How Pilates Benefits Runners

Running is a very high impact sport which places the joints under a lot of stress. It is a great exercise for improved cardiovascular fitness, but when practiced alone, especially in high volumes running can quickly take its toll on the body and niggles and injuries may start to appear.

Pilates is an excellent choice of complimentary training for a runner as it’s low impact so will not place the body under further stress while strengthening the important core stabilizing muscles and help maintain good biomechanics under fatigue.

Over time Pilates exercises can help by activating the lazy muscles that haven’t been doing their bit, lengthening the tight muscles and creating better, more aligned movement.

Whilst running your body endures constant impact – the force of each step travels up from the legs to the lower back and rib cage. The core strength that is acquired through Pilates exercises not only helps make those vulnerable areas better able to deal with the impact, it also improves body alignment and balance and will help you distribute the force of running throughout the body more efficiently.

For both injured and non-injured runners, Pilates presents a functional workout routine that incorporates many components of physical therapy and strengthening and directly impacts running form and strength. One of the differences that sets Pilates apart from other rehabilitative regimens for injured runners is that it supports and strengthens the whole body instead of just the injured part.

What is Pilates?

Pilates is designed to strengthen the body without creating any muscular imbalances, with a particular focus on core strength and aiming to improve general fitness. As well as developing core strength, Pilates focuses on flexibility, muscular endurance, co-ordination, balance and posture. Pilates is a low impact form of exercise which focuses on form and controlled movement.

What are the benefits of Pilates for runners?

There are many benefits of Pilates for runners since the fundamentals emphasize balance, mobility and breathing, while strengthening the core muscles that support running. Breathing patterns and body mechanics are essential to performing Pilates movements correctly, which easily translate into a runner’s breathing patterns and posture to improve form and efficiency.

A stronger and more stable core helps a runner:

• Run more efficiently uphill
• Experience less tightening of the neck, head and shoulders
• Increase stamina
• Focus on proper movement with better body awareness
• Decrease fatigue because of less strain on the body
• Move more efficiently
• Run without pain

If you thought core strengthening is the only benefit you will reap from Pilates practice then think again because it may even improve your running performance!