Sports And Pilates
Weekend warriors, triathletes and anyone else looking to up their competitive game have turned to Pilates. If that has not convinced you to get on the Reformer then you may you want to listen to the pros. Professional athletes like Lebron James, Jason Kidd, and Dwayne Wade have developed a close relationship with Pilates. Building up the Powerhouse (read more about what the Powerhouse means in Pilates here), strengthening deep abdominal muscles along with muscles closest to the spine helps you stay nimble, and increases your overall performance. Avoid getting hurt whether you are on the court or on running a 10k with balanced muscle strength and flexibility.
Regular Pilates sessions help you prevent injury and correct muscle imbalances so you can:
Swim, bike, run faster
Hit the ball farther
Jump higher and land safer
“I really felt the Pilates loosen up my muscles. I recall making a move, and the basketball ended up on my foot and I almost did a split on the ball. Normally, that’s a groin pull, but I bounced back.”
No More Injuries
Speaking of safer, staying injury free is priority one if you are participating in sports on any level. Pilates builds long and lean muscles versus standard-weight workout which tend to build bulk muscle more prone to injury. Improve muscle elasticity and joint mobility, so you can have a body that is less likely to be injured.
Pilates is a one-of-a-kind whole body workout. During each private session, I guide you through each exercise as you develop a proper way to move. You will become aware of your body by re-training it to move in continuous movements (a group of several exercises grouped together in Pilates are referred to as “flows”). I strongly believe in “listening to your body” which helps to become in tune with each movement and overall efficient. All of this combined is what makes Pilates invaluable for sports performance, injury prevention, injury recovery, and overall healthy lifestyle.
Evenly Conditioned Body
Any typical workout that incorporates weights will continue to work the same muscle or same group of muscles. While this undeniably makes a given group of muscles stronger, the weaker muscles continue to get weaker. The result is imbalanced muscle development, which is the primary cause of most injuries not to mention chronic pain (such as chronic lower back pain).
“Pilates develops the body uniformly…You will develop muscular power with corresponding endurance, ability to perform arduous duties, to play strenuous games, to walk, run, or travel for long distances without undue body fatigue or mental strain.”
By practicing the principles of Pilates and therefore maintaining proper alignment and form - this form of body conditioning has become the number one choice of elite professionals and their coaches. While no muscle group is over trained in Pilates, it also works smaller muscle groups that are left behind during conventional weight training. The fundamentals of Pilates is a whole body movement which includes your feet, ankles, and knees. A body is put through a tremendous amount of stress, whether you are a triathlete, a golfer, a tennis player, a professional dancer, an elite athlete in the NBA or NFL. Pilates stabilizes the torso, shoulders, hips, improve your balance and flexibility and builds your strength from the core evenly. To move with better efficiency, better body awareness, more agility yields to conservation of energy. The more energy you have, the higher the chances of you reaching the finish line.
Mind Over Muscle
One of the key principles in Pilates is called “Centering”. While there is no namaste-like language, Pilates major focus is mindfulness. As you learn proper breathing, form, and alignment - you learn control of each movement. Quality of each movement precision of execution is what matters in Pilates. Quantity of reps increase in spring load is not something that should be done when practicing Pilates if done right. It is important to note, Pilates can be done in all the wrong ways. If it feels too easy - you are doing it wrong. If you feel pain or major discomfort during or after Pilates - you are also doing it wrong. Proper breathing (never hold your breath) smooth flowing movements (no jerking) originated from your Powerhouse elevate your sensory awareness. This heightened state of mindfulness reduces stress and promotes your exercise power and efficiency to its maximum.