One of my clients is an avid bowler. You know the type: bowls in multiple leagues, goes to a lot of tournaments , participates in summer league, talks lane conditions. Keep reading even if you’re not a bowler. Pilates enhances focus and strength — something any athlete (and most people) benefit from having.
Her average has gone up 18 pins (if you’re not a bowler, that’s a remarkable increase). She is giving a lot of credit for bowling better to her Pilates training. Whodathunkit?
In order for any of this to make sense for those unfamiliar with the sport, follow-through is important, and holding your form until after you release the ball is critical; what happens during what bowlers call the “slide” can make or break a score.
She said, “It’s made a huge difference in my form and my ability to release the ball and hold my form instead of falling off my slide. I’m not all herky-jerky.”
She said that one little piece is making her hit her mark consistently. Pilates training has given her more control over her body. She said she can stay focused and use her body the way it’s meant to be used.
“It’s amazing, the difference,” she said. “Bowling is a mental game. You don’t have to be an ‘athlete’ to be a good bowler. Say a person has the mental part down, if they also have focus, strength and stability, they can be really calm with the upper body because they have the strength to be calm.”
There’s a fellow bowler my client confessed to wanting to emulate for a long time. His nickname in the bowling alley is Spanky. He bowls in a league at the same time as my client’s league. They both bowl during the summer season. She sees him bowl a lot.
“His delivery is so smooth and he’s so consistent,” she said. “I’ve wanted to be like Spanky but have not had the control over my body to do it. I now have the strength and stability to do it. I’m able to emulate Spanky!”
The control over her body movements is a big benefit of her Pilates training. She is able to do what most sports demand: the same motion over and over with consistency.
“It’s important to not be erratic,” she said. Throwing a 15-pound ball is not easy for a relatively slight-built woman.”
She said training with me has helped her pinpoint her focus on specific areas of her body, and she’s been able to translate that ability focus on the position and movement of her body while she’s bowling.
I could have predicted this because I have been immersed in Pilates for more than 20 years, but to hear about measurable results from a bowler is rather unique. Her training also has helped her in other ways.
“When Sue is working with me, every session she challenges me.” she said. “When she has me do a move — maybe it’s a new move or one that’s not ingrained in my mind, she has me focus on an area … the back of the thigh for example.
“It’s the type of focus you don’t get in physical therapy or by watching a video and just going through the motions. She helps me focus the energy where I need the strength built.”
She admits to struggling with “getting pissed” when she missed a pin while bowling and said there’s a lot of mental discipline involved with bowling (try it while you’re exhausted or in a funk) and being able to move on to the next ball. But here’s what she had to say about how Pilates helped with needing to adjust:
“I have confidence because I’m feeling stronger. I can focus on the next one because I’m confident in my new strength and focus.”
