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Pilates for Weight Trainers:

Balancing Strength and Flexibility through Pilates

Nadia Guerrero

September 7, 2014

La Playa Pilates, Santa Barbara, CA

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Abstract:

The causes of muscular imbalance in the human body vary. The following case study presents a

client with muscular imbalance between opposing muscle groups (hip flexors vs. hamstrings) caused by

repetitive movement patterns (e.g.: squats and dead lifts) from weight training activities. The long term

goal of this weightlifter is to use Pilates to develop flexibility by regaining a balance between opposing

muscle groups, alleviate body aches, and possibly enhance strength training performance. However,

since this is a short-term study, this paper will present the results from client’s short term goals which

include 1) practicing a mat-focused Pilates program to contrast to his constant resistance workouts, 2)

becoming familiar with the fundamental mat exercises to create better flow in the movement, 3) gaining

an awareness of weak areas, and 4) integrating exercises that address weakness.

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Table of Contents

Abstract….......................…………………………………………………….……………………………..…2

I. Anatomy of the Hip.................................………………………………………….…………..….4

II. Introduction: Balancing Strength and Flexibility through Pilates..…..……..…..…..9

III. Client Information/Goals.……..…………..………………………………………….………….…… 9

IV. Reasons for Selecting the Conditioning Program..………..……………..……………....11

V. Client Conditioning Program Utilizing the Block System…………………………………13

VI. Conclusion: Client Goal Assessment………………….……………….…………………..…….15

Bibliography..…………….…………………..………………………………………………………………....16

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I. Anatomy of the Hip Figure 1a. Bones of the Hip Joint: The Pelvis (Clippinger 2007)

Figure 1a. Bones of the Hip Joint: The Femur (Clippinger 2007)

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Figure 2a: Muscles that Control the Pelvic Tilt: The Abdominals (Clippinger 2007)

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Figure 2b: Muscles that Control the Pelvic Tilt: The Back Extensors (Clippinger 2007)

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Figure 2c: Muscles that Control the Pelvic Tilt: The Hip Flexors (Clippinger 2007)

Figure 2d: Muscles that Control the Pelvic Tilt: The Hip Extensors (Clippinger 2007)

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The pelvic girdle is an important structure that links the upper body (axial skeleton) with the

lower body (lower limbs). The pelvic girdle is composed of two os coxae (illium, ischium and pubis)

which are fused anteriorly at the pubis, and posteriorly at the sacrum. The head of the femur is

connected to hip at the acetabalum to form the hip joint. The hip joint is a triaxial, ball and socket joint

that provides great stability while at the same time a high degree of mobility, because it allows

movement along three planes of motion.

Good posture is essential for mechanically efficient movement. In the ideal posture, the pelvis

assumes a neutral position. Muscles that are involved in maintaining a neutral pelvis include: 1)

Abdominals (rectus abdominis, external obliques), 2) Hip Flexors (illiopsoas, rectus femoris and

sartorious), 3) Low Back Extensors (erector spinae), and 4) Hip Extensors (hamstrings and gluteus

maximus). When muscular imbalance occurs between opposing muscle groups that control the pelvic

tilt, it manifests postural deviations which may be accompanied by physical pain or injury.

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II. Introduction: Balancing Strength and Flexibility through Pilates

“A muscle that is only trained for strength becomes shorter. This, in turn, means that its range of movement is restricted, which in practice decreases its ability to utilize its increased force resources correctly” (Wirhead 24).

Balance. In Pilates, balance refers to various components of conditioning and well being. One

way to achieve balance is through the proper equilibrium of three different components of muscular

health: endurance, flexibility, and strength. When these three components are in equilibrium, they lead

to good, efficient movement. In athletic populations, over-emphasized training in specific areas of

interest tends to result in muscular imbalance. For instance, runners may over focus on endurance,

while dancers may over focus on flexibility, and weightlifters may over focus on strength.

By concentrating primarily on strength building goals, strength athletes, such as weightlifters,

may neglect performing flexibility exercises, and in the process, create muscular imbalances through

forced, repetitive movement, that have a negative impact on their physical well-being.

