Ever since Joseph Pilates founded his studio in New York City about a century ago, his training method has focused on strengthening abdominal and trunk muscles—called the “core”—through hundreds of very specific movements. And while Pilates was never a dancer himself, his studio was conveniently located near a ballet studio, so his first Pilates clients were ballet dancers looking for a way to improve their posture and control their movements.
The Pilates’ “Method” may have been a well-kept secret in the dance world for decades, but not anymore. These days you’ll find Pilates studios almost everywhere, and people across the country are doing it, even, and especially, professional athletes. Tennis players Andy Murray and Venus Williams, Olympic Gold-Medal swimmer Missy Franklin, Beach Volleyball wonder woman Kerry Walsh-Jennings, NFL greats Troy Polamahu, Antonio Brown, Calvin Johnson and Martellus Bennett, and Basketball superstars Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are just a few of the top tier athletes who have discovered the wonders of the Pilates method.
But why? Pilates is just stretching, right? Kind of like Yoga? Not really. While it’s true that you’re not going to leave a session with sweat rolling down your face, Pilates is only deceptively easy. Let’s look at just a few of the benefits:
The often-tiny movements improve balance and core strength. Your core isn’t just your six-pack. It’s all the muscles attached to the trunk, including your back, pelvis, rib cage and shoulder girdle. Pilates reinforces the bond between mind and muscles, helping people engage the right muscles in the core. This leads to better posture and control over the body’s movements. Research studies show that the core-strengthening perks of Pilates may also ease pain and improve daily life for people suffering from chronic low-back pain, as well as improve flexibility, trunk stability, help with injury prevention, and aid athletic performance and recovery. Ding! Ding! Ding!
Professional Athletes, especially in sports where imbalance, i.e., a strong reliance on dominant-sided movements (as in golf, tennis, and baseball), or chronic overuse of specific muscle groups (cycling, swimming, running) is a way of life, have discovered that Pilates helps balance out the musculature, helping them stay in the game, longer. Pilates also focuses a lot on breath control, which can help improve lung function, which in turn helps with blood circulation, so you have increased cardiovascular performance.
And it’s not just physical. One of the key concepts of Pilates is called “centering,” or understanding that all movements originate in your core. It’s about breathing and focus and finding the mind-body connection. At least one study has linked Pilates to enhanced mindfulness and sensory awareness, which can induce relaxation and stress reduction, and those are things everyone could use these days, not just pro athletes.
Ask any Pilates enthusiast why they keep coming back, and they’ll tell you: it just works. The only drawback is that Pilates is a form of exercise that is easy to do incorrectly, which could make you susceptible to injury. So always look for a reputable studio with certified instructors. The Pilates Method Alliance (www.pilatesmethodalliance.org) is an international watchdog organization that ensures educational and professional standards are met, so if you’re looking for a studio or instructor, it’s a great place to start.
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Photo Credit: OSTILL is Franck Camhi