Reformer Pilates is an excellent addition to your fitness regime to help improve your performance, whatever your sport or fitness goals. In this series of blog posts, we’ll look at the benefits of Reformer Pilates for specific sports and lifestyles. We’ve already looked at General Fitness, next up is the benefits for running.

Reformer Pilates for Running

Becoming familiar with a reformer machine and the techniques taught in our classes, is extremely beneficial for runners of all abilities. Participating in reformer Pilates gives you an awareness of the biomechanics of your body, how each joint moves and relates to another.  It allows you to concentrate on adjusting the way your knee tracks over the ankle and can assist with the alignment of the hip and stabilising weaker muscles. It’s a low impact, full body workout, meaning you can usually still practice reformer Pilates even when carrying injury and in fact, can be excellent to rehab injuries. Read on for our top 5 benefits of reformer Pilates for running.

Reformer Pilates improves running performance

1. Improves Breathing

Breathing is one of the main principles of reformer Pilates and is the core of every class you do. Runners who have a good breathing technique increase the oxygenation and stamina to their diaphragm. Breathing techniques taught during reformer Pilates can boost power to your muscles and will help you to push through the pain when the going gets tough. Learning how to control your breath and remain relaxed during periods of strain can significantly improve your endurance and overall energy levels.

2. Improves Stability

Stability is essential for a good running technique and to avoid injury. A good technique also helps you to run more efficiently, thus conserving vital energy. Stability in the trunk keeps the shoulders, spine and pelvis balanced and aligned so that they can generate power through the legs to drive you forward with speed, while improving endurance. Reformer Pilates helps to elongate and align the spine, improving posture and all aspects of stability.

Reformer Pilates improves core strength, balance and stability

3. Improved Posture

Building on that, correct posture is a key ingredient for successfully running, allowing for more efficient movement and less chance of injury. The key to a strong posture, as well as stability, is a strong core. Another principle of Pilates is building a strong core by supporting and strengthening the muscles of the torso, hips, shoulders and pelvis. This all helps to improve your running technique and reduces your chance of injury.

Reformer Pilates stretch

4. Improved Performance

Are you sensing a pattern here? All aspects of reformer Pilates and the benefits on running tend to be interlinked. One thing improves the next and improves the next. Because reformer Pilates is a full body workout which improves power, strength, flexibility, core strength and efficiency, it helps to build a more stable runner, who is strong, has better technique, runs more efficiently, and gets tired less quickly. It helps build strength in specific areas to ensure the correct muscles are firing when required, meaning less injury and improves performance seeing your PBs improve. Results focused and results driven.

5. Reduced Risk of Injury

And finally, possibly the most beneficial thing about practicing reformer Pilates for runners is that it decreases the likelihood of you getting injured. With key focus on the spine and posture, it improves your balance which enables the body to move at its most efficient. Reformer Pilates also highlights areas that you are weaker or less stable in, allowing you to focus on these areas in class to increase your strength, further reducing the risk of injury. We place a strong emphasis on strength during our classes which over time makes muscles, tendons and ligaments more robust and resilient, helping to reduce the likelihood of strains.

Improved strength, flexibility and mobility enhance running performance

So there you have it! If you’re a runner, marathon standard or a complete beginner, you need to add reformer Pilates to your training schedule to help you meet, and smash your goals. We have a range of classes available across our two studios, from beginner to intermediate, stretch and mobility to tailored 1-1 and 2-1 sessions. To view our timetable and for bookings, click here.

If you know a runner who needs to try reformer Pilates, share this blog post with them.

Move Better, Feel Better, Live Better. ProPhysioNI.