According to Wikipedia, "Cross-training is athletic training in sports other than the athlete's usual sport. The goal is improving overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of one training method to negate the shortcomings of another."

Should you cross-train with Pilates? The answer is a definite yes! Our South Florida life-style is very active. Whether you are in to golf, tennis, pickle ball, or running, cross-training with Pilates can help reduce muscle imbalances and overtraining or overuse injuries.

So many of our favorite sports involve repetitive movements which over time can shorten and tighten muscles, leading to injuries to our joints. Without proper stretching or strengthening of our deep core muscles which stabilize our joints, we are more prone to injury.

Much of Pilates is working the muscle in an eccentric contraction, which basically means working the muscle in a more lengthened way. This allows us to feel more of a stretch as we are conditioning and also allows us to get into those deeper, core stabilizing muscles. We are always looking for symmetry between both sides of the body, and work to muscularly balance out.

In my own journey, I have just recently gotten back into running, training for a half marathon. Pilates has given me the tools to quickly add on miles, without the fear of injury. The muscles needed to support running 13.1 miles are constantly being supported by the conditioning of my hip, knee and ankle joints that I get in my Pilates practice. The stretching and lengthening of the muscles help in the recovery process after.

We would be happy to help you in your cross-training and/or recovery process. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you might have!