Pilates and Football

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If you know me, you know how adamant I am that Pilates is not just for women, and is such a great exercise for men as well—but you KNOW I am serious when I tell you about how Pilates can benefit football players!

Not only do we here at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit train the entire Cathedral High School football players in the art of Pilates, but we have also trained a few other current and former professional athletes, including several former football players.   I recently spoke at the NFL Alumni Association-Indianapolis Chapter and tell a bunch of former players just how this kind of exercise could be beneficial to them and could benefit their quality of life.

Football players often focus only on increasing their brute strength by lifting weights and similar kinds of training.  Pilates, while it may seem foreign to such big guys, is an amazing complementary exercise practice to all that muscle building.  Pilates focuses on the core, as well as all the muscles throughout the body which can add a competitive advantage to a player who has been spending most of their time with heavy weight lifting. That will strengthen those large muscle groups, and Pilates will get to all those deep, often smaller, muscle groups.  And we will surely work your legs, glutes and arms as well to get you faster and more flexible.  More flexibility and paying attention to all those deep connecting muscles will also help you prevent injury and/or stay toned whether you are a current or retired player.

Pilates strengthens the core, an area that many football players may not focus a lot on—and a strong core can help prevent injuries to the back.  Actually, the strengthening and increased flexibility that comes from Pilates is going to help prevent all kinds of injuries.  I have had clients who have started Pilates with things like constant knee pain who now tell me they no longer feel any pain in that area since continuing a consistent Pilates practice.  And check out this USA Today article from a few years ago discussing the benefits of Pilates for all types of athletes, as well as in particular, a football player discussing how Pilates has helped him remain injury free and feeling better in general, both after games and practices. 

Here’s a few of the current athletes using Pilates:

LeBron James

Kobe Bryant

Tiger Woods

Jason Kidd

Chris Simms

DeMarcus Ware

Eddie Cheever

Danny Granger

Curt Schilling

Ruben Brown

And those are just a few of the individual athletes—many teams incorporate Pilates into their workouts routinely now.

So all you football players out there, don’t think Pilates is too girly for you—I have several football player clients (not to mention the whole Cathedral team) who would tell you while Pilates is very different, it certainly kicks your butt too! It is gentler than many form of exercise, but is by no means easy.  And I even have a special machine designed for larger/taller clients which I have utilized extensively in training my athletes.  You ought to come check it out too!  Contact us at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit and see what it is all about!

Pilates and Golf

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I love the hot weather and summer—seriously it is my favorite time of year.  The heat doesn’t bother me a bit and I love all the outdoor activities you can participate in—tennis, swimming, biking and of course, golf.  I have several clients are big golfers and have seen the real benefit of Pilates on their golf game. 

So there are a couple reasons why Pilates is so great for golf.  First, and the one we always go back to in Pilates, is a strong core, or center (if you want to know more about the core, check out my earlier post here.)  Pilates exercises focus on this core, to strengthen the deep abdominal muscles.  If you core is strong, you will have more force to hit those power shots in golf.

Also, if you think about the game of golf, because everyone who plays always hits the ball from the same side, it can become easy to have little “tweaks” in muscles, and for the body to become imbalanced.  Pilates does an amazing job at getting the spine, and the entire body into alignment.  We always evenly work each side of the body, and it becomes apparent not just to the trainers, but to you yourself, as you continue to work on your Pilates practice, where you are weak, and what side of your body is stronger.  Your personal body awareness increases, and we are able to focus where it is necessary to bring that balance back. 

As I have also discussed before, Pilates is an amazing practice to increase flexibility.  As your muscles and body become more flexible, just think how that will help your golf swing.  If you are stiff in your shoulders or back, that is going to hinder how well you can hit the ball.  If you muscles are flexible and strong, you are going to improve your game immensely.

Finally, because a big part of Pilates practice is mental, Pilates will also help your focus by teaching you to concentrate on your breath in relation to your body.  Having this intense focus will also certainly help your golf swing by allowing you to direct your energy on the swing and not get distracted or lose your concentration.

As a personal note, I have several clients who have told me how much their golf games have improved—they were psyched and I am always happy when my clients can see their progress in other places in their life.  If you are a golfer and would like to know how to direct your Pilates practice toward improving your golf game, be sure and let me know.

Pilates and Skiing

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I just recently returned from a skiing trip in Colorado and have been thinking a lot about how great Pilates is for skiers.  Think about it, all the things that are central to Pilates—a strong core, great balance and posture, general strength and agility—sounds like the perfect recipe for great skiing to me.  One of the things that skiers typically need to focus on when they are skiing is a great stance, or the way they hold themselves evenly on their skis.  Pilates strengthens the core as well as the rest of your muscular structure, but it also just simply makes you more aware of how your body and its muscles function together—and how it all interacts with your breathing.  Honestly, I can’t think of a better exercise program for skiers.

Think about it, when you are skiing, your arms and legs work independently and your core, or torso area, which needs to stay strong in order to support all of that dynamic movement.  Think about how much pressure is on your feet this entire time too.  By strengthening and adjusting your core muscles as well as all of your leg and arm muscles, you are hitting all the high points you need in skiing.  By getting your balance perfected and your alignment in order, you will not be put an undue amount of stress on those feet (or your back and knees for that matter).

I have clients who are skiers and have told me how quickly their skiing began to improve since starting Pilates (not to mention their stamina).  I would be happy to create a custom program to focus on exercises to strengthen those muscles critical to skiing.  And any of our classes at Indianapolis Pilates by 15 to Fit could go a long way towards improving anyone’s love of skiing.



Me on the slopes!