Why runners should do Pilates

More and more runners are using Pilates to compliment their training. It’s a great strength trainer, flexibility booster and injury preventer for runners. In fact, it could be one of the best forms of cross training out there for runners.

Taryne McPherson, a trainer at London’s TempoPilates and keen runner, explains that while being great for core strength and development ‘Pilates also focuses on posture, alignment, breathing, concentration and control, stability, range of movement and precision’. All elements that help you become a better runner.

Posture

‘Ideally a runner should be upright when they run’ says Taryne, ‘as this allows oxygen to circulate within your lungs to help with breathing’. Good posture is closely linked with core strength and, according to Taryne ’if a runner has poor posture due to weak core muscles then they may find it hard to use their lungs, meaning they become fatigued a lot quicker as there is no oxygen going to the working muscles’.

Breathing

Never under-estimate the importance of breathing. Taryne comments that ‘a lot of people shallow breath’, and when we hold our breath we tense our muscles, risking injury. However, she explains that ‘Pilates teaches you how to breathe using deep inhalation and full exhalation techniques allowing us to exercise the lungs and increate lung capacity creating a deep relaxed effect’. Learning to breath properly can also help you run more efficiently, and who wouldn’t want that.

Concentration/control

Once, when teaching a group of runners, one of them said to Taryne ’I don’t think I’ve ever concentrated that much!’ ‘It’s true’ she laughs. ‘With Pilates you find that you have to concentrate on each exercise and to breath to create the controlled flowing movement’. Like everything, the more you practice Pilates, the better you get. ‘Over time you won’t have to concentrate as much as you would have learnt how to control each muscle group, which will help you run in a controlled manner’.

Stability

This one gets Taryne excited. ‘We need this!’ she exclaims. ‘It’s the ability to not move a part to the body while another body part is moving. Maintaining stillness in the spine as the arms and legs move requires torso stability, which is achieved through strong core muscles’. She goes on to explain: ‘when we become injured there tends to be an instability in the affected area and if we have good stability in our torso and joints then we’re much less likely to become injured in the first place!’.

Range of motion

One of the big benefits of Pilates is that it can ‘help runners understand their range of motion and can also increase their flexibility. It will help you learn the correct range of motion for your spine and joints, and how to limit it to prevent injury’ says Taryne.

Taryne explains that, taken together, ‘these principles of Pilates can help improve a runner’s quality of moment to enable us to run efficiently and effectively and without injury or less prone to injury’. Taryne is a great example herself: ‘I’ve had to take a year out of running due to an injury, achilles tendonitis. It was before I discovered Pilates and I’ve been injury-free ever since’. Given her personal experience Taryne really feels a runner’s pain when they’re injured. ‘It can be so frustrating not being able to do your favourite sport. If runners include Pilates, stretching, foam rolling and rest in their training programme I’m positive that they’ll find they’re injured less’.

Here are Taryne’s top tips:

• Find a local Pilates class that you can run to and from.
• Invest in a yoga mat and a quality Pilates DVD and make 20 minutes of practice part of your bedtime routine.
• There’s nothing wrong with swapping a running session for a Pilates session. Think of it as an investment is staying injury free!