some real-life ways that people use them. Some common use cases include Pilates flashcards for travel, which are lightweight and portable so you can stay consistent anywhere; Pilates flashcards for home workouts, which make it easy to create quick and simple routines anytime; and Pilates flashcards for instructors, which are great for class planning, client engagement, or even letting students pick exercises for a more interactive experience.
In addition to what I already said, we have some teachers who actually draw a few cards and then hold them in their hand, and the clients come in and they pick an exercise, and then the whole class is designed around the card that they chose, which is really a lot of fun for them, because they can see the other exercises that didn’t get chosen that day, but they know are available into their practice. I also really like using them personally. I’m a very visual person, so I like to take the card and I can turn it around and look at the different shapes that the exercise makes. And it really helps me go, oh, this exercise is a lot like this exercise over here, like Tendon Stretch and Open Leg Rocker and Reverse Monkey on the Cadillac. So it really helps me start to go, Oh, someone struggled with that. That’s why they struggle with this. So I can kind of understand their body in a different way. Because sometimes we think, Oh, this exercise looks like this exercise. So they go together. That’s not always the case, right? Having those visuals to go, Oh, look at the arms there. Look at the arms here. Different exercises completely, but the arms are in the exact same thing. No wonder they struggle with this. So it really lets you just, like, see the system as what it truly is, a system. You know, we like to say that, Joe, he gave us over 500 exercises, but what Jay always says is, like, everything is one exercise done 500 different ways. And these cards really help you see that.
Where to Get Them
So if you want these flashcards, check out OPC Flashcards, just go there. It’s really easy. We do ship worldwide, and I know that you’re going to love them. They’re so fun as a set. But even if you only get one deck, I promise you’ll use it and it will really help you with your Pilates practice.
Keep Exploring Pilates with OPC
Thank you so much for watching this video. I hope it was really fun to hear how these decks came to be and what they’re all about if you use them in a different way, I would love to know how you use them. We compile these ideas, and it really inspires me even more seeing how they’re used. If you have questions about using the decks or which deck to get, just let me know in the comments below. Happy to answer that. And if you want to actually get to dive into these exercises even more with support and feedback. Join us at OPC YouTube, we have an incredible membership. These exercises from the flashcards are used in each week’s classes, in each monthly class, and all of the OPC teachers have these decks, so you know that they’re useful even with our professionals. Please have an amazing day, and I’ll see you next time.
