Pilates for men

mikedragon32

My wife has done pilates in the past and has suggested that I try it. Has anyone else here (particularly guys) tried it, and if so how was it for you?

As a bit of background, I am a rugby player and am prone to back pain. I have heard from others that it may help in that area.

Any comments welcome and appreciated.

Rogueish

I'm going to assume that you are based in Dublin?

Try http://www.bodyfirmpilates.com/ they are based in Dublin. They also offer one-to-one classes if you aren't comfortable in a mixed class. In my opinion students in a pilates class are far too busy focusing on their own core, breathing and movements themselves to worry about what anyone else in the class is doing. In one of my current classes I have an army guy in the midst of a class of women. There is not a bit of remarks passed.

I teach Pilates myself in the Southeast and many of my clients have chronic back pain. They are often referred on for pilates by their Physiotherapist or doctor. Some of my clients have been attending my classes continously for over a year they have found that much of a difference with their backs, that they don't want to give it up.

Many top premiership clubs in England insist on mandatory core stablity training for their players (Arsenal I believe is one of them). Most rugby clubs have some sort of core stabilty training however they usually start at quite a high level e.g. on a stability ball. Many people cannot find their core stability on solid gound never mind an unstable surface so they have to learn the basics before they progress.

I will be running a Core stability/pilates class for sportsmen in August when my new studio is finished if you happen to be based in the Southeast. PM me if you are interested

Reyman

I've done Pilates for the past 4 months.

It will kill you when you start it so take it easy to at first. At a frequency of three times a week you'll notice pretty major improvements in your core strength and the mobility of your back should improve a lot within 6 weeks or so.

I do it twice a week now to keep the gains at maintenance level

poobum

mikedragon32 wrote:

My wife has done pilates in the past and has suggested that I try it. Has anyone else here (particularly guys) tried it, and if so how was it for you?

As a bit of background, I am a rugby player and am prone to back pain. I have heard from others that it may help in that area.

Any comments welcome and appreciated.

rugby?
well ull love to know then that last year they made it mandatory for the new zealand players to attend pilates classes so as to increse their strength, endurance, freedom of movement and to help prevent and recover from injuries among other things!

mikedragon32

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Rogueish, I've pm'ed you.

I guess I'll be starting Pilates sometime soon!

RPGGAMER

pilates for a rugby player? you could do a lot better. but if it fixes your back go ahead and try it out.

poobum

RPGGAMER wrote:

pilates for a rugby player? you could do a lot better. but if it fixes your back go ahead and try it out.

pilates rules for rugby! increases freedom o movement making it easier to change direction or step etc...build up a good core-good for all the gym work etc...why else would it be mandatory by all blacks?

Smellyirishman

RPGGAMER wrote:

you could do a lot better.

....example?

amazingemmet

I was forced to do only pilates style conditioning as part of my circus course and tbh it was one of the biggest wastes of time ever compared to the way i now train. As a one hour a week course its fine but for any sort of serious training its a load of bollox. Just remember pilates was developed for rehab purposes and mobility puposes. From serious pilates you'll develop a stabile core thats about it, you won't be able to lift heavier weights or run faster. 0.02c

Rogueish

amazingemmet wrote:

I was forced to do only pilates style conditioning as part of my circus course and tbh it was one of the biggest wastes of time ever compared to the way i now train. As a one hour a week course its fine but for any sort of serious training its a load of bollox. Just remember pilates was developed for rehab purposes and mobility puposes. From serious pilates you'll develop a stabile core thats about it, you won't be able to lift heavier weights or run faster. 0.02c

I take it then that you have never seen anyone in the gym trying to lift a serious weight without a stable core???? It equates to one thing Injury.

The OP does not want to do pilates just to be able to run faster or lift heavier weights but that it will 'rehabiliate' his back to a level where he can play rugby comfortably. He will be using it as an adjunct of training. He will still be doing his speed, distance, skills and weights work (maybe at a slightly modified level until he has built up sufficent stability to be able to control the movement and weight).

A strong core is necessary to generate torque/power whether it be running, throwing, swimming etc. It is like trying to jump on a trampoline when the jump mat (core) is not pulled taut you cannot generate a jump off it.

Just as a side note EMG studies (where they stick a needle into a muscle and record the electrical activity) have shown that your core muscles especially that of the multifidus when exposed to pain or injury such as a bulging disc or inflammation actually switches off and will not instinctively switch themselves back on when the injury has healed. This leads to an instability at that particular level of the spine thus contributing to the reoccurance of the injury. These core muscles must be retrained from a cognitive perspective i.e that you must consciously activate the muscles through the core stability exercises for them to 'reawaken them and work.

Pilates/core stability is like any other component of fitness it is not effective on its' own but rather compliments all the other components of fitness to give a more complete picture of what fitness should be.

mikedragon32

From the information I've got so far from posters here (Rogueish esp.) and from other sources, including friends, it's definitely the way to go.

As R has already siad, I'll be carrying on with other training alongside the Pilates. It is meant to help me shake the back problems I've been having while I continue my training at a lower intensity for the off-season. If the effects of it are positive, I will maintain it as part of my training regeime.

SBob

poobum wrote:

rugby?
well ull love to know then that last year they made it mandatory for the new zealand players to attend pilates classes so as to increse their strength, endurance, freedom of movement and to help prevent and recover from injuries among other things!

i love that!! I always respond to slagging about doing yoga with 'Roy Keane does it!!', feck it, we're modern men...

eatsloads

Doing pilates for a while now along with alot of gym work and marathon training. Think it is one of the best ways to stretch out and strenghten areas that are otherwise quite hard to strenghten, especially lower back. It is the only exercise I have ever done that I noticed the benefits in a short time. Would definitely recommend it

solatus

I see there's been a discussion about Pilates for Men's benefits and how to get started. May I suggest that you try the Pilates for Men DVD. It has a 26 minute workout and 3 others in it... a 5, 10 and 15 minute. It's a great introduction to Pilates for guys who might feel uncomfortable among expereienced Pilates enthusiasts and for those who may not be sure it's for them. It's also something you can take with you if you're traveling. Go to www.pilatesmen.com or to Amazon and search "Pilates for Men". Try it you'll see results with 4 sessions.