Pilates Studios See Traction With Nfl, Nba Players

As athletes increasingly turn to Pilates for its injury-prevention and functional benefits, a crop of successful instructors are creating businesses around training professional players

A 250-pound NFL player is likely not the first person that comes to mind when you think about Pilates, but for instructors like Kemberly Deane, that’s one of her regular clients.

Deane is the owner of Kinfolk Pilates in Atlanta, where numerous professional athletes across baseball, basketball and football flock for one-on-one Pilates instruction, with many crediting the modality for keeping them injury-free, mobile and feeling good throughout competition.

The low-impact workout — which has surged in popularity in recent years — offers a contrast to the high-impact nature of pro sports like basketball and football, Deane pointed out. That makes Pilates the ideal workout in the off-season as athletes recover or look to hone in on their weaker areas and build body awareness with controlled strength training with resistance that doesn’t load joints.

“We work on those little muscles that support those bigger muscles,” Deane told Athletech News. Her growing roster of clients includes Isaac Okoro on the Chicago Bulls and Cole Bishop on the Buffalo Bills.

“Rather than jumping right back into super intense workouts, they want to maintain some level of activity that will continue to strengthen them and support their like agility and precision in their sports and in their roles, but also is very low-impact that’s not hindering or regressing their body,” she explained.

The studio’s one-on-one format sets itself apart from mainstream Pilates franchises with larger class formats, offering what Deane calls a much more “clinical-based” approach while simultaneously offering an environment that feels gender-neutral and inclusive for those who may not normally seek out the boutique modality.

Deane is a part of a growing network of Pilates instructors tapped into the pro sports scene, supporting top athletes from the back end with sessions enhancing mobility, range of motion and flexibility to allow for longevity in the sport.

A Sport-Specific Approach to Pilates

Kenlie Reed has been working with professional athletes across the NFL, MLB and NBA for over a decade in Miami. She first began teaching the wives of athletes, and as word of mouth traveled, her network grew. 

Now, Reed has a specific kind of expertise to support athletes as she collaborates with their strength coaches and physical therapists to ensure her clients are getting the right kind of training.

“I understand the positions that they play,” Reed told ATN. “I strictly teach Pilates, but I do tend to make their sessions very position-specific.” 

That means adjusting workouts for each sport, for running backs versus linebackers, pitchers versus second basemen and adapting the movements for each season, with the off-season being more intense and in-season more focused on recovery and staying in competition.

Similar to Deane, Reed takes a layered approach, focusing on stabilizer muscles, especially around the groin and ankles, where football players often see the most injuries.

The Future of Pilates in Pro Sports

Deane is observing more mainstream adoption among professional teams, with some incorporating Pilates instructors directly into their ecosystems. Robyn Cohen, for instance, worked with the LA Dodgers for several years before joining the Cincinnati Reds as their movement and mobility coach.

Reed is observing that growth first-hand as well, especially as social media creates more visibility, helping contribute to an already consistent client base that is only growing. She’s even noticed in the last three years, more college athletes are starting their Pilates regimens early in their careers.

“They’re starting so much earlier,” she said. “It used to be that one guy got injured, then he started Pilates. I really think they found out it’s the missing piece. It’s the third leg to the chair.”

Reed said she has over 100 professional athlete clients across baseball, basketball and football. Once they see a difference in their performance, she said, that’s when they start bringing friends.

She sees Pilates as a tool for athletes to have longevity in their sports, making them less likely to tear a hamstring or encounter frequent injuries that keep them from playing throughout the season.

“Over time, with enough athletes talking about it, using it and it translating performance-wise on the court, there’ll be that buy-in,” Deane said. “I’m happy to be one of the ones pioneering it.”

Deane has found the athletes she works with are empowered through Pilates, often turning to it during a low part of their career — being benched or getting injured — and coming out more resilient as a result. 

She hopes that soon, more will see it as not just a rehab tool, but a key part of their regimen long-term and year-round.

“It’s still very new in the professional sports world,” Deane said. “There’s that stigma around it being primarily for women.”