Wednesday was Pilates day for Zay Flowers. In a July 2024 interview, the Baltimore Ravens receiver described a weekly offseason appointment, and the reporter joined him for a reformer session. Flowers’s wider preparation also included strength work, conditioning, and running routes. Pilates had a scheduled place alongside those demands.
What does that session contribute to a sports performance program? Professional use makes Pilates worth examining. The case for giving it an athlete’s time depends on the purpose of the work and the evidence behind it.
Its presence in professional sports predates the latest consumer boom. In a 2015 ESPN interview excerpt published by SELF, Kevin Love said the Cleveland Cavaliers had players do Pilates during the season. Flowers’s individual schedule and Love’s account of team use show that Pilates can fit into professional preparation. Neither tells us how much it contributes to results.
What the research supports
A 2023 systematic review of Pilates in athletes identified 12 studies and reported encouraging findings in areas including balance, flexibility, and trunk strength. The underlying research varied considerably and generally examined short interventions. It provides reasons to investigate Pilates for selected physical outcomes, while leaving substantial questions about its effect on elite competition performance.
One 2018 randomized study of recreational male runners illustrates both the promise and the limits. Researchers randomized 32 runners; 28 completed the study. Both groups trained in running for 12 weeks. One group added two one-hour mat Pilates sessions weekly and improved its five-kilometer time more. But that group received additional training time, with no comparison against an equal amount of another training method. The relatively inexperienced recreational participants also limit what the findings can tell us about professionals.
A performance staff could reasonably consider those findings when evaluating supplemental work. A balance test, a recreational race and an elite match each ask different things of an athlete. The research discussed here does not establish that Pilates prevents injuries, speeds recovery, or extends careers.
A place in the program has to be earned
Adding a session creates an allocation decision. Athletes have finite time and training capacity, and a new activity needs a defined purpose. The useful question for staff is what they want to change, how they will assess it, and whether that change matters to the athlete’s sport.
Balance or trunk strength may be the target; research examines both areas. Staff also have to account for what an athlete already does. An additional session could address a gap, duplicate existing work or compete with another priority. The same activity can mean different things for two athletes on the same roster.
Sport-specific practice, speed development, conventional strength work, and conditioning retain their own roles. The evidence reviewed here provides no basis for broadly replacing them with Pilates. Rehabilitation and medical care, when required, also need to remain with the appropriate professionals.
In SportsEpreneur’s conversation with Brady Howe about athlete care, Lisa Bonta Sumii explores an approach centered on the individual athlete and collaboration among professionals. Applied to supplemental training, that principle means a specialist needs to understand the athlete’s wider program. The purpose of a session should be clear to the people coordinating the rest of the work.
When evaluating a Pilates provider, can the instructor explain the intended contribution, work with the existing staff, and recognize the limits of the service? Those questions are useful before a team commits time, space, or money.
Consumer demand raises the commercial stakes
The consumer category is growing on at least one significant booking platform. In its 2025 Look Back Report, ClassPass reported that global Pilates reservations rose 66% year over year. The report covered January 1 through October 10, 2025. Its figures describe ClassPass activity, rather than growth across the entire Pilates market or adoption by athletes.
That consumer market includes dedicated studios and reformer classes, alongside digital programs and home practice. For providers seeking sports clients, the commercial challenge is more specific than attracting someone interested in a popular workout. They need to explain where their offering belongs within an established training program.
A recognizable athlete can attract attention. A defined objective, coordination with staff, and an honest account of the evidence give a team something to evaluate. Pilates can have a credible supplemental role in sports; whether it earns a place in a particular program depends on what the session adds and what else could occupy the same training time.
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