Posted in News by Jon Bird on 10th May 2013

We are pleased to announce that we be once again offering Pilates for Golfers at the swing studio at Shirley Park.

Fiona Steadman - Pilates Instructor


Fiona is an experienced and enthusiastic Body Control Pilates Instructor.
She is a member of the Body Control Pilates Association (Europe's largest
professional Pilates body) and is registered as a full member of the
Register of Exercise Professionals. She is also learning to play golf!



HOW DOES PILATES PRACTICE TRANSFER TO GOLF?
•Pilates improves concentration; it requires a great amount of focus––and so does golf.

•Pilates focuses on stability so that balance is improved. Poor balance in a golf swing results in poor performance.

• Pilates improves "muscle recruitment" – one of the most important – and most often overlooked – benefits of Pilates. Muscles work better in concert and synergy. With proper training, any motion becomes more efficient, from sitting to standing up, walking to swinging a golf club.

• Pilates exercises produce improved quality and increased efficiency in movement by teaching your body to use the right muscles to do the job, and those muscles perform in the right order. Your body will use a stronger muscle –– whatever muscle is available to help –– while swinging the club if the one it is supposed to use is too weak, fatigued, or lacks balance. Although, if your core can't support you sufficiently during the golf swing, your body will cheat by using whatever muscle is available to help – even if it’s the wrong one. That's the reason you begin to ache. Pilates exercises train the body to use the right muscles to do the job; to use no more than is needed to produce quality and efficient movement––as much as necessary, as little as possible.

• Pilates balances both sides of the body. There is nothing natural or symmetrical about the golf swing. Constantly moving in ways that unbalance the body leads to stresses, strains, and imbalances. Every sport has it’s own particular physical liabilities; Pilates counteracts those liabilities and rebalances the body.

•Pilates retrains the body to overcome its natural tendencies and compensations, which may result in lower scores, longer and more consistent drives, and reduced risk of injuries.
Pilates focuses on strengthening abdominal, trunk, and pelvic muscles so they become the control centre of the body from which all movement stems. It helps build a uniformly developed body with improved alignment and stability, increased strength, and flexibility.

Using the core as the power centre allows the body to move safely through flexibility, conditioning, and resistance activities. Core stability allows the golfer to move with economy, grace, and balance. Exercises related to the golf swing focus on stretching, strengthening, and proper warm-up.
As effective as Pilates is for retraining the body, no amount of Pilates or any other “workout” regimen can compensate for poor skill and technique during the golf swing. Practicing proper swing technique is essential. Augmenting the skill specific practice with Pilates will ultimately improve performance.



What is Pilates?



Pilates is a mental and physical body-conditioning programme which uses
exercises to target the deep postural muscles. It corrects muscle
imbalances so that good postural alignment is restored together with normal,
natural movement. Individuals who undertake Pilates lessons find that their
general flexibility and core strength improves greatly. It is popular with
professional sportsmen and women including golfers. It is an ideal exercise
programme for golfers of all ages and will help you improve your game at
whatever level you play.