Reformer Pilates can help improve and maintain overall physical fitness – leading to greater strength, flexibility and balance, which in turn improve posture, movement and mental health.Reformer Pilates should form a key component to any person wanting to improve their overall fitness.
5 of the benefits of Reformer Pilates for fitness are as follows:
1.Full body workout
Using a Reformer to perform specific, individualised movements will give you a balanced, full body workout. The subtly of the springs on a Reformer, globally strengthens the whole body to not just target the large muscle movers, but also activate the smaller stabilisers. Where there is uneven weakness, you are also able to work unilaterally to focus in and correct imbalances.
2. Builds strength and tones muscles
Reformer pilates allows you to move through full range while working on strengthening muscles. This dynamic form of exercise, cleverly uses the machine’s springs and levers to create resistance and allow for equal focus on the concentric and eccentric contractions to create long, lean, toned muscles. It not only targets major muscle groups, but also the small stabilising muscles are called to action when working on a reformer machine.
3. Low impact (but high intensity)
Reformer Pilates is ideal, under professional guidance, for anyone suffering and recovering from an injury. The springs and ropes are specifically designed to enable you to work in the horizontal plane rather than weight bearing, reducing the load through your body. The low impact allows for repetitive movements to occur which in turn tones and strengthens the injured areas to speed recovery.
4. Improves core and posture
Many of the exercises performed on a Reformer machine target the core whilst working the peripheral postural muscles at the same time. A stronger core is essential for ideal posture.
5. Improves mental health
Since its creation, a lot of information focuses on the benefits of Reformer Pilates on increasing muscle strength, toning, improving flexibility and posture. Research continues to emerge on the positive impacts that Reformer Pilates has on Mental Health. From using the steadiness of your breath to find mindfulness in movement to stress management and relaxation. As a from of exercise, Reformer Pilates can reduce stress hormones like cortisol and increase endorphins, your body’s feel-good chemicals, giving you a natural mood boost. A Reformer program can be designed specially with these benefits in mind.
Utilising the Reformer is extremely beneficial for runners. It provides an opportunity to concentrate on adjusting the way the knee tracks over the ankle, and can assist with alignment of the hip and stabilising weak muscles. It is a low-impact, whole body workout.
5 of the benefits of Reformer Pilates for runners are:
1.Improves your breathing
It has been mentioned throughout this blog that breathing is a core concept of reformer pilates, but runners who have good breathing technique increase the oxygenation and stamina to their diaphragm. Additionally, breathing patterns taught during a reformer session can boost power to your muscles and will push you through the times when it really starts to hurt.
2. Improve stability
Stability is essential for good running technique and avoiding injury. Strong trunk stability will keep shoulders, pelvis and spine balanced and aligned so that they can generate power through the legs in order to improve speed and endurance. Reformer pilates allows for elongation and alignment of the spine, which in turn improves all aspects of stability.
3. Correct posture
Posture is one of the key ingredients to success for runners, allowing for more efficient movement and less chance of injury. And posture is very dependent on a strong core. Reformer Pilates develops a strong core by supporting and strengthening the muscles of the torso, hips shoulders and pelvis.
4. Enhanced performance
Reformer pilates gives a full-body workout, which in turn improves power, strength, flexibility and efficiency. A stronger and more stable runner, who participates in reformer pilates, shaves seconds off their time because they move more efficiently, they decrease fatigue, and ensure the right muscles are activating when they need to be.
5. Reduce risk of injury
One of the best benefits of reformer pilates for runners is that is decreases the likelihood of getting injured. With key focuses on the spine and posture, it allows for greater balance, ensuring your movements are the most efficient for your body. Pilates can draw attention to where you are least flexible and allow you to build up in these areas, and therefore reduce your risk of injury.
Reformer pilates is arguably a more effective way of increasing flexibility,strengthand stability for golfers than traditional free weights, machines and static stretches. The game of golf relies on correct alignment, speed, timing, balance, co-ordination, good postural awareness, core strength and rotation of your body. It requires the integration of many major and minor muscle groups through different phases of the swing, something you can only train with dynamic movements like what can be achieved in a reformer session.
Here are 5 ways reformer pilates helps golfers improve their swing, and handicaps.
1.Rotation
The Golf Swing is all about rotation. The largest amount of rotation in our spine comes from the thoracic spine. However, due to the time we spend in front of our computers, phones, and iPads the thoracic spine is often very stiff. Reformer pilates focuses on thoracic spine mobility, which includes rotation and hence will have a significant effect on your mobility in your golf swing.
2. Hip disassociation
The Golf Swing requires the ability to move the pelvis without moving the legs and vice versa. Achieving this through the use of Reformer pilates increases your ability to use the power in your legs as a solid base of support, and will allow you to drive that power into the swing.