Pilates can offer benefits to practitioners for different reasons. The following case study will

center on a weightlifting client with muscular imbalance between opposing muscle groups (hip flexors

vs. hamstrings) caused by repetitive movement patterns (e.g.: squats and dead lifts) from weight

training activities, and how Pilates could assist in bringing back into balance opposing muscle groups,

and in the process, enhance weight training performance.

III. Client Information/Goals

Name: Jimmy Jones

Age: 36

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Historical Injuries:

Injury 1: Left Arm, Broken (1984)

Injury 2: Left Knee, ACL Tear (1996)/Treatment: Physical Therapy

Injury 3: Left Hip, Dislocated (1997)/Treatment: Bed Rest and Crutches

Restrictions/Contraindications: None

Current Fitness Plan:

Weight Training 3x/week, Cardiovascular Training 2x/week, Surfing 1x/week

Approach to Well Being: Eat well and exercise

Plumb Line Assessment:

Side View

Overall, Jimmy has good posture. The curvature in his cervical spine is slightly more pronounced

than ideal. He is also slightly hyperlordodic in his lumbar region which are consistent with anterior

pelvic tilt, tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors (illiospsoas, rectus femoris, sartorious), and weak/tight

lower back extensors.

Back View

Handedness, asymmetrical muscle development, was evident from the back. The right side of

Jimmy’s body appears to be more developed than left side. In particular, the right hamstring and the

right side of the back. Favoring his right side over the left could be due to uneven movement mechanics

that resulted from left knee and left hip injuries he sustained 18 years ago.

Roll Down Assessment:

Side View

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Jimmy cannot reach the ground without bending his knees, which is consistent with hamstring

tightness

Back View

The left side of Jimmy’s body is less engaged than his right. Although it’s subtle, he favors

transferring weight to the right leg when rolling down.

Hip Joint Observation: Lying prone, flexion ROM is less than 90 degrees

Long Term Goal: To improve hip flexor/extensor flexibility in order to enhance strength and address

muscular imbalances

Jimmy Jones is a 36 year old man who leads an active and healthful lifestyle. He was a

competitive swimmer in high school, and now surfs for recreation. Over the past 6 years, Jimmy has

prioritized building strength and endurance in his training routines. He has experimented with different

training methods, and has even added a few Yoga-centered stretches to his exercise regimen.

Unfortunately, joint and muscle tightness are things that Jimmy endures on a daily basis. Pilates is a

method that Jimmy has had no previous experience with, and is interested in experimenting with it to

try to gain some flexibility.

IV. Reasons for Selecting the Conditioning Program

At our first session, I guided Jimmy through the 13 Fundamental Mat exercises as they are listed

in the Mat workbook to get an overview of how Jimmy learned, how he moved, and which areas needed

attention. Being an experienced mover, he was interested in learning all the details of each exercise. He

wanted to know the muscle focus, he wanted to see the movement, and he wanted to integrate the

breathing pattern. So for the first 5-10 sessions, fitting 13 exercises in an hour was challenging but

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feasible because of his good body control and awareness. Surprisingly, however, his hip flexors,

hamstrings and back extensors displayed unusual tightness and weakness, which made performing

certain mat exercises a challenge. So even though Jimmy’s main Pilates goal was to reduce tightness in

his body and develop flexibility to enhance his weight training performance, I quickly realized that this

would be a long term goal. In the mean time, I decided to focus his introductory Pilates program on

some short term goals that would help him start his journey towards gaining balanced muscular strength

and flexibility.

The first short term goal, was to have Jimmy practice a mat-focused Pilates program with

emphasis on form and precision. Since Jimmy’s exercise schedule already includes three weight lifting

workouts per week, I decided to design a Pilates program for him that was focused on mat exercises to

allow his body to recover from his constant resistance training. Additionally, the focus on mat work

would provide Jimmy, who is new to Pilates, with a strong Pilates foundation and prepare him for work

on the different Pilates apparatuses in the future.

