Welcome to the December edition of Pilates Central News.

In this edition:

• Winner takes it all
• Wizard of Pilates
• Roll with it
• Hammering Pilates

Winner takes it all

Pilates is still number one in the fitness charts. The health platform ClassPass has just published its 2025 report on global fitness trends and for the third year running Pilates remains the most booked workout, with a 66 per cent increase in bookings this year. Pilates beat running, yoga, strength training, cycling, barre, gym time, boxing, dance and low impact training. The report comments that Pilates’ success saw it, “cementing its role as both a global fitness staple and a cultural phenomenon.”

Indeed Pilates can be a vital complement for lots of popular sports and some not so obvious ones. It is excellent for both preventing and aiding recovering from injury.

England rugby international George Ford recently praised Pilates for its role in helping with his kicking and extending his career. In football Cristiano Ronaldo has used Pilates to boost his phenomenal leaping for headers while Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has used Pilates to aid some prodigious high-kicks and volleys. While in cricket bowler Joffra Archer has spoken of how Pilates has helped him overcome long-term injuries.

In golf the great Tiger Woods credited Pilates with improving his game, helping him maintain proper alignment when he rotates his upper body to take a swing and reducing the strain on his lower back and shoulders.

Scottish golfer and Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie has spoken about the benefits of Pilates for the older golfer, saying: “There is no question it [Pilates] helps. It’s the flexibility that stops us. It’s what stopped Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros in his later years, Ian Woosnam really. It stopped Sandy Lyel many times… I’m very lucky, I’m very flexible, but I’ve got to keep at it.”

Last year several members of the Chicago Bears American football team revealed that more than 20 of their players had taken up Pilates. The Bears’ Dominique Robinson cited how it improved his focus: “You don’t think about breathing sometimes, you know? It’s kind of crazy, but that helps kind of calm things down; gets your body in a position where it can work and function the correct way.”

In cycling professional mountain biker world champions like Swiss legend Nino Schurter have made Pilates a key part of their training. The mountain bikers utilise Pilates in order to make small gains in explosive power. Pilates can also help with preventing common cycling injuries such as lower back, hip and knee pain.

Pilates can aid both park and ultra runners too. London Marathon Events describes Reformer Pilates as, “a game changing cross training tool for runners at every level — whether you want to build a foundation, sharpen your form prevent an injury or recover from one. Just one or two sessions a week can transform your stride and keep you strong.”

The advantage of Pilates for long-distance runners is that as much of it is done lying down it allows runners to build strength without putting too much pressure on their legs or overloaded joints. It can reduce any wobbliness as a runner’s foot hits the ground by improving balance and core stability.

Whatever sport you do Reformer Pilates can help by both improving the muscle groups you need for that sport and also concentrating on areas that might not be used so much. Balance, mobility, core strength and breathing will help too. When it comes to sport it’s understandable why so many regard Pilates as top of the league.

Wizard of Pilates

“Pilates teacher from Surrey wins biggest role of her life of the year in Wicked for Good alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo,” is how the Sun reports the news that Pilates teacher Bethany Weaver is playing a cameo role as Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz in the hit movie Wicked: For Good.

Weaver runs the Pilates and Dance UK studio in Surrey, where Beth teaches Pilates, Barre and Reformer classes and strives, “to bring you the joy of dance and power of Pilates alongside restoring a positive, joyous attachment to moving your body.”

Her other job is as a choreographer and actor in musical theatre and she has appeared in West End hits Oklahoma and Broken Wings. Bethany, 30, has done pretty well to get the role since Taylor Swift was at one time in contention and Judy Garland made Dorothy immortal in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, based on L Frank Baum’s novels.

The original musical Wicked was a prequel about the witches of Oz, while Wicked: For Real is set at the same time as The Wizard of Oz. It might be handy having a Pilates teacher on set as Weaver gets to appear alongside the Tin Man, who could do with working on his flexibility, the Scarecrow who surely needs some core work and the Cowardly Lion, who probably needs to concentrate on his breathing.

Roll with it

“The two-minute daily Pilates exercise that’s great for posture, alignment and mobility,” reads the Independent’s feature on the Pilates roll-down. The roll-down is described as a “reset for your spine.”

The roll-down is one of Joseph Pilates original 34 mat-based exercises. It involves standing up and from the head down slowly articulating your back, allowing your arms to hang loose, bending your knees and allowing the spine to be fully expended as you touch your feet and then slowly returning to the upright position.

Pilates teacher Abby McLachlan from the East of Eden studio tells the Independent the move is great for spinal flexion and better mobility: “It uses the abdominals to control the movement and it can help with back and neck tension. It’s a great exercise for posture and alignment too, which is why it’s often used in classes to start or finish the exercises. As a Pilates teacher, you can see a lot about how someone moves if you ask them to perform a roll down.”

Another advantage of the roll-down is that it is an exercise that can be done at home in order to keep flexible even on a rest day. Clearly a case for having a roll with your lunch.

Hammering Pilates

Callum Wilson is one of a growing number of top footballers to enthuse about Pilates. In a recent interview with Wilson, the Times’ Gary Jacob commented: “Callum Wilson is a refreshingly candid interviewee. He is open about not being your conventional footballer, his bumpy journey to the elite, and unwavering determination to prove people wrong. The West Ham United striker is happy to open up about his art collection, doing Yin Yang yoga and Pilates.”

Wilson overcame ACL injuries to both his legs to make England’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He has clearly found Pilates beneficial in his rehabilitation, so much so that designers KTM were, “thrilled when Premier League footballer Callum Wilson asked them to design a Pilates studio with a nature-inspired them.”

Wilson’s “light and bright” home studio, which he shares with wife Stacey, has several large potted plants and according to KTM, “Earthly materials and a calming colour palette creates a warm and relaxing design. This paired with ambient lighting elevates the space, evoking a Zen atmosphere.”

Wilson overcame a difficult upbringing to play for Coventry, Bournemouth and Newcastle and has scored four goals so far this season for West Ham. Despite being 33 he still has ambitions to make the England squad for this summer’s World Cup. Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber and Everton’s Jack Grealish have also recently utilised Pilates so designer studios for top pros may well be catching on.

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