What dancers have known for years, is now being discovered by many other athletes. Pilates can improve your performance in many different types of body movement including sports.

Athletes at the top of their games such as NFL players Tom Brady, Martellus Bennet, and Antonio Brown, MLB players Jake Arrieta and Nate Robertson, Soccer players David Beckham and Christiano Renaldo, as well as other athletes such as Tiger Woods, and Lebron James are just a few of the professional athletes that have turned to Pilates to improve their game.

In fact, many of the athletes training for the Olympics claim Pilates gave them the edge over their competitors. And Jake Arrieta credits Pilates with helping him to win the World Series for the Chicago Cubs for the first time in 108 years.

The benefits of Pilates as it relates to sports include:

• Increased flexibility and strength
• Core strengthening to improve balance
• Prevent and alleviate hip and back pain
• Improve agility
• Prevent injury and improve recovery times
• Aids in sport conditioning and training
• Increase range of motion in areas like hips and shoulders

Everything that we do is supported by and radiates out from your core (known as the Powerhouse in Pilates), even standing and walking. Strengthening your core through Pilates exercises can improve your performance and give you an edge whether you are a runner, swimmer, cyclist, footballer, hockey player, golfer or tennis player. Building core strength can improve hip rotation, range of motion, balance and  stability which aids in allowing you to hit/kick a ball further, throw farther, run faster and jump higher.

Whatever your game, Pilates can help to improve your performance.