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Pilates For Runners – Core, Stretches, and Injury Prevention

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“Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.” Joseph Pilates

 

I wish I had a glamorous story to tell you about how I started to practice Pilates, but the truth of the matter is that I stumbled upon this class at California Family Fitness and I immediately loved it. At the time, I felt Pilates provided more movement and excitement than yoga, not knowing that over 12 million people practice Pilates worldwide. Nowadays, I practice both Pilates and hot yoga at least once a week, which makes my runner’s body stronger, happier, and less prone to injuries.

 

Adding the resistance band to the airplane pose makes the workout more challenging.

 

I particularly enjoy Kate Muir’s gentle Pilates class, because it seems to work wonders on my sore and tight runner’s body.  Kate, who has a Master’s degree in history of art with emphasis on Bronze casting, has been teaching Pilates for about a decade. She also teaches cycling and strength training, but she teaches Pilates the most, which is  five times a week. From the first time I took Kate’s class, I loved her lovely British accent, her sense of humor, and the fun exercises she had us do, changing up the routine often and providing at least three options to do the poses successfully. Once Kate found out that I was a runner, she teased me that I can run 50 miles, but I moaned and groaned when doing various stretches. Needless to say, Kate was right and her comments  made me and the other people in the class laugh.

 

I even do Pilates on a bench on the Parkway after my run whenever I have an extra five minutes, or so.

 

 

Four reasons Pilates is so great for runners

 

  1. Whole body workout. Developed by Joseph Pilates, the exercises were related to dances designed for people with injuries. Kate pointed out that runners always use forward motion, while Pilates works the body up and down, side to side, front and back.
  2.  The breath. We all know that the breath is so crucial in running, which is why the practice of Pilates requires mastering the breathing technique.  Kate said that when we inhale and exhale in through the nose and out through the mouth,  we expand the rib cage, pull the abs, and zip them up.
  3.  Strength. Pilates increases strength in anyone practicing it, which will reduce the risk of injuries. For instance, I am not big on lifting heavy weights, but knowing that I get my core, strength, and stretching done in one 45-minute class gives me confidence that I will get stronger with Pilates. As Kate says at the end of her class, “the more you do, the more you do.”
  4. Flexibility. Like most runners, I am quite stiff and inflexible, which is why I simply can’t touch my toes without bending my knees. Pilates increases flexibility in our body and keeps us from getting injured.

 

Tree pose with my friend and Arete team mate Leilani Dunmoyer, who is also a big believer in Pilates, strength training, and Yoga.

 

 

THREE PILATES MOVES EVERY RUNNER SHOULD DO WEEKLY

 

Mondays are usually my days off from running, but as much as my awesome coach Jenny Hitchings wants me to take a full day of rest, I cannot do it without Pilates. I have tried the full rest and was stiff the next day, but when I only did Pilates on Monday and no running, I felt loose and my glutes and body were happy. However, if you don’t have access to a fitness club or studio to practice Pilates weekly, Kate suggested that you do the following three moves:

 

  1. Planks and different variations. We usually do a variation in class and have been holding the pose for two minutes, or longer.

 

Fun doing side planks with leg raises with my awesome friend and best training partner Andrea Brizendine. We both ran Chicago marathon in 2018, so we are doing a little matching here.

 

2. Bird Dog pose is extremely beneficial for strength, core, and strong lower back and glutes.

 

Bird dog pose, one of the best to activate the core and glutes.

 

3. Single leg glute bridges are simply a must for runners, or anyone who wants to stay injury free. I do them 4-5 times a week and love doing them right before a run or race to activate the glute muscles and run strong.

 

Single leg glute bridge – the peanut butter and jelly pose – ha!ha! for us runners that we can do before or after a run, or any time we do our strength training routine.

 

 

Having lunch at the Pho House with my friend and favorite Pilates instructor Kate Muir.

 

Besides these three poses highly recommended by Kate, Runner’s World has some more Pilates moves that we can all incorporate into our routines so that we run strong and stay healthy, or as Kate likes to say: “Nice to see you to see you nice.” Namaste!

 

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