Pilates for Men

Many men look at pilates in the same way they look at yoga. As a hobby for women.

No! Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Pilates is great, for everyone, men included! Even your favourite athletes are doing it. In fact, it was actually invented by a man! Joseph Pilates.

More importantly, pilates has a never-ending list of fantastic benefits and you should take the time to read them!

Pilates for back pain

It’s okay to admit that you suffer from back pain. Whether you’re 24 or 54, it’s a very common problem and last year over 2.5 million people suffered from it. It might be because you’re sat at a desk all day, or because you’re doing labour intensive work, or maybe you play prop for your local rugby team. It can happen to anyone.

However, those who do Pilates have got a much better shot at preventing it. Pilates provides a full body workout that reaches those deep muscle groups you can’t hit in the gym. The muscles around the base of the lumbar spine can be strengthened. This is done using a series of pilates postures which stretch and strengthen the muscles in equal measure.

Pilates for fitness

Pilates is a great way of improving general fitness. You can try a pilates mat class or a reformer pilates class and either will be beneficial. As mentioned, pilates is great for the deep muscle groups. As well as those around the spine, it’s also a good way to tone the abs. Importantly, while it is working on a specific muscle group, pilates still incorporates the rest of the body. This prevents muscular imbalance which is a regular cause of injury.

Pilates for… fun!

Pilates is great fun, that’s why it’s becoming so popular. Group classes can be a really good social experience. Plus, it never gets boring.

Pilates for Golfers!

Now you may not be the next Rory Mcilroy, but there’s plenty of men out there who love to partake in the odd round of golf now and again! It might be for fun, it might be for work, but you also might get better at it with the help of Pilates. Plenty of golf’s superstars have used Pilates to strengthen their body. The rotation of the body during a swing is a movement not often used in daily living, so making sure the body is equipped to deal with a full 18 holes is important. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson both see the value in it and have used it help prevent injuries.

If you want to be good at golf, or at least better than your mates, then having flexible back muscles and mobile joints is a must. Not only will it make your swing easier, it’ll help you get more power in it too!

Pilates, because you can do it anywhere!

The best thing about Pilates is that it’s mobile! You really can do it anywhere. Once you learn enough of the basics to do it unsupervised, you can try it at home, on your lunch break at the office, while you’re on holiday… You catch my drift.