DONEGAL MEN and their sports teams and clubs are being urged to consider taking up pilates to aid in their fitness and preparation – with men’s only courses beginning in Letterkenny next week.
Lifford woman Michelle Given has launched her new pilates studio at 8 Lower Main Street, Letterkenny and will open the doors on Monday next.
Picture caption: Shay Given with his sister, Michelle, who is starting men’s only pilates courses on Monday in Lettekenny. Picture by Geraldine Diver.
At 8.30pm, the men’s only course will get underway.
Pilates is often associated with women, but as former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given explains, top footballers partake in pilates to help prolong their career.
At 40, Given is still playing regularly in the Premier League with Stoke City and has only just retired from international football.
“Clubs I’ve been at have all done pilates,” he says.
“They do it in groups and it’s great for strength and great, too, for a bit of fun. We’ve had great craic doing it.
“The sports science in football has changed and we have to change with it. The requirements away from the pitch now are so demanding and some difference from I first went over.
Shay Given goes through a pilates work out. Picture by Geraldine Diver
“Everyone has evolved with it and players now are quicker, sharper, faster and stronger.”
Given was put through his paces by Michelle, his sister, on a quick visit to the new studio last week.
Pilates was invented by Joseph Pilates as a means to rehabilitate men during World War 1.
Given says: “It a tough workout when you get down to it. It’s great for the core and for the lower back. It’s great for keeping in shape.
“When you hear the world ‘pilates’, you tend, for some reason, to think that it’s for women, but a lot of footballers and a lot of sportspeople do pilates actively. It definitely helps to prolong the career and to play longer.”
