Pilates

Lifelong tennis player Rhonda noticed that she approached her movement and shots differently when using her Pilates knowledge

Tennis is a high speed, high impact game requiring mobility, flexibility and power. Pilates is a great way to boost your performance by improving spinal rotation and extension, abdominal control and muscle strength. Here are Flex’s 4 favourite exercise to help you with your tennis game. Perform them regularly for a better range of motion, a more powerful swing and an improved performance on the court.

Evelyn Hue took up Pilates over ten years ago in 2005 our of curiosity, and it wasn’t long before she had trained to be an instructor (check out her classes at Flex), adding to her qualifications as a fitness consultant, personal trainer and group fitness instructor at her company EvieFit. While it helps her with all her sports – think running, surfing and golf – she has found it has been particularly beneficial when it comes to her swimming and here she explains why.

Petrina Steains is a long-time runner and brought Pilates in to her exercise routines after she gave birth to her third child in order to help prevent injury and condition her body. She loves the connection to and understanding of her body that Pilates gives her physically, while mentally the focus Pilates has taught her is a great boost to her confidence and stamina.

If your yoga flow is tiring you out faster than it should, or if you’re not sure you’re quite nailing your poses, turn to a Pilates class for a spot of biomechanical enlightenment. The body awareness that is part and parcel of a Pilates class can help you avoid injury and increase your yoga stamina by ensuring you’re moving in total biomechanical harmony. Flex co-founder Heather explains the magic behind the synergy between Pilates and yoga.

Jan has practiced dragon boating for 13 years. She loves the team spirit of the sport, being outside on the water immersed in the beauty of the sea, and the challenge and fun. “Races are very intense. You usually have between 18 and 22 individual paddlers, but essentially you are all stroking together as if you are one giant person. The paddles must be entering the water, ripping through and exiting all at the same time.” A Pilates instructor for 11 years, she explains how Pilates can hugely improve your dragon boating game.

Every year the world celebrates Pilates on Pilates Day, the first Saturday of May. Across the globe community events and promotions honour the legacy left by Josef Pilates and the healing he has brought to millions in the past, as well as today and going into the future. Flex Studio will be celebrating this day throughout the month of May, so come in and take advantage of our promotions and freebies!

There’s a reason your girlfriend can’t get enough of mat classes—they work. From a stronger core to better sex, here’s why Pilates is great for guys, too. While women tend to dominate mat classes, Pilates holds plenty of benefits for men. Whether you’re a power lifter or prepping for your first marathon, a Pilates class can help fine-tune your performance.

By Maddy Lucier Increased strength. Explosive power. Better flexibility. Increased range of motion. Faster speed. Injury prevention. Performance improvement. Better posture. Solid balance. Is Pilates starting to sound good yet? Escaping the “that’s just for girls” mentality, Pilates has become popular among professional football players in the US with a number of teams incorporating Pilates