Why should men do Pilates?

The last five or so years have seen a great shift in men embracing Pilates as a fundamental part of their workout routine. And we couldn’t be happier! Our team at SmartFit have been challenging the idea that Pilates is just for women for a long time. The practice can help men gain all the same benefits as women do in their everyday life and sports performance, and it even has male-specific benefits too, as well as a well-kept secret of improving one’s sex life! Read on to the end to find out all.

Let’s start with one common difference between the exercise habits of men and women. Generally speaking, men tend to workout in a way that focuses on one particular muscle group(s), while neglecting others. For example, playing a specific sport such as soccer (more on this later) year after year, or doing lots of upper body exercises in the gym for strength and muscle growth (hypertrophy) without working the lower body or core as much. The repetition of exercising in this way - with all the work and attention focused on just one area - means you are not training the body as a whole.

Why is this a problem? We have to keep in mind that our body is all connected. It sounds simple, but are you really remembering that during your workouts? By strengthening just one area of your body and ignoring the rest in your training, you are allowing another muscle group / body part to become weak and inactive. This imbalance of strength/flexibility across the body pulls it out of its natural alignment whether you are walking, sitting, exercising or playing sport. And for most people, this will take you down the unhappy path to injury and pain, which can impact your daily life significantly. But there’s a solution… Pilates!

As a full-body, low-impact form of movement, Pilates on the mat, reformer, Cadillac or other apparatus will help to strengthen your body from top to bottom (and left to right!) to ensure you are balanced, strong, and flexible. It’s been proven time and time again as a fantastic way to rehabilitate injuries and imbalances, as well as preventing any from occurring in the future. It’s all about optimizing your body’s efficiency! If you opt for a Private Session, your instructor will design a programme that’s specific to your needs and your sport (if you play one), so you can build your body to be the best it possibly can be for the life you want to lead.

Another important point is about muscle mass. On average, men usually have a lower body fat percentage and more muscle mass than women. And more muscle often goes hand in hand with less flexibility. But the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. The reason that many people with more muscle mass have poor flexibility is because, without regular stretching, larger muscles can build up a lot of passive tension in the muscle, meaning there is more resistance when you try and stretch it. Think about the tightness or limitation you feel when stretching your hamstring for example - that resistance is the tension. Like anything worth having, you must work to improve and maintain your flexibility. Stretch regularly and practice Pilates, and that tension will begin to reduce, helping your muscles to feel looser aka. improving your flexibility.

As you’re probably beginning to see, there are many reasons so many male sporting superstars do Pilates! And there’s more.

Playing sport is a great way to stay fit and active, but as most people know, high-impact activities place significant stress on joints such as the knees. If you’re a keen footballer or runner for example, it’s important to take steps to keep those joints healthy and strengthen the muscles that support and stabilise them (particularly your core and glutes) so that injury and/or pain doesn't prevent you from being able to do it. And Pilates can help you with exactly that. As mentioned above, during Private Sessions you’ll work with an experienced instructor in a personalized plan that is designed to help you achieve your individual goals and excel in your favourite sports.

Getting down to the specifics of Pilates benefits, the list of reasons to add it to your workout routine is very well documented (and backed by science, as you’ll see here!) but it comes down to this: Pilates is designed to help you move the way that your body was designed to. Yes, each of our bodies is unique, but what we have in common is that everyone’s body has an optimal way of sitting, standing and moving in a way that doesn’t over-work or under-use any particular muscle, and enables your body to work together in perfect harmony and balance.

And now the part we’ve all been waiting for… while this is a less commonly touted benefit, Pilates can definitely play a part in making you better in bed! With some exercises that seem almost tailor-made to boost your bedroom game (think Pelvic Lifts or Double Leg Knee Stretch for greater thrusting power), Joseph Pilates himself has been quoted as saying that his exercise method ‘strengthens the right muscles, so it improves [people’s] sex life’. We also have modern Pilates experts pointing out that improved core strength and flexibility enable more sexual positions and greater range of motion. While increased body awareness, better full-body blood circulation and deeper mind-body integration are other obvious factors that support greater sexual performance and satisfaction for both men and women!

To sum it up, Pilates enhances your breathing, posture, strength, balance, co-ordination, and flexibility… all things that are as important to guys as girls! Whether your objective is to get a sporting PB, have a better time in bed, or simply be able to run around with your kids for years to come, Pilates is essential. Try a group class or private session with us now with 50% off*. You won’t regret it!

*New clients only.