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Athletic Pilates Ex-international middle-distance runner JOE MILLS explains how Pilates can prevent injuries PILATES is a form of exercise that strengthens stabilising muscles, opens up weak muscles, provides balance to our posture and enables us to move with increased efficiency. Why, then, do athletes give such tired excuses when offered Pilates as a possible solution to a range of niggles and injuries that they become used to living with? Athletes have said to me: “Pilates can’t be any good because if it was it would already be in athletics.” Or how about: “I tried it but I can already lift my legs in the air so I don’t really need it.” Or even: “I did some core stability work with a medicine ball with my friends last week.” Physiotherapists and osteopaths of the world unite – rub your hands with glee and wait (not very long) for the next client. As athletes we are in danger of accepting the fact that injuries happen to us as a result of factors we can’t control. That the majority of athletes are exceptionally good at working hard is not in doubt and when the going gets tough, we’ll work a bit harder. If we didn’t there is no way we would finish a tough session of intervals on a wet and cold Thursday night. Brendan Foster may have once said the real runner “goes to bed tired and wakes up even more tired” but Albert Einstein said “the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result”. How else can we explain our inability to grasp, practise and enjoy the benefits of a simple exercise whose principles are not rocket science but simple common sense and the reason why more physios are training to become Pilates teachers and using Pilates as part of their rehabilitation programmes. If you offered an athlete the chance to train as hard as possible, move in a way that would make them faster and less liable to break down with injury or illness and therefore be in control of their bodies, surely they would take it? That is what Pilates can offer, but how and why? Your average four-year old child has exceptional posture and energy, but they then go to school and start to consistently and habitually repeat a use of their bodies that is against the way we were designed, namely they sit over desks all day, a pattern exacerbated by other features of modern life. Dr Michael Colgan stated: “We impose a sedentary lifestyle on a superb anatomical structure … a chronic rate of disuse that destroys bone, muscle and connective tissue alike”. 1. Ineffective muscle use
Broadly speaking, the human body has two
types of muscles; stabilising muscles which lie closer to the
skeleton and by working at a low rate of contraction all the time
hold Consistent misuse of the body leads to weakening of the stabilising muscles by either lengthening or shortening. They no longer work correctly but because the body still has to be held upright (against gravity), the mobilising muscles take on a stabilising role thereby allowing only a percentage of its maximum power. Crucially, if we run fast enough for long enough the muscle becomes overloaded and will strain, pull or tear. This is why most athletes have limits on their training, they know how many miles or how many reps of a certain type their body will allow them to handle, rather than conditioning their body first and allowing their mind to control how much training they do. A simple analogy is that of a poorly erected building, without the correct foundations it is more likely to come down. In contrast, correct foundations mean the building will last forever, which is why good builders are at such a premium. 2. Faulty recruitment patterns Muscles work as part of a team, for each movement there is an ideal combination of muscles that work in a certain order. If one of those muscles is too short or long and therefore weak the team or the system will not work correctly. However the body still has to move and so a cheating movement will be established but if you do something enough times it becomes a muscular habit and so will feel completely normal. Which is why people are generally not aware of their faulty posture or even parts of their bodies, it feels normal but it isn’t. For example, magazines often suggest curl-ups as great exercise for athletes but without the necessary guidelines. The aim of a curl-up should be to strengthen your abs but also to mobilise your thoracic and cervical spine. Ask yourself, do you grip in the hips, quads or hamstrings to anchor you up or do you have tension in your neck and shoulders as you curl? If the answer is yes your movements are inefficient and your training not as effective as it could be. 3. Neutral pelvis and spine
The role of the pelvis and spine is For the spine to be stable the deep muscles that stabilise both the pelvis and spine must be strong enough to prevent any unwanted movement of one bone on another. With such good alignment your body will need the least muscular activity and therefore energy to hold itself upright therefore allowing the muscles to focus on their correct job, running fast, jumping high or throwing far. Any displacement of one part of the spine causes displacement elsewhere to prevent the structure from falling. 4. Joints
Through poor posture and muscle
imbalance, the forces of gravity no longer fall through the centre
of our joints and there could be wear and tear, less lubrication and
potential for injury. Full range of movement is important for the
lubrication and health of a joint. 5. Breathing Nearly all the muscles involved in the breathing process have a postural function so posture and breathing are interrelated. Poor posture inhibits us from taking full breaths which has an obvious impact on our lives. In addition, the poor posture compresses our internal organs and prevents them from working correctly making us more prone to infections. ► What should I expect from a session? The exercises in Pilates sessions aim to strengthen stabilising muscles and stretch mobilising muscles; recruit muscles in the most efficient order; start and maintain the ability to keep neutral pelvis and spine; increase the range of movement of joints and maintain their health by providing safe movement and therefore lubricate them; and develop the ability to increase fresh oxygen uptake and therefore remove stale oxygen. Joseph Pilates developed his system initially on boxers and then ballet dancers and gymnasts, groups of people who are extremely strong and flexible. For that reason Pilates is hard, very hard and equally relevant for everyone from old ladies to Olympic athletes. It takes years to master the matwork alone. One of the criticisms of Pilates is that it is too easy. If that is the case it means the exercises are not being done correctly. Exercises are designed to take the spine through its four ranges of movement and are initiated with correct alignment, breath, stability, length and the correct muscle recruitment pattern. The pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscles (your body’s natural corset) are always ‘cued’ by the teacher which aids stability and over time becomes habit with some amazing changes. It is surprising how many of these features we miss if we don’t have someone checking us. Another issue is that any individual’s experience of Pilates is only as good as the teacher is. Up until last year there was no official recognised standard for the teaching of Pilates. People could attend short courses and become a Pilates teacher. That has recently changed and a ‘standard’ has been introduced which all Pilates teachers must meet before qualifying. Only Body Control Pilates and Future Fit Pilates have achieved the necessary standard so far. In addition it is easy for teachers to overlook individuals when teaching classes, which is why Body Control will not allow classes to exceed 12 individuals.
Furthermore many teachers dilute the
exercise even further by setting expectations in keeping with
health, as opposed to the requirements of the ambitious athlete. I had tried Pilates classes but only noticed greater benefits when I took weekly private sessions and tried hard to learn as quickly as possible. After a few weeks I noticed that I could walk up stairs a lot easier. After six months I noticed I no longer had crippling shin splints. After a year I noticed I was no longer desperate to see my osteopath or masseur and my coach noticed I stood a lot taller. After 18 months I noticed that I recovered from sessions a lot quicker and felt good the next morning and that I not only recovered from colds very quickly but also would rarely get them. After two years I realised I had more day-to-day energy and more awareness. I no longer felt tired in the mid afternoon at work or slumped in the sofa on returning from work or training but wanted to be doing another activity, just as I had done as an 11-year-old when I was part of nearly every club at school. I no longer wore out the sides of my shoes, I started to feel muscles I didn’t know I had and it felt like someone had equipped me with a suit of armour with which I could withstand the rigours of regular 70-80 miles a week without breaking down or regular trips to my masseur or osteopath. I had simply reversed the aging process by conditioning my body against the negative effects of gravity. Start now, adopt an open and questioning mind, take control of your athletics and allow the lack of injuries to enable you to make longer term plans for your careers.
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