The FIRST & BEST Original Pilates^® Studio

The stigma that Pilates is for-women-only has finally been broken. Once the favorite exercise of celebrities Madonna, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone and an endless list of actresses and super models, male athletes have realized how to get no pain and big gains from Pilates. Golfer Tiger Woods, local Florida residents and football superstars, Stockar McDougle of the Miami Dolphins and brother Jerome McDougle of the Philadelphia Eagles, basketball star Jason Kidd, pitcher Curt Schilling and offensive lineman Ruben Brown are all part of one of the fastest growing fitness activities according to SGMA International, the trade association for sports equipment manufacturers. Pilates has become the training edge for male professional athletes. It has helped them rise to, and play at the top of their game.

Athletes, by doing Pilates, have realized the benefits of increased flexibility, balance, coordination, endurance, speed and quickness. In addition, a vast and growing number of athletes across a very wide range of sports have realized the effectiveness of Pilates for everything from injury prevention to recovery, to increased core strength.

Every sport has its own distinctive patterns of movement. Some sports use certain muscles while virtually ignoring others, thus creating a risk of an unbalanced physique. Tennis is a very one-sided game as well as golf. Impact sports like rugby and football require a high level of conditioning plus a good range of movement around certain joints. Common to all is the need to build long, lean muscles without bulk, to activate the deep abdominal muscles to create a solid core. Pilates addresses these requirements and is an ideal complement to other training methods.

From top golfers like David Duval, Steve Ballesteros and Annika Sorenstam to tennis players like Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport to the England cricket team (with Andrew Flintoff and Graham Thorpe) the Welsh Rugby Union squad and rowers including Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, top athletes recognize Pilates training as a key to their success.

Terry Shaw, whose brother John is president of the St. Louis Rams teaches a Pilates class once a week at the Bank of America Stadium. It is a voluntary class that Panthers strength and conditioning coach Jerry Simmons has incorporated it into an off-season conditioning program.

Defensive end Al Wallace is one of the players who attend the class. He reports with enthusiasm that he is seeing results. “This is the first year I’ve tried it, after three or four weeks I’ve noticed a difference in my flexibility and the way my body feels as far as my hips. Even getting on the treadmill to run now I feel a lot looser in that area. I had a couple of problems with my back last year, and I can tell already that my back and my abs are stronger.”

Richard Beem, winner of the 2002 PGA Championship says, “I’m so stretched out and have such great posture that I look and feel like a different person.”

The Nets superstar point guard Jason Kidd did Pilates as rehabilitation to recover from a broken ankle. “I immediately discovered how tight I was,” Kidd recalls. “After one session I was energized. “From that point on I was convinced it was a great workout.” For Kidd, Pilates is about finding the edge. He estimates 30% of his strength and flexibility training comes from Pilates. “Pilates has made me quicker, more explosive.”

Rich Dalatri, Net’s strength coach has been a driving force in bringing Pilates training to the entire team. “Pilates is rejuvenating, restorative, invigorating, says Dalatri. “"It gets the blood flowing through every inch of the muscles. It’s so internal. It puts you in tune with your body. It puts you in a different state.” The Nets have invested in Pilates equipment for their weight room. The players are so dependent on Pilates exercise, that throughout the NBA playoffs in 2002, a leading Pilates company shipped special equipment to the team’s hotel on road trips.

Schilling, the Arizona Diamondbacks star pitcher incorporated Pilates into his off season training program. “In the fourth week I started to understand the Pilates terminology, the idea of working from your center. By the third month I was more powerful and flexible than ever before. And I’d lost 15 pounds.”

Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl offensive guard Ruben Brown does Pilates to prevent injury. “I’m a big guy with a gut, I was always battling back strain.” The last two off seasons Brown has done Pilates three times a week. As a result, “I came out of the season injury-free…I learned how to breathe. My posture is better. I can run more fluidly. And I increased my bench workouts.”

For PGA pro Rocco Mediate, Pilates is all about strengthening his back and prolonging his career. After major back surgery he could not bend over for prolonged periods of time. Since starting Pilates, Mediate has traded in his weights for Pilates equipment and has several pieces of it in his workout room at home. “Pilates never compromises your back. I’ve got more motion in my shoulders, midsection and legs. I can repeat my basic swing more often. Pilates is going to add five, six, seven…years to my career.”

If your body is your house, then your foundation is your core. There is irrefutable evidence that a strong core is important since it provides the foundation for the limbs to move in sports. Not only that, a strong core is where all the power and energy to play your game come from. In addition to improving performance, it will help reduce the risk of injury and speed rehabilitation and recovery. Also, Pilates will add balance and flexibility to your body.

The increasing use of Pilates in sport makes common sense. So if you thought that Pilates is all some tutu and frufru stuff, think again. You’ve heard the facts. Pilates is for everyone. If you do sports for a hobby, weight loss or any other reason and want to play injury free, Pilates is for you If you are a weekend warrior, a marathon runner looking to increase race time, a golfer looking to put yards to your drive, a tennis player wanting to add power to your swing, and so on, add Pilates to your workout. Watch your game improve by doing Pilates. Most especially, if you’re an athlete looking for the cutting edge and to play at the top of your game, Pilates is for you.

REAL MEN AND SMART ATHLETES DO PILATES!!!

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