pilates by manon

Pilates-based training for hockey players

In recent years, more and more athletes have turned to Pilates to enhance their performance, prevent injuries as well as recover from an injury. Athletes such as NBA All-Star Jason Kidd, PGA golfer Tiger Woods, MLB player Jason Giambi, NFL player Ruben Brown and MLB player Curt Schilling to name a few, have included this discipline in their training.

Most athletes who practice Pilates claim that it helps in developing core strength, increasing flexibility, rehabilitation after injury and creating a balance of strength throughout the entire body.”

Articles have been written on the subject and one of them can be found by clicking on the link below:

• USA Today

The program

Hockey is one of the sports that requires the most stability for the simple fact that the players are on skates.

In addition, the basic position that the players are in most of the time can leave them vulnerable in areas such as the lower back and hip flexors because of the constant “bent forward position”. With core stabilization training and a better understanding of the use of their deep stabilizing muscles, problems in those areas can be prevented and the their careers can be extended. Also, specific skills can be improved by a more effective use of the deeper muscles.

Being a native of Montreal and the daughter of a hockey player myself, I have a special interest and a love for the sport. I’ve been around hockey all of my life, which gives me a good understanding and an appreciation of its demands.

In recent years, I have been paying more attention to the sport from an analytical perspective. I have been observing the various positions and movements from a biomechanical point of view and have developed a program specific to the sport.

This program is a strategic plan to enhance performance by balancing the entire body as well as strengthening the very muscles that are specific to important hockey movements. One of the key elements of this program is that it is "functional training" i.e. the Pilates principles are translated directly into hockey motions such as the slap shot and the skate push. That is one the many facets that makes this program so effective.

Services offered:

• A 2-hour workshop

  This workshop presents the program and gives the players a basic understanding of the fundamentals of true core stabilization.

• On going team/group training

  A 1½-hour session, suggested at least twice a week for best results, in a group setting working on mats and using different training tools.

• Semi private classes

  A 1½-hour session, suggested at least twice a week for best results, with up to 3 players, using both mat work and Pilates equipment.

• Private classes

  A one on one 1½-hour session, suggested at least twice a week for best results, using both mat work and Pilates equipment. This format allows the player to benefit from full, undivided attention on his personal needs through a tailored training program.

Pilates-based training for the dancer

Pilates has been a dancer’s “secret” for years over 50 now. They have been taking advantage of the Pilates method to enhance their performance, prevent injury and recover from an injury. Developing core muscles and improving balance are two of the many benefits dancers get from adding a Pilates routine to their training.

Well-known dancers such as George Balanchine and Martha Graham became devotees of Joseph Pilates himself and regularly sent their students to them for training and rehabilitation.

In more recent years, dancers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and the late Rudolf Nureyev recognized the great value of Pilates as part of their training.

Having been a dancer for many years, I have a very strong understanding of the demands of the art and I, myself, had incorporated Pilates in my daily routine. I experienced a great improvement in my overall strength and balance.

The program I developed is therefore based on that understanding of the specific needs of the dancer. It develops more strength and balance throughout the entire body by translating the Pilates fundamentals to dance.

Services offered:

• A 2-hour workshop

  This workshop presents the program and gives the dancers a basic understanding of the fundamentals of core stabilization and how to translate it into their dance technique.

• Ongoing troupe/group training

  An hour session, suggested at least twice a week for best results, in a group setting working on mats and using different training tools.

• Semi-private classes

  An hour session, suggested at least twice a week for best results, with up to 3 dancers, using both mat work and Pilates equipment.

• Private classes

  A one-on-one hour session, suggested at least twice a week for best results, using both mat work and Pilates equipment. This format allows the dancer to benefit from full, undivided attention on his/her personal needs through a tailored program.