Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008 - (Page 15)

muscles and joints,” explains Moira. “Speciﬁc strengthening exercises will also help to balance the muscles around a joint and balance pairs of muscles from one side of the body to the other.” Most Pilates workouts begin in a supine (lying on the back) position and then progress to sitting or standing when stability increases and can then carry over into the sporting realm. This allows the athlete to train or retrain muscles then transfer movement patterns to outside the practice environment and into the sport-speciﬁc skill. According to Laureen Dubeau, Assistant Program Director for STOTT PILATES, one concept among others being embraced by sports trainers is LATD, or Long-Term Athletic Development. “This type of training progresses from general to speciﬁc and from simple to more complex. The lighter resistance and multi-angular training makes Pilates perfect for LATD as well as anatomical adaptation, focus on developing muscle memory and patterning. This usually occurs in the preparatory or pre-competition phase of training for an athlete.” traditional moves and will therefore recruit a larger number of muscle groups or strengthen the same muscles from many angles and in a variety of different ranges of motion. Kerrie Lee Brown is the vice president of communications for STOTT PILATES (www.stottpilates. com) and the former editor-in-chief of Oxygen: Women’s Fitness and American Health & Fitness magazines. Kerrie holds a Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies and Political Science Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor of Applied Arts, Graduate Journalism Degree from Ryerson Polytechnic University. ➤ Recovery from Injury There are other areas of sport training in which Pilates can be particularly useful. Regeneration is the period of active recovery from a strenuous workout or game, and Pilates can help in fulﬁlling this role and returning muscles and joints to their anatomical length. Also, during rehabilitation, Pilates can provide an interim step between non-weight-bearing to open-chain to explosive movements. “The focus on mobility, ﬂexibility and strength through a full range of motion help restore the injured tissues to a healthy state before sport-speciﬁc training begins,” continues Dubeau. “In rehab, Pilates can be used at all stages from the most acute phase to advanced functional re-education.” According to Matt Nichol, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pilates teaches athletes to be mindful in their movements — integrating their pelvis, trunk and shoulder girdle in a safe, challenging and progressive system. “Pilates can be a very eﬀective supplement to an injury rehabilitation program, as it provides athletes with a challenging workout without impact or excessive weight bearing,” says Nichol. The Bottom Line Traditional athletic training methods will help develop the muscles required in a specific sport, but may not address the stabilizing muscles around the joints or the torso. Often, one muscle is identified, and exercises are designed to isolate that muscle, usually in a single plane of motion. However, Pilates exercises can be more complex than OCTOBER2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM 15 http://www.stottpilates.com http://www.stottpilates.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Current Controversies Combating with Obesity Pilates and Yoga for Athletes New! The Balancing Act The Top Prize Building a Base of Special Populations Datebook The Success Image The Anatomy of a Fitness Assessment Branding Training Ruts Product Profile New on the Market

Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008

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