PILATES FOR ATHLETES

Get down and give me hundreds.

- ERIN CALDERONE

Though it’s routinely patronized by the Lulu-clad, carefully coiffed, alkaline-water-drinking set, make no mistake: Pilates takes no prisoners. Adding this decades-old practice to your training protocol can help hone your competitive edge, enhance your sports performance, improve your movement patterns or simply connect you to your core. Here’s how to master the mat to take your training — and your physique — to the next level.

The Test of Time

Though it has become super trendy in recent years, Pilates has actually been around for nearly a century. Joseph Pilates, a physical trainer from Germany, originally developed a practice he called “Contrology” to aid in the rehabilitation of veterans. His methods were later adopted as the preferred conditioning protocol for dancers, and over the years, Contrology morphed into the current practice of Pilates. The original mat-based movements and fundamental tenets of Contrology developed by Joseph Pilates are still in use today, and the practice still works to coordinate and harmonize the body, mind and spirit.

“Pilates in its original form, when done correctly, should give you a balanced, synergistic body,” explains Juliet Kaska, NASM-CPT, ACE-CPT, Pilates master teacher and owner of Zen Fitness in Beverly Hills, California. “And the cool thing about Pilates is that everyone — whether you’re a 5-foot-2-inch 55-year-old woman who has never worked out in her life or a 6-foot-10-inch NBA player — is going to do the exact same exercises.” The point here is that anyone can adopt a Pilates practice and use it to succeed at his or her goal, including hikers and gym rats, runners and karate enthusiasts, golfers and grapplers.

Athletic Applications