Pilates and running are not two words that you often hear together. Runners like to train by RUNNING, not by spending time lying on their backs or sides in a Pilates class. However, Joseph Pilates (the founder of the Pilates method) designed his exercises to improve and enhance overall fitness and strength for anyone and everyone.
Runners need more than strong legs and healthy lungs to get the most out of each run. They need a strong abdomen (core) and powerful stabilising muscles (mid back, chest and gluts to name a few) to assist with their flexibility, balance, endurance and breathing. Below are a few of the many benefits of Pilates for runners:
Stretching: Whilst all runners should stretch before and after they run, the reality is that they often do not. Many runners' training programs do not spend enough time or focus on stretching. No matter how strong you are, you need to regularly stretch your muscles so that they can recover after each run. The lengthening and elongating of muscles that stretching provides reduces the strain on ligaments and joints. If you do not stretch sufficiency, your performance will suffer at best and at worst you may very likely develop injuries. Stretching also leads to increased flexibility, which improves range of motion and prevents the likelihood of injury.
Assist with breath: One of the fundamental principles of Pilates is breathing. Pilates will teach you to combine movement with breath and how to breathe most effectively when exercising. Engaging your pelvic floor and the transversus abdominis muscle (what we refer to as 'the core') assists the intercostal muscles that connect the ribs, which encourages a smoother breath that uses all available lung capacity.
Increase core strength: We briefly touched on this in one of the paragraphs above, however it is such an important benefit that it must be mentioned twice. Pilates strengthens the deep abdominals and the pelvic floor and trains the body to constantly use these muscles. Engaging these core muscles will improve your running by making each and every movement more powerful, as it is coming from the centre (the 'powerhouse') of the body.
Decrease muscle soreness: Running is a very high impact exercise. Each step puts pressure on the muscles from the legs up to the lower back and rib cage. Improving your core strength through Pilates will assist these areas to better handle and manage this impact. In addition, Pilates will refine and enhance body alignment, balance and posture, which will aid the runner in distributing the force of running through their muscles more effectively and efficiently (instead of purely letting the overactive muscles take all the force and impact). With this more effective distribution of the impact comes reduced muscle soreness post run.
So how often do you need to do Pilates to experience these benefits and see results in your running? By adding just one Pilates class to your weekly exercise regime you will see a difference. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new today! Your body will thank you for it.
Premium Pilates Studio loves to work their running clients hard! With our intimate reformer and matwork classes, we can tailor your workout to improve and enhance your running or whatever sport you may do! And if you are not sporty at all, Pilates is a fun way to start your exercise journey! Call us today on 0402 680 724 or visit us online at premiumpilatesstudio.com.
x Emily
Image by http://www.lifestyleboom.com.au/.
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