Before you head out to the first tee, warm up your body! Grab a club (any club) and try these Pilates warmup exercises for golfers. This series of standing Pilates-based stretches can be done in ten minutes and help you prepare for your game.
How do Pilates exercises benefit golfers?
Pilates is a whole-body exercise method focused on breathing well and engaging the core muscles to support balanced and efficient movement. American Golf has praised Pilates as a way to prevent injury and improve the posture to assist a more powerful and accurate golf swing. Professional golfers like Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam, Rich Beam have all used Pilates as part of their exercise regime.
Pilates Warmup Exercises for Golfers
These Pilates-based stretches are a great warmup exercise for golfers. This sequence helps warm up your spine, core, and hips so you can play better and prevent injury.
Watch the video from our YouTube channel or follow the step by step directions below.
ABS
Hold your club horizontally with straight arms down by your thighs. Take a deep breath and fill your belly with air. Exhale and pull your abdominals in. Try not to move your pelvis or lift your shoulders. Just breathe and isolate the contraction of your abdominals. Repeat 4-6 times.
ROTATE
Lift your club so that your arms are parallel to the ground. Take a breath in and as you exhale, rotate the torso in one direction. Inhale and bring the torso back to center and exhale and switch directions. Contract your abdominals as you do this. Let your hips move a bit as your rotate. Repeat 4 sets.
LATERAL FLEXION
Lift your club so that your arms are reaching up to the sky but keep them in your line of vision. Reach your arms to the right and side bend the torso on the exhale. Inhale as you bring your torso back to upright. Repeat to the other side. Repeat 4 sets.
EXTENSION
Take your club behind your head gently and open your chest as you look up to the sky. Keep your abdominals and glutes engaged. Focus on stretching across your chest and not compressing the low back. Bring the torso back to center. Repeat 4 sets.
FLEXION
Put your club on your thighs and bend at the waist and knees. “Tuck your tail” to curve your spine in forward flexion feeling both your abs and your glutes engage.
SHOULDER ROLLS
Take your club back down to your waist. Roll your shoulders up to your ears and behind you four times with a slow, yawning quality. Repeat with shoulders rolling forward.
SHOULDER OPENER
Place one hand on each end of your club holding it out parallel to the ground. Gently press the club head arm open while keeping the back arm relaxed. Placing gentle pressure on the back end of the club will stretch the front of your shoulder and across your chest. Hold 2-3 breaths and repeat on the opposite side.
LEG STRETCHES
Rest your club gently on the ground for balance. Step back onto your club side leg, bend your knee, and hinge forward to get a nice HAMSTRING STRETCH on the opposite leg. Pull your toes up and down a couple of times for a more active stretch. Next, lunge forward onto your front leg and straighten your back leg creating one long line from heel to hip for a CALF STRETCH. Bend the back knee to deepen the stretch. Finally, swing your back leg through to the front and cross ankle over knee. Squat down in this figure four shape for a PIRIFORMIS STRETCH (hip stretch). Go as low as you need while staying as square as possible. Hold each stretch for 2-3 breaths and repeat on the opposite side.
Take one last whole body stretch overhead and you’re ready to tee off. With its focus on balance and flexibility, focus and body awareness, Pilates is a perfect complement to your golf game.
MOVE Wellness Studios also offers a variety of other classes that are a perfect complement to your golf game, such as Mat Pilates, Yoga, Men’s Flex and Core, and more. Our classes help golfers with balance, flexibility, focus, body awareness, and strength training.
We offer 10+ interactive livestream classes as part of our livestream membership, which gives you unlimited access to live classes with expert instructors. Private training and small group training is also available in-person at our Ann Arbor studio or virtually.
CLICK HERE to see our class schedule.