The Above picture shows that exercises like we do in Sports Pilates improves running economy. A simple question then is what is a running economy and why is it important?
Running economy is generally accepted as one of three major factors in running performance. VO2max and a good lactate threshold being the other two. Running economy simply means how efficiently you can run at a given intensity.
Using a car analogy VO2 max relates to the horsepower and size of the engine. The bigger the engine (lungs and heart capacity) the quicker and longer it can run. Lactate threshold relates to the efficiency of the engine. Diesel cars burn less fuel at 100kmh than petrol cars. In humans if you can burn less carbohydrate fuel at a given intensity than your opponents this will give you a big advantage. Running economy is the state of the body of the car and the tyres. You could have a great engine that is efficient but if the tyres are not pumped up it will burn a lot more fuel.
It is the same with our bodies. If we leak energy through a weak core not keeping us in the ideal posture, inadequate leg strength not pushing us off correctly or tightness in our joints making it harder to move this reduces our efficiency. This in turn can reduce our performance. The graphs above highlight how improving core stability, leg strength and the other aspects we cover in Sports Pilates allows much greater use of our engines. Getting more out of what we currently have.
