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How Pilates Improves Sports Performance
What do David Beckham and the All Blacks have in common? They’re both avid Pilates fans, of course. By boosting the musculoskeletal health of even the most elite athletes, Pilates is increasingly recognised as a vital supplementary exercise in the sporting world. Whether you’re a pro footballer or a casual hiker, find out how our classes can enhance sporting performance.
New Found Strength
A fundamental aim of Pilates is to create and maintain balance. By focusing on unilateral exercises (this is where just one limb is engaged rather than both), Pilates prevents any dreaded disparities in strength across the body. By using this approach to target and strengthen the core muscles, Pilates drastically improves overall stability enabling athletes to generate greater power in more challenging positions.
Movement Awareness
In Pilates, gaining muscular control is a major breakthrough. With each position designed to challenge the body in new and diverse ways, athletes become evermore aware of the interaction between different muscle groups in establishing balance and control. This focus on particular motor patterns fosters a greater sense of limb and postural awareness, conditioning athletes to activate certain muscles for optimum stability.
Injury Prevention
We’ve arguably saved the best point until last. Lingering in the back of every athlete’s mind is the imminent fear of suffering injury and missing out on the long-awaited match season or annual event. Yet, these injuries are often the result of instability in the pelvic region caused by tense hip flexors. This tension has a ripple effect, foreshortening the lower back muscles and causing pain whilst also over-stretching the vulnerable hamstrings. Pilates help to strengthen the pelvic region and restore a neutral hip position to dramatically lessen the incidence of sporting injuries.
Whatever your sporting passion, our professional Pilates classes help you gain the upper hand. Simply call our friendly team on 0191 284 9111 or look online today to book your first class at our North East Pilates studio.
