Pilates Article in Today’s Golfer

January 1999 issue – a U.K. publication

PLAY BETTER GOLF: The Pilates Way

Shaping up for golf. Follow our unique fitness programme and you will not only feel better on the golf course but those aches will simply disappear.

Do you want to improve your golf swing while at the same time prevent injuries, particularly to your back? Well, make sure you get the next few months' issues as we take you through a proven exercise programme called the Pilates Method. Currently revolutionising sports Medicine, Pilates is now used by top athletes to enhance performance and reduce injury.

During a round of golf you are repeatedly bending over the ball and twisting your body in one direction. This results in the same muscles being over-used, and the delicate balance of these muscles being upset. The shoulders, neck, hips and feet are all vulnerable, but it is the lumbar spine which takes the greatest toll. Pilates works because it restores the balance, re-aligning the body and encouraging natural, normal movement patterns. By targeting the deep postural muscles,

Pilates will literally build up your strength from the inside out. The key is learning to engage your stabilising muscles which create a strong centre from which you move. These are your transversus abdominis and your pelvic floor muscles.

When these are engaged they form a 'corset' around the torso to protect and stabilise your spine as you swing. Just as a tower crane needs a stable base to be able to lift and manoeuvre, so your body needs a stable base from which to move.

These deep abdominal muscles are used with every movement in Pilates. It requires considerable concentration to isolate the stabilisers. You also need to learn how to align your body correctly, to breathe efficiently and to be aware of unwanted tension creeping into your body. You have to watch out for 'cheating mechanisms' where the wrong muscles are used to achieve movements. With Pilates we aim to make the right muscles do the work. It is the quality of your movements that count, not the quantity. You need to be ‘thoughtful' and focused.

Three Basics of the Pilates Method .

You need to master alignment, breathing and stabilising (centring) before you start to exercise.

Firstly, let's look at the position of the pelvis and spine. If you exercise with the pelvis and the spine misplaced, you run the risk of creating muscle imbalances and of stressing the spine itself.

You should aim to have your pelvis and spine in their natural, neutral positions. For the exercises to work it is important that you can easily find these positions. So lie on your back with your knees bent. Imagine there is a compass resting on top of your abdomen. Now follow the procedure outlined below.

BREATHING

In Pilates we use ‘thoracic breathing’ for all exercises. This entails breathing into the lower ribcage and, back to make maximum use of lung capacity. The increased oxygen intake replenishes the body and the action itself creates greater flexibility in the upper body. It also works the abdominals. To learn this way of breathing you may sit, stand, or kneel, with your pelvis in neutral and your spine lengthened.

Wrap a scarf around your ribcage, cross the ends over in the front and pull a little on them to feel where you are working. The idea is to breathe into the scarf, directing the breath into your sides and back, but keeping the shoulders down and relaxed, and the neck calm. The ribs expand as you inhale and close down as you exhale.

Repeat six times but do not over-breathe or you may feel dizzy. Do not try more than six at one time. Breathe softly in a relaxed way.

ENGAGING THE STABILISING MUSCLES

You must learn how to engage the deep postural muscles to protect the spine as you exercise and as you play golf. This is called 'stabilising’ and creates what Joseph Pilates called a 'girdle of strength'. To find these deep muscles: Come onto all fours, your hands beneath your shoulders, knees beneath your hips. Look straight down at the floor, the back of the neck stays long, the spine maintains its natural neutral curve.

a. Breathe in to prepare and lengthen through the spine.

b. Breathe out and engage the muscles of your pelvic floor (as if you are trying not to pass water) and hollow your lower abdominals back to your spine. Do not move the pelvis or spine at all - if you do, you will be using a 'cheating mechanism'.

c. Breathe in and release. Repeat 10 times. Don't panic, you don't need to get

onto all fours on the golf course – althogh you may need to in future to line up those match-winning putts which are going to become more frequent! We have just used this position to help you to find the muscles. Once found, you can engage them in any position!

Think of it as an internal zip which begins underneath and zips up and in to hold your lower abdominal contents in place, just like zipping up your trousers – ‘Zip up and hollow’.

EXERCISES TO IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE AND ADDRESS

The following exercises have been specially chosen to improve your stance, stability, grip and mental focus.

1. Relaxation Position

This position prepares the body for exercise, releasing unwanted tension and

allowing the mind to focus. It is also excellent after a round for balancing the body and relieving aches and pains.

Lie on a mat with your knees bent, your feet in line with your hips, and your toes parallel. Your chin should be parallel to the floor so place a firm, flat pillow under your head, if necessary.

