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Pilates for the Personal Trainer - Stamina
By Christina | August 5, 2008
These past few days I have been blogging on how you can incorporate Pilates principles into your personal training routines. Pilates is actually used throughout your day, possibly more than you are aware. Pilates principles are also more related to sports and exercising than you know. When you think “stamina” you may conjure images of running long distances or swimming for miles and miles but stamina as it relates to Pilates is about endurance of the core muscles.
Endurance athletes know that it is crucial for them to be able to maintain their activity level during their sport. Better stamina during sports or any activity can lead to fewer injuries, because you are better able to hold good alignment for a longer period of time. Pilates is known for its ability to improve strength and endurance of the core (abs and back) muscles. An example of Pilates in sport is a client who experiences back pain after attending an indoor cycling class. The problem may be that they lack core strength and cannot maintain a stable pelvis during the ride. Thus, as the class progresses they begin to fatigue and their core stability is even more compromised. When fatigued, the client may fall into an anterior pelvic tilt in order to recruit more dominant muscles groups, such as the hip flexors. In this posture their abdominal muscles are less engaged and they may begin to compress the lumbar spine. Increased core strength should be a protocol for all client exercise programs because of the application to so many activities.
As a personal trainer be sure to focus on strengthening the core for extended periods of time.
Topics: General, Personal Training, Pilates |
