11/06/2026
FROM THE FIELD TO THE MAT ⚽
Did you know that football and Pilates are more connected than you might think?
Whether you play professionally, semi-professionally, or simply for fun, Pilates can be a powerful complement to your football training.
Through mobility, lumbopelvic control, core stability and body awareness, Pilates helps support the way football players move, recover and perform on the field.
Here are five Mat exercises that can help support your football practice:
1. Bridge / Shoulder Bridge
Helps improve lumbopelvic control, activates glutes and hamstrings, and supports pelvic organization after sprints, stops and changes of direction.
Why it connects to football: football players constantly need pelvic stability when accelerating, decelerating, jumping or kicking.
2. Scissors
Promotes hamstring mobility, pelvic control and hip-pelvis dissociation during leg movement.
Why it connects to football: it mirrors the need to move one leg freely while keeping the pelvis stable during running, kicking and directional changes.
3. Saw
Improves thoracic rotation, trunk-pelvis dissociation and mobility for turns, kicks and changes of direction.
Why it connects to football: rotational control is key for twisting, passing, shooting and reacting quickly on the field.
4. Mermaid
Releases the lateral chain, improves spine and hip mobility, and supports fuller breathing after physical load.
Why it connects to football: lateral mobility helps balance the body after repeated side movements, cuts and one-leg support actions.
5. Single Leg Kick
Works pelvic control in prone position, mobilizes quadriceps and hip flexors, and helps balance the posterior chain.
Why it connects to : it supports hip extension control and helps release the front of the thighs, often overloaded by running and kicking.
Pilates can help football players recover, reorganize and move better — from the field to the mat, and back again.
Try these exercises, feel the difference, and see you on the mat at 😉