Allow your whole body to widen and lengthen. Notice any areas of tension and gently allow them to melt into the floor. Now check that your pelvis is in its natural neutral position, neither tucked nor arched.

Place your hands on your lower ribcage. With your next intake of breath, allow your ribs to expand wide and full so that you are breathing into your sides and into the floor.

As you breathe out, allow the ribs to close down and the breastbone to soften. Repeat five times.

2. Stabilising The Pelvis – Knee Stirs

It is crucial when playing golf that you are able to keep your pelvis stable while swinging otherwise you risk injury to your lumbar spine and hips.

Starting Position: Lie in the Relaxation Position. Wrap a scarf around one thigh, holding it from underneath so that the shoulders stay down and relaxed. Fold the knee up, so that it is directly above the hip.

Action: Keeping the pelvis neutral, still and stable – that is, not allowing it to rock from side to side – gently and slowly circle the bent leg around.

Breathe normally as you do so, zipping and hollowing throughout.

Think of releasing the thighbone from the hip socket. Allow the scarf (and your hands) to help move the leg. Circle five times clockwise and five anti-clockwise with each leg.

3. Shoulder Drops

This exercise will help release tension from the shoulders before you play so that your arms will swing naturally. It also helps relieve tension after a game!

Starting Position: Lie in the Relaxation Position. Raise both arms directly above your shoulders with the palms facing inwards.

Action:

a. Breathe in wide and full to prepare.

b. Breathe out, zip up and hollow, keeping the pelvis still and square. Reach one hand up across the other as if you are stretching up to where the ceiling meets the wall. Your shoulder blade will leave the floor, your head should move gently with you. Enjoy the stretch between the shoulder blades.

c. Breathe in and hold the stretch.

d. Breathe out and relax the shoulder back down to the floor. Repeat 10 times to each side, making sure that the pelvis stays quite still.

4. Standing

This is not the same way that you will stand while addressing the ball, but it contains all the directions you need to help you stand normally in a balanced way.

Stand comfortably with your feet hip-width apart, your feet parallel. Imagine a helium-filled balloon on a string attached to the top of your head, lifting you up. Let your arms hang comfortably by your side.

Allow your shoulder blades to rest down into your back. Feel your waist lengthen.

Let your tailbone gently drop towards the floor as if you had a weight attached to it, but still maintaining the natural neutral spine/pelvis position.

Gently zip up and hollow. Release your knees, unlocking them.

Spread your feet on the floor, distributing the weight evenly. Imagine a triangle from the base of the big toe, the base of the little toe and the centre of the heel. Your weight should be evenly balanced.

5. Wrists, Palms and Fingers

An unusual movement for the arms, it helps to correct the muscle imbalances that can lead to golfer's elbow and repetitive strain injuries.

Starting Position: as in exercise No 4.

Action:

a. Breathe in and lengthen up through the spine.

b. Breathe out, zip up and hollow, bend the elbows and flex the hands towards you, pushing through the wrists, the heel of the hand, the palms and fingers as if you are pushing through water.

c. Breathe in and return to the starting position. Repeat eight times, keeping your shoulders down and the movement smooth and flowing.

6. Roll Downs

"Use the spine like a wheel" taught Joseph Pilates – what we are aiming for is a spine that is both flexible and strong throughout its length, with each segment equally stable and mobile. First practise this exercise against a wall before trying it free standing.

Remember to breathe out as you move the spine.

Once you have mastered wheeling the spine from the wall, you may roll down without a wall behind, just imagining it is still there. The legs will be straighter but the knees still soft.

Starting Position: Stand with your feet about forty-five centimetres from a wall, hip-width apart and in parallel. Lean back into the wall bending the

knees - if viewed from the side, you will look as though you are sitting on a high bar stool. Don't try to take your head back onto the wall.

Action:

a. Breathe in to prepare and lengthen up through the spine.

b. Breathe out, zip up and hollow, allow the chin to drop forward by letting go of the head and neck. Allow the weight of your head to help you roll forward.

c. Peel the spine off the wall. Your neck, arms and hands are relaxed. Your bottom remains on the wall. Only go as far as you are comfortable, but aim to reach the floor eventually - you may bend your knees more.

d. Breathe in as you hang, keep zipping and hollowing.

e. Breathe out, zip up and hollow, rotate the pelvis backwards, bringing the pubic bone towards the chin, slowly bone by bone curl your spine back onto the wall as you come up. Repeat six times, wheeling the spine and ‘working out' any stiff areas.

Articles Page