NFL's Super Bowl 2025 Top Players' Pilates Training Techniques: A Look at 4 Key Methods from a Top Instructor
Revamped Article:
Let's cut to the chase: Pilates isn't just for delicate dancers anymore. Nope, it's a full-on power move for some of the toughest athletes out there, and the Kansas City Chiefs are leading the charge.
According to ClassPass's 2024 Look Back Report, Pilates was the top globally booked class last year. And who's been hitting the reformers hard? None other than the Chiefs. ESPN even shared a video of a few of their star players tackling Pilates back in 2021, and guess what? They're still at it, gearing up for Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But why the sudden shift from bicep curls and agility drills to Pilates? Well, let's hear it from the horse's mouth, or in this case, the Chiefs' instructor, Kahley Schiller.
So what's the deal with Pilates and football players?
First off, let's set the record straight. If you think Pilates is just for delicate ballerinas, you're dead wrong. NFL players are breaking those stereotypes left and right. Joseph Pilates, the method's original founder, arrived from Germany in the 1920s and opened a studio in New York City. Initially, most of his clientele were men, but as the modality gained popularity, more women joined in. Fast forward to today, and you can see it's come a long way, baby. Take a scroll through Instagram, say, the Pilates tag on TikTok, and you'll find it's chock-full of beefy football players.
So, how did these top athletes find their way to the studio? It all started about 14 years ago, when quarterback Trent Green's wife, Julie, started taking classes with Schiller. She convinced Green to give it a try, and that was the first big Chiefs connection. Word-of-mouth is everything, and it's all grown from there. Since then, Schiller has trained both offensive and defensive players, including Tershawn Wharton, a defensive tackle who's been instrumental in introducing many of his fellow defensive linemen to Pilates. You'll often find players like Derrick Nnadi and Malik Herring dropping by the studio.
Why should football players give Pilates a shot?
Now that we've cleared up any misconceptions about who Pilates is "for," let's dive into the benefits for football players. Schiller's take? It's extremely beneficial for performance on the field. In their everyday training, which consists of agility drills, heavy lifting, and HIIT workouts, football players work their larger muscles like their glutes and quads. But Pilates comes into play by creating symmetry and balance throughout their entire bodies, making their anterior chain (front of body) and posterior chain (back of body) equally as strong. This, in turn, makes them more powerful.
Take, for example, Wharton, who's been practicing Pilates regularly. According to Schiller, it's helped him feel more stable and strong when he needs to explode out of the three-point stance on the field (a position in which two feet and one hand are on the ground before the ball is snapped). Plus, it played a crucial role in his recovery from a torn ACL in 2022.
Not only does Pilates help prevent injuries, but it may also help protect players from getting hurt in the first place due to its focus on strengthening all muscles, not just the larger ones. For instance, if you're doing a heavy back squat, your quads and glutes might go all-in, but if you do the Pilates clamshell exercise, it'll help target the small side-butt muscles (your hip abductors). By focusing on these small muscles that support a joint, you can improve its stability, which contributes to greater (and safer!) mobility.
In addition, Pilates simply gives players a deeper understanding of their bodies. "It teaches you how to really work your body, and it teaches you an understanding of how to engage your muscles versus just going through the movements," Schiller says. "When you're more in tune with your body, you know how to efficiently work your body, and that brings confidence."
Schiller's Favorite Pilates Moves for the Kansas City Chiefs
Schiller's got a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to tailoring Pilates exercises to football players' specific needs. "I put [the players] in different positions with their feet on the foot bar of the reformer, and then I align their bodies from the feet up," she says. "It helps them strengthen their feet, ankles, knees, and hips." On the field, this can help with running speed and tackling, for instance.
How to do it:
- With the carriage toward the bottom of the reformer, lie face-up on the reformer with your head on the head rest, your arms by your sides, and your feet on the foot bar.
- Squeeze your core and glutes, then press both feet into the foot bar to push the carriage toward the top of the reformer, extending your legs until they're straight.
- Bend your knees to slide the carriage back toward the bottom of the reformer.
- Repeat for a set number of reps, then lower your hips back down to the starting position.
"Working on the posterior chain is important too, which is where pulling straps comes in," Schiller says. This exercise targets pretty much all the major muscles of your posterior chain (rhomboids, erector spinae, lats, glutes, hamstrings, and calves).
How to do it:
- Lie face-down on a Pilates reformer long box with your shoulders at the top edge of the box and your body in a straight line from head to toes. Grab a strap in each hand, palms facing down, as high up as you can, ensuring there's no slack in the straps.
- Squeeze the muscles in your upper body, core, and lower body, then pull the straps down and back toward your hips.
- Reach your arms forward to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for a set number of reps.
"Your core is your powerhouse," Schiller says. Indeed, in order to generate power and explosiveness and prevent being knocked off balance during tackles, NFL players need a strong core. This exercise strengthens the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques.
How to do it:
- Sit on a Pilates reformer short box with your feet flat on the reformer, hips-width apart. With your arms out straight in front of you, hold each end of a small PVC pipe or hand towel with your palms facing down.
- Squeeze your core and lean back, slowly lowering your upper body as far down as you can.
- Lift your upper body all the way back up to a sitting position.
- Repeat for a set number of reps.
Alternate option: You can target your obliques by doing a side bend on the box. Sit on a Pilates reformer box on your right glute with the right side of your body toward the back wall. Place your left foot flat on the reformer (tucked under a strap) with your left leg straight, and bend your right knee. Place your hands behind your head and lean your torso to the right. Then return to the starting position. Repeat for a set number of reps, then switch sides.
"This exercise targets the glutes, hamstrings, and calves," Schiller says. It works to create balance between the quads and hamstrings, which is essential for football players who rely on quickness and speed in their movements.
How to do it:
- With the carriage toward the bottom of the reformer, lie face-up on the reformer with your head on the head rest, your arms by your sides, and your feet together on the foot bar.
- Squeeze your core and glutes, then slowly lift your hips up toward the ceiling until you form a diagonal line from knees to hips to chest.
- Press both feet into the foot bar to push the carriage toward the top of the reformer, extending your legs until they're straight.
- Bend your knees to slide the carriage back toward the bottom of the reformer.
- Repeat for a set number of reps, then lower your hips back down to the starting position.
- NFL players are breaking the stereotype that Pilates is only for delicate ballerinas, with football players like the Kansas City Chiefs' Tershawn Wharton and Derrick Nnadi regularly attending classes.
- Pilates is beneficial for football players as it creates symmetry and balance throughout their bodies, making their anterior and posterior chains equally as strong, which in turn makes them more powerful on the field.
- Schiller, the Chiefs' instructor, tailors Pilates exercises to the players' specific needs, such as focusing on foot and ankle strength to improve running speed and tackling abilities.
- The benefits of Pilates for football players extend beyond performance, as it helps prevent injuries, strengthens all muscles, not just the larger ones, and gives players a deeper understanding of their bodies, improving overall mobility and efficiency.