The second short-term goal was to help Jimmy become familiar with the fundamental mat

exercises to create better flow in the movement. Initially, moving through the 13 Fundamental Mat

exercises was a bit challenging from a time perspective because Jimmy was interested in learning all the

aspects of the exercise, movement, breath pattern, the muscle focus. As a result, there was a lot of

starting and stopping that affected the flow of our session.

The third short-term goal was to help Jimmy become aware of the curve in his lower back while

in sitting position. Although Jimmy has a relatively good standing posture, his sitting posture is not ideal

because of his tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors, and week back extensors. As a result, Spine stretch, is

one of Jimmy’s most a challenging exercises. While performing the set-up, rounding his lower back is

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something Jimmy has difficulty avoiding. Initially, he did not even realize that his lower back was curved.

I tried giving him cues such as “sit-up straight”, “lengthen your back out of your hips”, and “imagine your

sits bones pressing down into the floor while your spine pulls up and away”, but he didn’t make any

adjustments. When cues such as these did not help him engage his low back muscles, we experimented

with some assists (e.g.: rolled-up towel, pillow), and modifications (e.g.: bent knees) to try to remove

the curve from his lower back.

The final short-term goal was to include Leg Work in program to strengthen Jimmy’s hip

extensors. One reason for working on hip extensor strength was that Jimmy’s opposing muscles, his

hip-flexors, exhibited tightness and over activity. During Leg Lifts/Leg Changes, for example, Jimmy

experience great discomfort in his hip flexors. In the set-up, I emphasized that the abdominals were

responsible for the leg movement, and cued him to relax his hips. But when the cuing didn’t work, we

experimented by modifying the angle of his knee joint, so Jimmy could disengage his hip flexors from

performing the action. Since over activity and tightness in hip flexors could be due to weak hip

extensors, Leg Work exercises with a Muscle Focus on Hip Extensors (Hamstrings and Gluteus maximus)

we included in his program to bring his opposing hip muscles back into balance.

V. Client Conditioning Program Utilizing the Block System

In the following table, I’ve included the Mat Focused Introductory Program Jimmy has been

practicing. In addition, I’ve also included follow-up programs that incorporate the different Pilates

apparatuses and include exercises that will help Jimmy stretch and strengthen his hip flexors, hip

extensors and back extensors.

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Table 1: Jimmy’s Current and Future Pilates Programs Program 1 Program 2 Program 3

Sessions 1-10 Sessions 11-20 Sessions 21+

Warm up

MAT: Pelvic curl, Spine Twist

Supine, Chest Lift, Chest Lift

with Rotation, Single Leg Lift,

Leg Changes, Leg Circles

MAT: Pelvic curl, Spine Twist

Supine, Chest Lift, Chest Lift with

Rotation

CADILLAC: Roll UP with

RUBar, Mini Roll-Ups, Mini

Roll-ups Oblique, Roll-Up Top

Loaded

MAT: Roll up, Spine twist

supine, Double leg stretch,

Single leg stretch, Criss cross

Foot Work x

REFORMER: Parallel Heels,

Parallel Toes, V- Toes, Open V-

Heels, Open V- Toes, Calf raises,

Prances, Prehensile, Single leg

heel, Single leg toes

CADILLAC: Parallel Heels,

Parallel Toes, V- Toes, Open V-

Heels, Open V- Toes, Calf

raises, Prances, Prehensile,

Single leg heel, Hip opener

WUNDA CHAIR: Parallel Heels,

Parallel Toes, V- Toes, Open V-

Heels, Open V- Toes, Calf

raises, Single leg heel, Single

leg toes

Abdominal

Work

MAT: Hundred prep, Roll-up REFORMER: Hundred prep REFORMER: Hundred,

Coordination

CADILLAC: Breathing with

PTBar, Bottom Lift with RUBar

Hip Work x

REFORMER: Frog, Circles (Down,

Up), Openings

CADILLAC: Basic leg spring-

Frog, Circles (Down, Up),

Walking, Bicycles

CADILLAC: Single leg supine-

Frog, Circles (Down, Up), Hip

extension, Bicycles

Spinal

Articulation

MAT: Roll like a ball, Spine

stretchx

CADILLAC: Monkey original,

Tower prep

MAT: Roll over

Stretches x

REFORMER: Standing Lunge LADDER BARREL: Gluteals,

Hamstrings, Adductors, Hip

flexors

REFORMER: Kneeling Lunge,

Side Split

Full Body

Integration (F/I)

