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How does Pilates Benefit Athletes?

By Insights Team

Master Teacher Trainer, Cheryl Turnquist, has been Power Pilates certified since 2006. She shares her expertise and explains how Pilates can complement an athlete's training and be used as a rehabilitative tool. In this Q&A style interview, Cheryl explores how renowned athletes can improve their technique and enhance their performance using the classical Pilates method.

TRACK & FIELD

Q: Running is a high impact sport requiring proper technique and form, whether done at the Professional or amateur level. Running with poor alignment can have long-lasting impacts on a runner's body. What Pilates exercises can runners do to benefit their technique and avoid injury?

A: No matter what distance the runner is doing, injury prevention starts with running posture. A runner needs to be able to use their core muscles to support their upper body while dealing with impact to the joints of the lower body. So, mat exercises like the Abdominal Series of 5, Roll Up, and even Teaser will help with core strength and stretch of the back body. On the apparatus, total body exercises like the Long Stretch, Up Stretch, and Elephant help the runner establish a stable core and strong upper body. Finally, adding some great lower body stretches with Ballet Stretches on the Ladder Barrel is a must!

SWIMMING

Q: Strength and flexibility are essential to a swimmer's performance. How can practicing Pilates help swimmers to work faster and more efficiently?

A: First, I think about the breath control gained in the Hundred and the exercise Breathing, and how that can help with the breath control needed in swimming. Then I think about all the apparatus exercises Joe Pilates taught that were named after swimming strokes, like Backstroke, Breaststroke, and even the mat exercise Swimming. All of these exercises help to strengthen and simultaneously stretch the front and back of the body.

DIVING

Q: Diving requires an incredible amount of control. How can incorporating Pilates into a divers training routine benefit their performance?

A: The mind-body focus of Pilates and the principles of Precision, Concentration, and Control are at the forefront when I think of the art of Diving. Every second counts and being in touch with where you are in space (proprioception) is mandatory for a diver. I also think of exercises like Pull Ups on the Wunda Chair and how that reflects the pike position a diver finds themselves in sometimes. Teaser in all of its creations would work too!

ROWING

Q: Rowing is just as much a lower-body sport as it is an upper-body one. How can Pilates help rowers to build a more powerful, stabilized drive using their whole body?

A: When I think of Power and drive from the lower body, I think of exercises that utilize the Jump Board on the Reformer. When using the Jump Board, the body has to be in control and stabilized with a solid core connection. Adding choreography to the Jump Board motion allows practice with coordination also, something that is crucial to the rhythm needed to keep pace while rowing.

TENNIS

Q: Tennis is a power-based sport relying on a player's twisting and driving motion as they swing the racket. How can practicing Pilates help improve a tennis player's swing?

A: Pilates involves all motions of the spine, from flexion/ extension to lateral flexion and then Rotation. Exercises like Saw, or Twist/ Reach on the Short Box can help balance out rotation on both sides of the body and teach a practitioner how to twist from their center. Exercises like Going up Front and Side work the lower body musculature needed when moving along a court and getting low for some of those tough shots.

VOLLEYBALL

Q: What Pilates exercises can help target hip mobility to improve a volleyball player's agility and enhance the power behind their movement?

A: My go-to for any hip work is the Side Kick Series on the Mat. I love the functionality of the first three exercises with Front/ Back, Up/Down, and Small Circles... and my hips always feel amazing after! If you have a Caddy or Tower available, hit the Leg Springs for some Circles/ Frogs, Walking, Scissors, and Heel Beats... can't be beat!

GYMNASTICS

Q: One common injury among gymnasts is lumbar spine, often resulting from repeated high impact landings and dismounts. How can Pilates prevent or rehabilitate these types of injuries?

A: Again, when I think of the impact on the pelvis and spine from a high impact movement, I often think of how the core muscles of the glutes, upper thigh front, back and side, the abdominals, the back extensors, and the thoracolumbar fascia have to work together to receive the impact and reduce the blow to the upper body. One of the best ways to work all of these muscles in unison, is with the Pilates Mat work. Joe Pilates studied gymnastics too, and while it may not have been exactly what we see performed today, the overall concepts are still the same.