I Train NFL Athletes on the Pilates Reformer. This Is the Exact Way You Can Use It to Rebuild the ‘Weak Links' in Your Heavy Lifts
When you picture an NFL athlete, you probably imagine a human wrecking ball who is somehow as fast as he is strong, operating as a perfect, muscle-bound balance of brute force and conditioning. You figure their daily routine consists of chaotic morning speed drills around orange cones, punishing afternoon blocking sessions, and evenings moving heavy iron in the weight room before inhaling a small mountain of food.
What you most likely don't imagine is these massive, 250-pound men gracefully mounting a Pilates reformer to survive the gridiron.
But according to Ashley Bartlett, a Pilates instructor and movement specialist who works with NFL players like DJ Turner II and Cam Grandy, that's exactly what they are doing to protect their careers. Bartlett notes that by adding the practice into your routine, "you'll start to notice like your body moves a lot healthier, a little more freely when you're doing it, especially with men."
The Overcompensation Trap
This deep mobility work becomes crucial when chronic tightness forces surrounding muscle groups to start overcompensating. In Bartlett's elite clientele, this kinetic breakdown almost always targets the backside.
"They are so quad heavy, or they take stuff so much in their upper body that we get a lot of people where we like really need to work on their glute to get fired," she says, "because that's also going to relieve a lot of low back tension and a lot of things athletes start to feel."
Heavy lifters frequently fall into this exact same trap. Just because your legs are highly developed and packed with dense muscle does not mean your glutes are actually firing when you unload a barbell. And if you've ever spent time on a physical therapist's table, you probably have vivid memories of a trainer commanding you to activate your glutes over and over.
Waking Up Sleeping Muscles
But what does "activating your glutes" even mean? Stripped of the gym jargon, activation simply means forcing a specific muscle to contract and handle its fair share of the load. When executing massive compound movements like box squats or trap-bar deadlifts, your body naturally recruits multiple muscle groups across the kinetic chain rather than isolating just one.
"I wouldn't necessarily say that [their glutes] turn off per se, but we definitely have to get some strength and coordination back into them because they power through their bigger muscles," Bartlett says.
Forcing these muscles to fire helps forge a bulletproof mind-muscle connection. When you drop into a heavy squat, this mental link maximizes motor unit recruitment to ensure you are actually building the tissue you are targeting. When the glutes show up to work, it instantly alleviates the destructive strain normally forced onto your lower back.
"Their muscles get fatigued, and the first thing that they turn off is their glute," Bartlett adds. "It pulls right into their hip flexors. So the kinetic low chain gets really disoriented on an athlete."
The Science of Intentional Movement
Data backs up this mental approach, proving that consciously focusing on the specific muscle you're targeting spikes actual muscle activity far better than just blindly moving a weight from point A to point B. By isolating the glutes with targeted activation work, you teach your nervous system exactly how to call on those fibers when the pressure is on.
This mechanical wakeup call ensures you can access that raw power later, whether you're locking out a deadlift or running up a steep incline. Activating the tissue guarantees your body moves as an integrated unit, unlocking massive performance gains while shielding your joints from compensatory injuries.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health & Fitness section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM.