Will Pilates make you run faster? That’s what Bodylines Clients report! Once they started their Pilates routine at Bodylines, they improved their running time.
Pilates works on all the key areas that running does. Therefore conditioning with pilates to improve your running is essential. Pilates is a system of exercises that work collectively to strengthen various parts of the body including core and leg muscles, whilst also enhancing general flexibility, agility, motion, and breathing control. The sport of running also uses many of these key elements.
Obviously a runner uses both leg and core muscles, so if you’re a runner looking to strengthen those areas of your body, give Pilates a try! The strengthening of these muscles through Pilates exercises makes running an overall easier task. It softens the amount of impact that travels from the legs of a runner to the back and ribcage with every step, resulting in an easier run with less post-run discomfort. Often times, runners will claim that they run faster as a result of their Pilates workouts!
Pilates can also make running easier through enhancement of breathing focus. Numerous Pilates exercises concentrate on opening up the sides of the body and allowing for your breaths to pass slowly and easily. Repetition of breathing exercises over time will improve the capability of runners to be physically active for longer periods of time, without becoming breathless.
Injuries and uncomfortable soreness commonly caused by running can be cured and prevented by the right combination of Pilates workouts. Many runners find that adding Pilates to their everyday workout reduces soreness of the muscles after a run. This is due to the gradual stretching out of the muscles that takes place during a Pilates session, which is unreachable when doing common stretches on your own. Not only does stretching help to improve short-term results such as muscle soreness, but it also decreases the risk for long-term injuries such as Runner’s Knee, an irritation where the knee cap rests on the thigh bone commonly caused by weak quadriceps and tight hamstrings.
If you’re a runner looking to improve your speed, reduce soreness, or just become more comfortable with your running capabilities, sign up for a few Pilates classes and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results! Consider Pilates after a run!