Crafting Elite Athletes with Pilates

In Australia, if you are an elite athlete and need professional Pilates instruction, one of the first names that comes to mind is Helen Stamatakos. Helen has supported some of the best in the sports industry and that list is as long as a track field. With over 20 years of experience, Helen is drawing on a lifetime of learning to support the goals of elite athletes locally as well as across the globe.

She’s supported Olympians, NRL (rugby league) players, divers, international soccer players, leading international cricketers, gymnasts, golfers, basketballers, entire teams such as the Sydney Kings basketball team, A league soccer teams as well as the Oklahoma rowing team.

So what strategies does Helen put in place to make these professional athletes be at the top of their field?

Helen explains… “I spend a lot of time watching them in action through past videos or footage and discuss any concerns or issues that they have. I work with their support team like coaches or other professionals they are dealing with and physios, to make sure all their goals can be achieved and tailor exercises to help solve any issues and to improve their movement patterns,” said Helen.

“In my experience, many of these athletes notice that they achieve personal bests when they do Pilates. When I work with teams they report having minimal injuries during their playing season. I’ve worked with professional athletes like four-time Olympic Diver Melissa Wu - helping her with rehabilitation after a back injury. We focused a lot on strengthening exercises and diving-specific Pilates strategies for the Tokyo Olympics. While with rugby league player Shaun Johnson we concentrated on creating an intensive Pilates program to help rehabilitate him back onto the field after he ruptured his achilles tendon and had nine months off the field. What all of these athletes have in common is that long after I helped them with their recovery, they continued with Pilates to maintain their strength and mobility.

“If there’s one thing I get them all to focus on it is core strength, it’s my non-negotiable with all my elite athletes. Recruiting the deep core muscles are most important for spine stabilisation. All of the athletes I work with are made to do the hundreds, teaser, double leg stretch, criss-cross and the roll up,” said Helen.

“I also make sure that I tailor key exercises to their sport-specific movements. For example with Melissa Wu (a four-time Olympic diver), she uses pikes in her sport, so I focus on specific exercises such as tendon stretch on the reformer to compliment this. And with Olympic basketballer Cayla George we focus on exercises like the mountain climber on the Wunda chair while bouncing a ball to simulate the playing technique of dribbling. Everything I do with these clients is about making them perform at their optimum best. Everything I do with these clients is about making them perform better.

“For others, my goals is to take them out of their comfort zone to challenge them greatly. Runner Rohan Browning is a personality who comes in and often wants to do his own exercises or direct me for the session. And so I have to apply the hard approach and say ‘no’ – that’s my job to direct you! Therefore I need to build their trust and be confident in what I give them so they don't feel like they're struggling or it seems too difficult and they ‘fail’ with an exercise,” Helen explained.

It’s also Helen’s background as a high school teacher that’s made her the teacher she is today. “My training as a high school teacher in education forms the bedrock of my Pilates instructional approach. It has enabled me to provide clear instructions, have leadership skills, a strong work ethic, be able to problem solve and adapt to circumstances such as working around injuries or adjusting clients in certain situations, being able to think outside the box and provide quality sessions in a very fun, light-hearted environment.

“If I had to share my biggest learnings from working with various athletes it’s that I need to be flexible with my availability and adjust things to suit their training needs. Sometimes their attendance can be inconsistent due to demanding training schedules so we have to work with what they’ve got. I’m also dealing with high egos and high performers who often get frustrated if they can’t deliver or do some exercises, so it can be a humbling experience for them too,” said Helen.

And with the Olympics in Paris around the corner Helen is soon to help aspiring elite athletes put their best step forward and reach for glory.

The types of athletes Helen has worked with is below….

*Athletics- Rohan Browning / Ella Nelson (Olympians)

*NRL players – Tyson Frizell / Shaun Johnson / Josh Mansour / Jason Saab / Reagan Campbell Gillard / Luke Metcalf / Ben Hunt / Jaydn SuA / Kyle Flannigan / Bronson Xerri / James Segeyaro

*Diving – Melissa Wu (4 time Olympian) Brittany O’Brien

* Matildas – Alanna Kennedy / Laura Brock / Kyra Cooney Cross / Charli Grant / Amy Harrison / Courtney Nevin

* A league soccer – Amy Harrison / Vedran Janjanovic / Kosta Grozos / Phil Cancar / Nicholas Olsen

* Steve Waugh – Australian Cricket Captain and sporting Legend

* Basketball – Kevin Lisch / Brad Newley / Cayla George / Xavier Rathan-Mayes

* Gymnastics – Enid Sung (Commonwealth Games Medalist) / Alex Eedle

*Golf – Pro golfer Scott Arnold

*Sport teams – Future Matildas / Sydney Kings / Sydney Flames / NRL Dragons / A League soccer teams

Quotes from some of the athletes below

“I call Helen the GOAT because she is the greatest Pilates Instructor there is. I came to Helen as I had a history of injuries that I couldn’t get on top of. Straight away she understood all my body’s tendencies and tailored Pilates to it. Even when I moved to New Zealand to re-join the Warriors, I undertook virtual classes with Helen. I can’t thank her enough for her time and love to get my body strong.”

Shaun Johnson - Professional Rugby League Player

“There is never a dull moment at Pilates Insync. Pilates has quickly become one of my favourite forms of training as a professional footballer. I appreciate how it targets those little intricate muscles that often go overlooked in my other training routines. Feeling that satisfying burn in those muscles is truly invigorating. Pilates has become my new passion, and I can’t thank Helen enough for her expertise in making me a better athlete.”
Alanna Kennedy - Professional Footballer (Matildas)

Helen’s hall of fame

Helen Stamatakos is the founder and owner of Pilates Insync in Menai, Sydney, Australia. She has over 20 years’ experience and a unique teaching style specialising in training world renown elite athletes across a wide spectrum of sports and disciplines.

Helen is now an educator with Pilates ITC organisation where she is passing her vast knowledge and expertise to the future Pilates generation.