Pilates – it IS a guy’s thing !

Ask the average man what he knows about Pilates and the chances are he will think Pilates is just for women.

Well for a start Joseph Pilates was a man, and many of his early clientele were too !

Pilates has been popular with both male and female elite athletes for many years, but in the mainstream fitness industry the tendency has been that women have significantly outnumbered men.

That trend is changing now as more men are inspired by celebrity sports figures to try Pilates workouts for themselves.

All exercises in the Pilates method originate from the body's powerhouse, or the core.

By strengthening this part of the body, you will have more control and strength over many of your movements.

Most men tend to work their abdominals incorrectly, focusing far more on repetition and increasing range of motion than they do on correct technique.

Pilates focuses on correct placement helping to achieve maximum results.

Men generally have less flexibility and a greater degree of upper body strength than women, due to excess weight training and cardiovascular work.

Pilates provides the perfect balance between strength and flexibility, making it a great additional exercise for men already doing other sports, be it tennis, running, weight lifting or golf.

If you’re a man with an injury,

Pilates offers a safe and logical method of exercising while your body is healing.

Pilates doesn’t aggravate the body; the exercises are always performed with control.

Here is a list of a few of the well known men practicing Pilates: Pete Samprass Tiger Woods John Cleese Hugh Grant Orlando Bloom Patrick Swayze, … and an ever-growing number of famous footballers, rugby players, cricketers and other professional athletes.

OK guys, see you in class!

Pilates is a series of body conditioning exercises that has been practised since the early 1920s.

JOSEPH H. PILATES, the founder of the technique, used his knowledge of gymnastics, boxing, skiing and diving in addition to studies of yoga, Zen and other Eastern disciplines, to create this unique mind-body exercise technique.

Interned because of his nationality during the First World War, he worked as a nurse and taught his method to fellow internees in a British Prison Camp.

As many of them were war veterans and bedridden from being seriously wounded, he experimented attaching springs to hospital beds which allowed patients to start applying movement and resistance to their muscles which seemed to speed up their recovery time.

Interestingly enough, none of his patients caught the influenza that was sweeping Europe at the time. In 1926 Joseph emigrated to New York where he began teaching his method to elite dancers, actors, gymnasts and other artists, all keen to learn from him.

Some of the first people to learn from him were dancers Martha Graham and George Balanchine.

“People won’t understand the brilliance of my work for 50 years.” That is a quote from Joseph, himself, about 50 years ago.

Today, healthcare professionals are studying and recommending Pilates exercise as part of their treatment programme.

Medical doctors are prescribing 'Pilates' to their patients.

His technique has become increasingly popular in the fitness industry as people are now moving away from the ‘no pain no gain’ way of thinking and towards the 'less is more', safe and effective mind-body exercise.

It is also the preferred exercise of many famous athletes, dancers and movie stars!

Due to the public fascination with Hollywood celebrities, the name Pilates is now a household word.

If Madonna does it, it must work!

Practising Pilates regularly can help dramatically improve your golf swing whilst also reducing the risk of injuries commonly associated with this sport.

Golf, requires core stability in order to hold a position long enough to play through a shot rather than allowing the body to buckle or twist.

By targeting the deep postural muscles, Pilates builds up strength from the inside out making it easier to power movements from the body’s core.

During a golf game the player is constantly bending forward and twisting to one side only causing the same muscles to be used over and over again.

This upsets the body’s muscle balance.

Pilates helps to balance out the body against the forces of the swing. It helps to create less torque in the spine because you learn to swing from your center and not from your limbs Pilates re- educates muscles to work more efficiently, restoring balance and natural, normal movement patterns.

Golf, like pilates is about ‘core strength’. In both cases, all movements originating and being powered from the body’s centre or ‘Powerhouse’ as Joseph Pilates himself called it.

Practising Pilates helps to strengthen the body’s key stabilising muscles : The Transverse abdominals and pelvic floor muscles.

Golf, like Pilates requires precision.

A small adjustment of a golfer’s shoulder flexibility can be the difference between a drive from the tee veering onto the rough or going straight onto the green.

Pilates requires focus to achieve precision in each exercise.

Conscious control of movement enhances body awareness. It is one of the preferred exercise regimes of many professional golfers today.

Devotees include Tiger Woods, David Duval, Andrew McGee, Grace Park and Annika Sorenstam, among many others.

Just 2 hours of Pilates a week could make all the difference to your golf technique !