When men think of increasing their weightlifting performance, they usually do not consider Pilates’ slow, controlled movement as their first choice. However, Pilates for men interested in weightlifting does much more than help you stretch.
Using a reformer is the secret weapon of famous athletes such as LeBron James and Andy Murray because it helps them increase their power holistically, producing results that last.
Studies indicate that people who weightlift regularly can see numerous health benefits, including a decrease in general mortality risk. However, if you are in it not just for the health benefits but for the satisfaction of adding that new plate to your barbell, Pilates can help a lot more than you might think.
What Is “Power” in Weightlifting?
When weightlifters say they want to increase their power, they usually mean how quickly they can perform lifts such as clean and jerk that require sudden, heavy movement. Power is about much more than muscle size.
Achieving optimal power during a lift also means reducing unnecessary energy expenditure, keeping your body healthy and energized, and addressing areas of weakness. If the body is imbalanced and relies on nearby muscles to compensate, it cannot perform its task either.
More power can make exercises easier and safer; imagine doing a clean and jerk slowly rather than in one smooth motion. The slow version would likely place an unhealthy strain on the body. However, explosive power in and of itself is not enough. You may still be exposed to injury if you do not use proper form, and Pilates can help with that, too.
Boosting Your Weightlifting Power With Pilates
Some of the elements of power, such as muscle size, can be improved in several ways, of which Pilates is just one. However, reformer work offers some advantages that other types of training often lack.
Start With Balance
If you cannot balance evenly, you put yourself (and possibly others) at risk every time you lift. Good balance keeps the weight distributed evenly across the body. Not only does this improve gains by training muscles equally, but it also reduces the risk of injury.
As with many people, you may have had slip-ups where a weight drifts off to one side, and in trying to bring it back into the correct position, you feel a twinge in your back or shoulders. This is a symptom of a lack of balance.
Pilates focuses specifically on balance using controlled movements. You will develop heightened proprioception, or an awareness of yourself in space, to gauge your body’s form and make adjustments to keep yourself balanced and safe.
Build Muscle
Pilates can help you build the muscle necessary to achieve your weightlifting goals, but in addition to the major muscle groups, you will also be training muscles you might not even know you have. Stabilizer muscles are essential for weightlifting because they make minute adjustments to form. They also support the larger muscles.
Pilates is effective in developing muscular strength from a holistic perspective. It strengthens not just your bicep but your entire arm. Now apply that principle to your whole body!
Stop Compensating
As part of muscular training in Pilates, weightlifters can also learn to compensate less, reducing the risk of injury. When you lift with your legs in a deadlift, the main muscles in action should be the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. However, if these muscles do not have sufficient strength to perform the action, your body may recruit the help of the lower back and pelvic muscles, which can lead to injury.
Pilates teaches muscle groups how to work together and trains both sides of the body equally so that no compensation is necessary.
Stay Flexible
Flexibility is invaluable for weightlifting power. It allows for the full range of motion an exercise requires, reducing the risk of recruiting improper muscles to assist with the task. It can also decrease the likelihood of injuries and allow muscles to exert full force, increasing your power.
Pilates is heavily weighted for flexibility training throughout the body, and the reformer is used to achieve stretches that might otherwise be difficult.
Level Up Your Lifts With Reformer Pilates Classes
If you want to improve your power for weightlifting, Pilates can be a valuable addition to your arsenal. It boosts strength by increasing muscle size and creating a body ready to act holistically and synergistically.
Contact RTR Pilates to sign up for a beginner class and see your power increase!
