Pilates v’s strength training

Strength training, gyms, muscley men, hot and sweaty gyms.

Is this the image that you imagine when someone says you should start doing some strength training for your running?

Don’t worry you don’t have to head to the gym, plus that’s another thing you have to try and fit into your life!

Strength training can be easily done at home and Pilates is a great way to start bringing strength into your running routine without lifting a single weight.

Why do we need to do strength training for running?

If you have hit your 40’s you will have started to notice your body changing, you’re stiffer than normal, it takes a bit longer to recover from a hard run and you seem to be getting more running niggles and maybe injuries.

This is why we need to start adding strength to our weekly routines.

Our bodies are changing, our muscles and bones are becoming weaker, our posture is changing and our balance isn’t as good as it use to be.

Plus there are lots of other things happening too.

But for runners, muscles, bones, balance, flexibility, and posture are all important to maintain to keep us running longer.

Adding strength to our running will help strengthen our muscles and this, in turn, helps to strengthen our bones. With the load that goes through our bodies as we run this is important and if we are as strong as we can be then this will help to reduce our risk of injury.

Myths of strength training for women

Why don’t we rush to strength train then? If we know it’s going to help the thing we love to do?

For years women believe that by strength training the following would happen

That they would build bug muscles
It’s better to do a cardio-based activity to keep you fit
It is only for men

These are just myths, as I mentioned before, we can’t build muscles in the same way as men so we don’t become bulky. Cardio is important as it keeps are heart-healthy, but to burn fat and keep our muscles and bones strong (and remember these are getting weaker as we age) then we need to add strength sessions in our workouts

Why Pilates?

Pilates is low impact, so for runners, it’s perfect to add to our routines.

It’s a great way to start adding strength if you have never done any before. Using your body weight to start and then add extra weight into your Pilates workouts, you will notice the difference in your running.

Pilates for runners focuses on the main running muscles not only strengthening but adding mobility as well. All this helps improve your running technique and reduces your risks of injury.

Pilates strengthens our core, glutes, legs, and upper body which also helps your balance and posture.

Check out this blog where we talk about Pilates and Posture, Can Pilates help your running posture.

Pilates v’s strength

So Pilates is great to add into your routine as it’s something you can do easily at home in as little as 10-minutes a day. When you start to feel the difference in your body and your running then that will motivate your to do more, and yes you might end up heading to the gym and lifting heavier weights but Pilates will always have a place in your training as it is so functional, aiding not only your running but weight lifting as well.