3. Balance
Weight transfer is an important aspect of the golf swing. Being able to shift your weight from one leg to the other while swinging a club requires balance. Reformer Pilates exercises can help improve gluteal strength which is required to improve balance, weight shift, and ultimately your swing and handicap.
4. Core Control
Core stability and strength through the abdominal and pelvic muscles are the key to the power behind the golf swing. Studies have found that poor core strength leads to common golfing injuries such as lower back pain, shoulder pain and elbow and even wrist pain so Pilates can not only help to improve your golf, it can also help prevent injuries too.
5. Flexibility
If your spine, hips and shoulders are not flexible enough, no matter how hard you try, you simply will not be able to rotate the shoulders away from the hips enough to generate the force required to hit the ball. Pilates focuses on dynamic flexibility which will not only help improve your golf swing, but your overall physical health too.
The performance enhancing and injury prevention benefits of reformer pilates are seriously under utilised in the sporting population, especially amongst footballers. Pilates is a great weapon to have in your arsenal as it promotes flexibility through strengthening and lengthening muscles, improves stability, increases muscle strength and activation, improves co-ordination and reduces injury risk.
While the benefits are endless, here are the top 5 for you to consider:
1.Rebalancing the body
In general, with sports-specific programs, footballers will tend to (over) use their dominant side and the same muscle groups during their training routine. The full body workout of pilates allows an equilibrium to be re-established in the body which can increase muscle activity and power you forward.
2. Keeping power, even when off balance
All aspects of football requires you to have a great centre of balance, exceptional core strength and stability through your hips. If you’re kicking, shooting or passing under pressure, the extra stability and strength you gain from reformer pilates allows you to generate power, even if pushed off balance. A strong core helps you stay on the ball and ride tackles while fending off your opposition.
3. Flexibility
We all know footballers and flexibility are not two words that are normally put together, but with decreased flexibility comes limited power, effectiveness and increased injury rates. By utilising reformer pilates you can work on strengthening while lengthening your muscles and improve your flexibility.
4. Keeping you on the field
Ultimately, you can’t play if you’re injured! Reformer pilates is renowned as one of the great prehab workouts as it addresses all aspects of your body. It is a great way to stay injury-free during a long season. Reformer pilates can also aid in improving the speed and quality of your recovery.
5. It’s all about the unpredictability
Football isn’t a static sport, and in order to be successful you need to be strong, balanced, mobile, agile and unpredictable. Reformer pilates allows you to build strength on your non-dominant side, even out your imbalances, generate more power through your weaker foot and keep your opponents guessing. Reformer pilates also incorporates movements through all planes and axes of movement, the benefits are functionally transferable into your on-field movement.
Reformer Pilates is an ideal exercise during pregnancy. It strengthens the core muscles and improves flexibility and mobility, all of which will help during childbirth and aid with recovery once the child is born.
Reformer Pilates-based exercises can be performed in positions that are safe for women at all stages of pregnancy, such as on hands and knees, in sitting or side-lying. These exercise techniques may take the stress off the back and pelvic floor, and help with the positioning of the baby for delivery.
Here are 5 benefits of including Reformer Pilates in your pregnancy exercises:
1.Strengthen your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles
The basis of reformer pilates is to strengthen the deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, also referred to as ‘core stability’. These exercises not only help with the positioning of the baby for delivery, but can also decrease urine leakage in women with urinary incontinence.
2. Reduce strain when getting in and out of bed
For a pregnant woman, getting in and out of bed can be one of the hardest movements to make. As you progress through your pregnancy, muscles tend to become weaker and there isn’t as much of a focus on good posture and movements. This increases the risk of strains and pains. Reformer pilates exercises can focus on getting the right muscle strengthened and help building an understanding of how to move, as your body grows.
3. Reducing back pain
The load and pressure placed on your back increases significantly during pregnancy. This is due to hormonal changes, changes in weight and weight distribution and postural changes during your pregnancy. Safely strengthening your glutes, along with your deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, reduces the chance of developing back pain. Reformer pilates also increases your postural and body awareness, which can decrease your chances of back pain during pregnancy.
4. Controlled breathing
As your baby grows, you may find it harder to breathe deeply. Breathing is an important part of the delivery process and labour. Controlled breathing is a core focus during reformer pilates sessions and can allow you to be able to breathe deeply and give birth more easily.
5. Faster postpartum recovery
Females who exercise during pregnancy tend to have easier deliveries, more energy and can recover faster post delivery. Reformer pilates, under proper guidance, is safe for pregnant mums and their babies throughout all stages of the pregnancy. With proper modifications, reformer pilates allows all the benefits of exercising without stressing your body too much. Ultimately, this can allow your body to recover faster after you give birth.
