No matter the sport, more and more studies are proving the benefits of pilates for high-performance athletes. Including the Pilates Method in a sportsman’s training routine has become an efficient way to improve results and achieve a better quality of life.
As is already known, the Pilates Method is a training system that provides an integral work of the whole body.
In just one class of 45 to 60 minutes, it is possible to do a global work of all the muscles of the body and as each class develops, they will strengthen the core muscles, integrating the muscles of the abdomen, lower spine, and glutes, the which serve as the origin for good execution of each of the movements proposed in the exercise routine.
Joseph Pilates, servants of the Method, claimed that if people had a strengthened center of power, their whole body would be strong.
Importance of the Pilates Method
Now, as time goes by, the Pilates Method has been gaining followers, because it is a Method that provides effective and lasting results over time.
Housewives, movie stars, among others have joined Pilates for the multiple benefits that these exercises present.
But, if Pilates is considered a sport, could high performance athletes practice Pilates?
The answer is YES!
And many of them are already benefiting, because regular practice helps you enormously to improve your condition in the sport they practice.
If you are a high performance athlete and are starting in the world of Pilates, this article is for you, and note how the Method can help improve your condition if you are a football player, swimmer, marathoner, golfer, tennis player, among other modalities .
If you play sports like tennis or golf, practicing Pilates will fit you like a glove.
A problem with these modalities is that they unbalance the muscle groups because if you are right-handed, all the muscles on this side of the body will be strengthened, while on the left side they stretch and weaken by decompensating your muscles.
Golf
Among the many benefits that come with the practice of Pilates, better posture, better alignment, and body awareness, are the most important keys to improving sports performance.
If a person plays golf both socially and professionally, poor posture plus poor physical condition are the main causes of injuries that affect golfers.
It is highly recommended for both professional golfers and amateurs who want to improve their performance, since it is essential to strengthen the Power House, the so-called Force Center in all sports and to balance muscle decompensations.
These core muscles are responsible for supporting posture (static) and are the area where all body movements (dynamic function) begin.
This center is responsible for developing strength, maintaining balance, stability and improving coordination during movement.
The process and the outcome in the golfer will depend to a large extent on the work that is carried out from this area of the body.
When swinging on a golf course, the muscles in the center are working on a variety of planes that allow you to complete many movements with great success.
The strengthening of this union helps to provide a stable platform, allowing movement of the most powerful and efficient ends.
Functional training with the Pilates Method will help to enhance strength in general and prevent possible muscle decompensations produced in the practice of unilateral sports, which further enhances the musculature of the specific area of the body and forgets about others generating possible injuries.
Sneakers
If you practice tennis you should apply most of the recommendations described above but pay close attention to the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints.
Racquet sports such as tennis, squash, pediment and supposedly the paddle, require very concrete skills and good physical shape, and above all they need good coordination and balance.
Exercises like Pilates will help to improve flexibility, endurance, power, agility, among many others.
The benefits of this set of exercises are innumerable, as they help to improve and prepare your muscles and joints to develop different sports, such as tennis.
The breadth and muscular endurance you require in this sport is provided with the daily practice of the Pilates Method. If you are a tennis player, write down all the benefits you will get from practicing the Method on a regular basis:
Improve the strength of the serve by strengthening the abdominal center.
Enhance speed by strengthening shoulders and arms.
Make broader launches thanks to increased flexibility over all shoulders and hips.
Change direction quickly while maintaining the center of gravity thanks to a good balance.
Increase the strength of the lower and upper extremities in order to hit as fast and hard as possible.
Play without getting tired, as the Pilates Method will help to improve your stamina, performing breathing exercises, where you will learn how to inhale better and make the most of oxygen.
It will correct muscle imbalances that cause muscle tension and strains and inflammation (tendonitis).
Knowing the benefits you will get from practicing the Method, it will undoubtedly help your body to suffer injuries that are so frequent in sport, such as:
Tennis player’s elbow – one of the most common injuries in this sport that occurs due to an overload on the outside of the elbow (over the tendons, which control the movement of the wrist and forearm).
Patellar tendonitis in the knees – which will originate due to the constant flexions, starts and brakes that we perform during the exercises. Therefore, it is important to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knees, and especially the quadriceps, to avoid possible injuries.
If you are a professional swimmer, or an aficionado of this modality, Pilates and swimming are very similar, since they are global activities where large amounts of muscles are used.
The important thing in the exercises is not to have a great muscle tone, but to have a good physical condition to perform all exercises correctly.
If we look at the swimmers, they all have a similar constitution, great flexibility and a musculature worked but not developed in excess, as this would harm you to slide in the water.
Pilates is a very suitable method for them since it provides dry work, parallel to training in water, where they can strengthen their inner muscles, which is very important for stabilization: an aspect that we must work on if we want to obtain good results.
On many occasions we observe how the training focuses exclusively on the work of the outer muscles, preventing a more important job for these athletes, the stabilization and balance that the inner muscles (for example, the transverse muscle) provide us to achieve a more efficient swim .
Among the benefits you will obtain from regular practice of the Method, we can mention the following:
It will remarkably improve the flexibility of the shoulder joint, the lumbar area and the hamstring muscles, which is very important in kicking.
It will prevent possible lumbar hyperlordosis, which is common in swimmers because of the head position out of the water to breathe, especially if we are talking about swimmers crossing open water.
It will improve the rotational flexibility of the cervical spine and hips, for a correct breathing technique.
You will achieve greater control of your breathing, achieving regular and rhythmic breathing, so important in this sport.
It is important to highlight that one of the joints that will be seen to be enormously compromised in this sport, would be the shoulders.
Some exercises that could be applied in a regular class would be the traditional swimmer (inclined), the swimmer with 4 supports, the back swimmer, and the plates, in the case of the practice of MAT Pilates.
Soccer
The football player requires certain physical abilities:
Explosive Force
velocity
Resistance
Concentration
Ball Handling Control
Together with strength training, the Pilates Method brings strength, endurance and flexibility that makes your muscles longer, flexible and stronger to prevent injuries.
Most injuries to a football player are caused by major muscle imbalances by having more developed areas of the body than others with greater work overload.
Muscle developments and pubic osteopathy (which are the most common injuries) are produced by central control problems in the spine and pelvis, and this is where the wonderful PILATES METHOD comes into play!
Concluding..
Pilates works at the Center (Power House). Stabilizes the trunk to compensate for the work on the legs. Starts the muscles of the rectus abdominis, obliques and transverse muscles as the main stabilizer of the spine and pelvis.
It provides a solid and balanced base for all movements from a strong center with independent direction, as well as speed or strength.
Now, knowing the benefits that the Pilates Method can have in your career as an athlete, what are you waiting for to schedule a class?
If your trainer is properly trained, he will design a training methodology adapted to your needs and requirements.