Easing stress, relaxing tight muscles, strengthening your core, soothing your mind…many things come to mind when you think of Pilates, but one thing that many people may not realise is that Pilates also can help your performance in a range of different, more active sports. As this week the Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s tournament kicks off, we are looking at how Pilates can help even the toughest of sports like Rugby. A game of power, speed, strength and stamina, all the core attributes in rugby can be learnt in the basics of Pilates.
An extremely physical game, there are many frequent injuries that occur in rugby. A large amount of the injuries are caused because two sets of muscles are not working well together. On one hand we have the ‘most obvious’ muscles, such as the hamstring, quads, chest and arm muscles and so on, which build up well using traditional forms of strength training, such as working out at the gym and lifting weights. However, on the other hand we have the less recognized local muscles, such as the Multifidus and Rotators muscles in your back, or the Capitis and Splenius muscles around the pelvis. These do not respond as well to traditional strength training, but are the ones that can really get damaged in physical sports, like rugby.
To build these important muscles up core strength training in Pilates can work miracles. The range of exercises and stretches can really increase the power and strength in these key muscles, which help with further elements like posture, breathing techniques and more.
To show how practicing Pilates can help rugby players, we invited Dubai Sharks player, Freddie Clifford into the centre for a private Pilates session with our very own guru, Walid Tebarki. After his first ever Pilates class, Freddie was left feeling relaxed and more flexible, and surprised at how challenging the session was.
“I have played Rugby and other high impact sports all of my life and have never realized how challenging Pilates could be!” Says Freddie Clifford. “I left with legs like jelly, but could really feel that my body had had a proper work out, using muscles I didn’t even know I had. The next day, although I felt sore, I was much more flexible and felt like the tension had been stretched out of my muscles. I would definitely recommend any of my team mates to try Pilates as part of their fitness regime.”
“Many sports players don’t know the impact that Pilates can have on their training and core strength.” Says Walid Tebarki. “During our classes we are working every single muscle, even those that are unknown by many, or unseen. Pilates is a slow process and a way of life, but with every class you will feel the difference and see positive changes to your body and mind.”
To book your class, call 04-3447333 now or visit www.thehundred.ae for more information.
