When it comes to golf fitness, you cannot just jump to any random workout plan. Any professional minded golfer should focus on the muscles used during the game while refurbishing on how to use them.
Even though one might opt for a fitness coach, it is important to recap that as the trainer works on improving the golfer’s conditioning and strength, the aim of the workout plan should break into decreasing the risk of potential injuries while improving the power potential of the golfer.
Golf workout would work just for anyone in the field. If you are a beginner, it will help you boost your pitching skills as well as give you stamina.
For senior and more experienced golfers, improvement of power, stability, and accuracy is a key necessity, hence need for workouts and perfection. Older men and women golfers also need specific attention in the workouts plans because their bodies are more delicate.
Quality and not quantity mark results. Therefore, even as on seeks to work out and improve skill, it is important to insist on minimal doses that will realize maximum effects and not ponder one with tedious and vigorous workouts that leave you crawling out of the gym with little strength and not having gained as much output.
The role of working out for a golfer is mainly to increase one’s ability of swinging techniques by identifying his/her physical shortcomings and coming up with relevant remedies to address them.
When watching the top golfers, experts have been able to identify common physical attributes that they share which steer up their exemplary performance in the sport.
This article will look at six attributes and the workouts that can help you perfect.
- The Ability to Pelvic Tilt
Pelvic Rotation Test
- Put your hands on to a club and hold it vertically with your elbows straight.
- Twist your pelvis in sideways motion without moving your upper body.
All Four-pelvic Tilt
- Get on fours to a crawling position ensuring that your wrist is vertically under your shoulder and your knees and hips are at a 90-degree position.
- Ensuring that your head is neutral, arch your back. Arch again in the opposite position while tucking your pelvis.
Cable or Band Rotations Assist
- Wrap yourself with a band to assist your hip rotation.
- While maintaining your posture, make very small swing movements.
Pelvic Rotation and Lunge with a Knee Kick
- Take one step back while standing in a good posture. Ensure that at the bottom, your knees make a 90 degree and that they do not stretch past your toes, rather they track over.
- Stand up and move your opposite knee so that it becomes parallel to the floor.
- Finally, rotate your pelvic such that that particular knee crosses over the midline while ensuring the upper body is not turning with it as well.
- Sufficient Hip Mobility
Hip Flexes
- Place your body in a press up position.
- Lift one of the legs and step the foot on the outer side of the hand (that is either left leg – left hand or right leg – right arm).
- Lean the knee of the other foot on the ground like kneeling down on one foot.
- Press your hips forward gently with a back a forth motion as you try to get straight from your knee up to the hip up to the chest.
- Return the foot back and change the other foot to step outside the other arm.
Try to hold the position during the forward motion for 10-15 seconds every day to facilitate back contractions and improve hip flexibility.
Hip Stretch
- With the help of a flex caution, sit at the end of the raised side and stretch your legs out wide.
- Maintain a 90-degree position between your upper and lower body.
- Lean gently with your upper body towards the ground and back up.
Do this at least ten times. Reasonable hip mobility is an advantage in executing long and powerful golf swings. When improving hip mobility, it entails at least two parts movement.
- The Ability to Hip Hinge
Hip hinging skill helps as it acts as a shock absorbing mechanism during completed swings. The aim is to allow the body accommodates twist done with force, especially in the longest golf ball pitching.
Golfers are advised to:
Deadlift
- Spread your legs standing (like 30 degrees) with a kilo bell between your legs.
- Slightly squat and hinge your hip backward as you lean your upper body forward.
- Stretch for the kilo bell and grab it firmly and lift it to a straight upward position.
- Without dropping it return to the hinge position.
Do this 15 times with a very light weight so as not to strain your back but with time and an instructor’s help add appropriate weight to improve on strength building for two weeks.
Squat Swing
- Stand while slightly spreading your legs.
- Pick a kilo bell while your hips hinged backward.
- Swing the kilo bell in-between your legs and swing it outwards and upwards with your arms straight and in the process of stretching the kilo bell maintain a straight posture.
- Swing back the kilo bell in between the legs. A squat swing to be precise.
You can do these four times a week attaining sets of 5, 3, and 2 swings respectively and with 30 seconds break for one month.
- Sufficient Core Control
Sufficient core control workouts help boost the golfer’s focus and calmness thus increase his accuracy in ball hits. Some but few include:-
Opposite Extremity Extension from Plank
- Assume a press-up position.
- Lift the opposite leg and arm to hang in the air assuring they are straight.
- Try as much possible to balance on the remaining leg and arm.
- Assume the press-up position again and switch the other arm and leg and lift the up again.
Do these lifts three times a week for each side while holding your balance for at least 3 seconds.
Supine opposite Extremity Extension
- Lie on your back
- Lift your feet up together to a 90-degree position with the waist. Ensure your knee is also at a 90-degree position.
- Lift your arms up straight from your chest.
- Assuming opposite arm and leg, simultaneously stretch your leg away from your body as you lean your arm while still straight towards the ground over your head.
- Return them to the initial position and do the same for the other opposite pair of leg and arm.
Do five rounds in slow motion to complete each stretch within 10 seconds. It can be done twice a week to assist with breaking the more vigorous exercise schedule.
Try as much as possible to press your abs inwards towards your spine while performing this workout.
- Sufficient Thoracic (Upper Back) Mobility
The main aim of these exercises is to reduce the strain of muscles caused by tilting during swings within the game. Therefore, they can as well be long-term. For example;
Thoracic Spine Foam Roll
- Place a foam roll on the ground and lie on it in the middle of your back.
- Clasp your arm behind your head and pull you elbows together.
- With the rest of your body above the ground and your feet stepping down, roll up to your neck and back down to the middle of your back on the foam
- Remember to place your weight on the roll.
Perform this exercise to deal with back pains and discomforts and after each day exercises to soothe strained muscles.
Two Arm Leg Stretch
- Grab your physioball and kneel as you place your hand on the ball.
- Take your hips back and straighten your arms until your head is in between your arms.
- Without pressing, hold your body in that position.
Do this daily for one month to increase your body’s concentrations and stability.
- Lower Body Strength Power
These workouts ought to help a golfer increase his stability in the pitch while making his swings.
Resistant Band Exercise
- Grab the resistance band string and walk out until you get some tension.
- With the inside leg being at the front, lunge your body.
- Ensure your hips are stable, your core is tight and your shoulder is back.
- Hold the band out with the tension for 20 seconds then stand up.
Do these drill three times a week to boost your power to increase your longest golf ball pitching distance.
Grab with Lunge
- Stand with band resistance band in tension and perform lunges with one outer leg.
- Switch sides and perform the same for the other leg.
For each leg, do 25 lunges, 2 two days in a week for one month while you ensure you go soft especially for older aged golfers to avoid muscle strain and injuries.
Conclusion
These six attributes will help your improve your skill for zero to being a hero. They will ensure that even with a pitching wedge loft of 46-48 degrees you can attain an accurate hit of up to 110-140 yards.
You are as good as your workouts because there is a thin line between pains for gains and pain that does your body more harm than good. Otherwise, insist on quality golf works outs with proper schedules and guess what? You will soon be ranked in the top player’s list!
About the author:
Felicia Taylor is a professional golfer and writer. She provides many useful tips for new golfers to get better in their game and several different types of golf lessons, tips and tricks as well.
