While yoga has received a lot of mainstream attention in the past few years by pro athletes and celebrities alike (hello Adam Levine), Pilates is now seeing a surge of interest, too.
Just as yoga has become a household name, Pilates is working its way up there, including a useful boost from Sochi 2014! Athletes in the Winter OIympics in Sochi, Russia, this year are reported to be incorporating Pilates into their training regime, including Olympic skier Julia Mancuso and Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin.
As Pilates incorporates core strengthening exercises and improves flexibility, it also helps train pro athletes on proper breathing techniques. In the pre-season (which for Olympic athletes is the four years prior to their Olympic events), Pilates specifically can help prevent injuries in pro athletes, and in the post-season, Pilates can rehab the body and keep the pro athlete on point for their next big competitive events.
One of the biggest benefits of Pilates for pro athletes is the high level of endurance Pilates trains your muscles for. It focuses on the controlled improvement of muscles instead of bulking up the muscles, allowing pro athletes such as snowboarders and skiers the ability to stay light and fast, yet strong.
Another key benefit of Pilates for Olympic athletes is the emphasis on cross training for injury prevention purposes. The intensity of what the pro athletic body must go through time and again for an individual athlete’s specific sport is so incredibly high that it’s crucial pro athletes cross-train to maintain a literal balance in their body.
But with all this talk of extreme endurance, pro athletes in sports, and Pilates for Olympic athletes, we want to emphasize that you don’t have to be a pro or Olympic athlete to do Pilates! Pilates is for everyone. At Firehaus Pilates in Denver we offer not only Pilates for Fitness, but also Pilates for Rehab, Prenatal and Postnatal Pilates, and even Pilates for Seniors!