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Can Pilates help you with your game of golf?
With nearly 25 million people playing golf in the U.S. alone it
is one of the most popular sports around today. Many golfers will
pay a lot of money to gain an advantage over their golfing buddies.
They buy the latest golf clubs, gloves, DVD's, golf carts etc but
very few of them do anything with the biggest influencing factor
of how well they will play their own bodies!
Well golfers such as Rich Beem, Grace Park and Tiger Woods spend
a lot of time conditioning their bodies to play golf by strength
training and Pilates and it certainly works for them. But the real
question is will Pilates help you improve your game?
I should point out I don’t play golf! The only evidence
I have is what I have read in the press and anecdotal evidence
from my clients. Nearly all my clients who play golf tell me that
their game has improved since starting Pilates. Coincidence? I
think not! There are a lot of similarities between Pilates exercises
and the type of movements necessary to whack that little white
ball down the green.
If we look carefully at what Pilates exercises can do for us,
we will find that they can:
- Improve concentration.
- Increase range of motion in hips and shoulders.
- Strengthen abdominals, hips, core, trunk and back.
- Increase flexibility.
- Improve stability of shoulders, hips, trunk, core and back
These points translate into a better golf swing because:
- With improved stability you can strike the ball without the
body collapsing or twisting.
- Improved core strength and hip stability should enable faster
rotation, which equates to hitting the ball harder.
- Concentration improves, enabling you to ignore distractions.
- Improved stamina allows you to play more consistently and for
longer without becoming fatigued.
- Muscle imbalances, which can affect shoulders, back, hips,
arms and legs are returned to normal, enabling your body to function
as it was designed to.
- There is less chance of injury, due to improved stamina, strength
and flexibility.
To be fair, Pilates was not specifically designed to help improve
your Golf game! But with a few Golf specific exercises added (which
any Pilates instructor could easily design), Pilates could enhance
not only your performance but also your enjoyment of the game.
So, to cut to the chase, if I played golf I would certainly consider
taking up Pilates! Not only would it improve my game, but more
importantly as far as I’m concerned, it would significantly
reduce my chances of avoiding some of the common injuries most
golfers suffer from, such as sore backs, hips, arms and shoulders.
Trust me - at my age I need all the help I can get!
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