Pilates for golfers
It’s estimated that about 50-60 million people around the world are now playing golf. Once considered more of a leisure activity, golf has become recognized as a sport, requiring muscular strength, joint flexibility, and being able to maintain a balance between stability and mobility.
The golf swing is a complicated, coordinated movement. The moment of impact between the golf club head and the ball results in a compressive force that is estimated to be eight times your body weight. The goal of any training program should be to help the golfer improve his or her swing and to prevent injuries.
It’s estimated that approximately 60% of amateur golfers experience some type of injury while about 50% of professionals are forced to quit the game due to golf-related injuries. Golf-related injuries primarily affect the lower back, shoulder, elbows, and hands/wrists.
Working on reducing the incidence of injuries is a vital part of any training program for golfers, both amateurs and professionals. Exercises that focus on core strength, joint and spinal flexibility, proper alignment of the feet and legs, proper rotation of the shoulders, and strengthening exercises for the arms, wrists, and hands need to be incorporated into any training program in order to be successful.
Golf and Pilates are both mind/body activities
Pilates, like golf, is a mind-body system of exercises. The six principles of Pilates — centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flow — force you to use your brain to focus on what your body is doing in order to master each exercise. The elements of a good golf swing are a fluid motion, precision, accuracy, and power.
If you’re a golfer, Pilates exercises help you to develop a connection between using imagery and concentration to ensure that you’re properly carrying out the activity that you’re doing, ie. your golf swing. Pilates help you to develop strong, flexible, and toned muscles that help to improve both your balance and stability.
You learn to focus on each movement pattern involved in your golf swing by consistently repeating these movements so that you not only improve your swing, but also improve its reliability.
Better golf with less injuries
Pilates exercises, like golf, require you to focus on and consciously control all of your movements. By helping to create muscle balance, core alignment, flexibility, and good spinal mechanics, you can improve your swing as well as reduce the risk of injuries.
Located in Rancho Bernardo, Propel Pilates and Fitness is the premier studio for Pilates in North County San Diego. Our trainers use specific equipment and exercises to help strengthen your core, improve flexibility and balance, and to increase coordination to help you look, feel, and perform better.
Whether you’re a professional golfer or an amateur who likes hitting the links at one of the local courses, Pilates can give you the advantage that you’ve been looking for by helping to bring consistency to your shots and putts. Visit our website to check out our class schedule.