Steven Pienaar: Get stronger where it matters

Everton’sSteven Pienaar might have to look up to many of the Premier League’s midfield giants, but rolled in to his 5ft 7in frame is a wiry competitor, armed with physical strength and explosive flexibility in equal measure.

How has he managed to build such athleticism? By spending hours in the gym lifting heavy weights? No. By stuffing his face with red meat to pack on the muscle? No.

Pienaar owes his strength on the ball to an unorthodox form of training – Pilates. Yep that’s right, it’s not just for girls, it’s also for elite level Premier League footballers.

Everton’s diminutive playmaker attributes his ability to turn defenders inside out with sharp changes in direction, to the core strength he has built by performing pilates.

To find out how you can get stronger where it matters watch this video.

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“Once a week I do pilates. I’ve got a pilates instructor coming in. It’s really important for me after the operation I had.

“My core was really weak and I had to work on it a lot because my game is a lot of turning and twisting and if your core is really strong it’s easy for you to turn away.

“I work with the fitness coaches a lot on my strength and that’s it."