Sports injuries can put you out of action for weeks or months at a time. As well as being great for overall fitness Pilates will help you align your body and reduce the risk of injury. It’s great for all sports related activities including tennis, golf, horseriding and many more.

We asked a professional pilates personal trainer based in Abu Dhabi for their tips on Pilates coaching for sports fitness.

Is Pilates a good training tool for sports men and women in the UAE?

Question: Pilates training in Abu Dhabi & Dubai is a great exercise method for flexibility, agility, strength and posture correction. As a Pilates personal trainer in the UAE do you think Pilates would be useful for people involved in sports activities?

Pilates exercise has been proven effective to enhance sports performance for many different sports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai & Sharjah.

Specifically, Pilates is known to be beneficial for golfers, cyclists, equestrians, long and short-distance runners, as well as competitive divers, baseball, football and basketball players.

Pilates include muscle balance, core strengthening and stability, improved focus and concentration, injury prevention, reduced stress and relief from back pain.

Pilates aids in restoring muscle imbalances created by one-sided sports such as golf, baseball and tennis and can be utilized to build strength, power, endurance and precision for most if not all sports.

Which sports is Pilates good for?

Question: In the UAE are there any sports in particular that Pilates is useful for and can you give some examples of the Pilates benefits that can be gained for these sports?

A part of every professional athlete’s career is staying on top of training. While many athletes in the UAE rely on personal training, cardio and strength training – many are taking advantage of Pilates to benefit their physical and mental abilities.

Pilates has immense benefits for all types of athletic disciplines. Incorporating these classes into your training schedule will increase strength, flexibility, as well as, mindfulness and focus.

How often should sports men and women do Pilates in the UAE?

Question: How often should someone new to Pilates in the UAE train for?

Pilates training in the UAE should be incorporated on the weekly schedule of training, at least 2 times a week to see the most benefit.

Does Pilates reduce the risk of sports related injuries?

Question: Is it true that doing Pilates can often help with reducing the risk of injury and if so how?

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai Pilates has exponentially grown in popularity in the past years and continues to be one of the fastest growing exercises in the world too, but few are aware of its benefits in injury rehabilitation.

Muscle imbalance is one of the most common reasons for injury.

Pain, soreness, and other physical dysfunctions are rarely isolated problems.

Pain in one part of the body is usually due to a functional limitation elsewhere.

Your injured knee could be caused by weak hamstring and gluteal muscles or lower back pain could be because of tight hip flexors.

Pilates helps correct these imbalances and builds core strength, flexibility and proper alignment.

You should always seek the advise of a professional Pilates personal trainer or coach in the UAE before you start Pilates because proper form is very important to reduce injury.

Does Pilates help improve sports perfromance?

Question: Do you think Pilates can help a sports person improve on their sporting performance? For example, can regular Pilates training help a Golfer or Tennis Player in the UAE improve on their game?

Tennis is a mental game. The quieter the mind, the better the focus. Pilates teaches quieting of the psyche which helps reset awareness.

Breathing is an important part of the Pilates practice but it is also beneficial to keeping tennis players relaxed during their matches.

On top of mindfulness and breathing, Pilates can also build strength and keep tennis players from getting injured.

Pilates can also help build strength within smaller, less used muscle groups as well as strengthen your core.

Tennis can throw a player’s body out of alignment causing injury to the body. Similar to tennis, golf is mental game. It takes discipline and concentration to master the green.

Pilates trains golfers to practice their pranayama, or breath, in order to focus on the moment and concentrate on the course. Besides training golfers to focus on their breath, Pilates can also condition a golfer’s body into better shape – by toning the core and teaching golfers to increase use of their smaller muscle groups to aid the larger, more used muscles.