MAT: Elephant Set-up on floor REFORMER: Up stretch 1,

Elephant

CADILLAC: Thigh stretch with

RUBar, Kneeling Cat Stretch

REFORMER: Up stretch 2,

Long stretch

Arm Work x

REFORMER: Arms supine series -

Extension, Adduction, Up/Down

Circles, Triceps

CADILLAC: Arms standing

series- Chest expansion, Hug-a-

tree, Circles Up/Down,

Punches, Biceps

REFORMER: Arms sitting

series- Chest expansion,

Biceps, Rhomboids, Hug-a-

tree, Salute

Full Body

Integration

(A/M)

x x x

REFORMER: Knee stretch

series- Round Back, Flat Back

Leg Work

MAT: Hip extension bent knee,

Hip abduction bent knee, Hip

extension straight knee,

Adductor lift

WUNDA CHAIR: Leg press

standing

WUNDA CHAIR: Hamstring

curl

REFORMER: Hamstring curl,

Single leg skating

Lateral Flexion

and Rotation

MAT: Side lift MAT: Saw, Spine Twist WUNDA CHAIR: Side stretch REFORMER: Side over on Box

Back ExtensionMAT: Back extension REFORMER: Breaststroke prep WUNDA CHAIR: Swan basic REFORMER: Long Box Series-

Breaststroke, Pull straps 1, Pull

straps 2Rest Position, Standing roll-down

Standing Roll-down, Breathing supine

BlockMAT Focused

Introductory Program

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VI. Conclusion: Goal Assessment

For an athlete like Jimmy, who is motivated by strength building over flexibility exercises,

increasing muscle mobility will take time. We’ve only been working together for a couple months, but

Jimmy has gradually become more familiar with the fundamental mat program I’ve designed for him, to

the point where I don’t have to give detailed instruction about how to perform the different exercises.

As a result, I’ve been able to integrate transitions into his program that have helped his session flow

better.

One thing we are still striving for is performing the fundamental exercises with precision and

good form. Although sitting Spine Stretch is still a challenging exercise for Jimmy, he now knows how to

respond to the back extension cues that I give him because he is more aware of the curve in his lower

back. And as he sets-up the exercise, you can see that he is thinking and working with great intention to

connect with his lower back muscles to lessen the C-curve in his spine.

The muscular imbalance between his hip flexors and hip extensors is still present in Jimmy’s

body, but to a lesser degree. When I recently asked him, if he noticed any difference in his body since

he started Pilates, he said that his body feels “less stiff”. With continued practice, and the integration of

the different Pilates apparatuses in his program, Jimmy will continue to move toward correcting his

muscular imbalance, developing flexibility, and improving his strength training performance. But in the

mean time, alleviation from aches and pains is a good start for this weightlifter.

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Bibliography

Clippinger, Karen S. Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007. Print. Isacowitz, Rael. Mat: Movement Analysis. Costa Mesa, CA: Body Arts and Science International. 2000-2012. Print Isacowitz, Rael. Reformer: Movement Analysis. Costa Mesa, CA: Body Arts and Science International. 2000-2012. Print Isacowitz, Rael. Study Guide: Comprehensive Course. Costa Mesa, CA: Body Arts and Science International. 2000-2014. Print Isacowitz, Rael. Wunda Chair/Ladder Barrel: Movement Analysis. Costa Mesa, CA: Body Arts and Science International. 2000-2014. Print Isacowitz, Rael, and Karen S. Clippinger. Pilates Anatomy. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2011. Print. Wirhed, Rolf. Athletic Ability: The Anatomy of Winning. New York: Harmony, 1984. Print.

Coco, Rochelle. Fix the Posture. Fixtheneck, 2011. Web. 9 Sept. 2014 .