Golf Exercise Benefitsby: Mike Pedersen Golf exercise benefits are many. Golfers have struggled for years
with their games and have become very frustrated. I can't tell you
how many times I play with golfers who are about to quit the game. Some of the main golf exercise benefits are; improved power for longer drives; dramatically improved stability for better consistency; a body that moves freer, removing tension from the swing; more energy for 18 holes; elimination of injuries; weight loss; improved concentration due to a reduction in fatigue; I could go on-and-on. Improved Power For Longer Drives If your body is weak and inflexible you will not be able to achieve optimal swing mechanics. Such things as a full shoulder turn, with minimal hip rotation; creating and retaining torque (energy) in your core for maximum clubhead spead; proper sequence of motion with muscles firing at the appropriate time; being able to swing just a little harder on long par 5's and still be in control. Removing Tension From The Swing When you improve your flexibility (range of motion specific to your golf swing) you are able to make a full backswing with no tension in the supporting muscles of the swing. Like the shoulders, lower back, upper back (lats), and even the wrists. It is known in most athletics that less tension equals more power. More Energy For 18 Holes One of the biggest culprits of back nine blow-ups is loss of energy resulting in poor mental confidence and swing mechanics. I see this one all the time when I play…golfers who are out of shape and lack appropriate fuel intake and maintenance. Having energy for 18 holes builds tremendous confidence and a higher level of play. Elimination Of Injuries Golf injuries are prevalent among all amateur golfers, especially senior golfers. The golf swing is a damaging movement on the human body. Swinging a club between 80-100 mph in less than a second can be traumatic. Golfers who don't have an adequate level of golf strength and flexibility are susceptible to injury every time they swing the club. The lower back usually takes the brunt of the stress and strain. Then hips, knees, shoulders and even wrists. A stronger, more flexible golfer will avoid injuries indefinitely. Weight Loss I have worked with over 10,000 golfers via my online golf performance website and they all fill out an initial golf fitness profile. Since I review every one of them personally, I see how many of them have weight loss of 10-30 pounds as a goal. There are more overweight golfers on the course than fit ones. This is because golfers have not come to the conclusion the fitness plays a critical role in golf performance. Exercising will not only improve lean muscle, but melt fat away. To not only improve their golf, but lose weight is icing on the cake for any golfer. Improved Concentration How many times have you had a good score going into the back nine only to have a couple of blow-up holes that ruined your score? It happens all the time. Why? Because your body fatigues and your brain doesn't maintain a high enough level of concentration. The result is poor club selection; swing mechanics and diminishing confidence. A fitter golfer will always have the edge over an out-of-shape one. When the round progresses and tension creeps in they will prevail every time. The above are only a few golf exercise benefits…but enough to hopefully convince you that it's worth looking into. The golf swing is now being viewed as a very athletic movement, like baseball, tennis, etc…and should be approached from a conditioning emphasis. I hope you now realize the return on investment from these golf exercise benefits.
About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness swing trainers in the country. He is the expert for Golf Magazine's GolfOnline.com site, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds and manual at his golf swing trainer site - Perform Better Golf. Back Exercise And Golf Are Synonymousby: Mike Pedersen Back exercise and golf. Doesn’t that sound like a common denominator? Of all the injuries in golf, the low back is by far the highest one. To explain why doing back exercise for golf is important, a golfer needs to understand why. The golf swing is one of the most (if not the most) stressful movements on the lower back. Picture this. You’re in a static position at the start; then you try to rotate your upper body as far as you can go, while keeping the lower body as stable as you can. This movement all by itself puts tremendous stress on the lower back. If you have a lower level of rotational flexibility, you are at HIGH RISK for low back injuries. You many have one as we speak. Now picture having the strength to ‘uncoil’ that backswing, maintaining your golf posture at between 80-100 mph. If you have not participated in a back exercise for golf, you will not be able to generate any power at impact, therefore your driving distance is inadequate. Does this sound familiar? It should. I see this all the time on the golf course. Especially with the senior golfers. They have physically declined over the years and have not done any back exercise for golf and can’t generate and clubhead speed. There is hope! To remove the threat of low back injury and improve your ability to turn back and turn through with power, you just need to do a couple of simple back exercises for golf. One example of a back exercise for golf that you should be doing several times a day is what I call the Lying Leg Crossover, which is incorporated in all my products. Here’s what you do: Just do this back exercise for golf religiously and you’ll see a HUGE improvement!
About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness DVDs and Manual at Perform Better Golf. |
Continued from column one The confidence alone will put you in a perfect frame of mind to make very few mistakes while consistently making those extra long drives. Warming up may sound strange. Probably as strange as exercises sounded in golf in the first few years. But the fact of the matter is that golf has changed dramatically and virtually almost all pros are involved in serious golf specific exercise programs these days. By implementing this extra golf exercise tip of warming up prior to your exercises or even game, you will see a tremendous improvement in your performance. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness videos at Perform Better Golf. Golf Stance…And Its Physical Requirementsby: Mike Pedersen Golf stance is one of the most ignored terms and issues in the golf swing and yet the golf stance dictates the success of every golf swing you make. When golfers think of golf stance, they don't realize how hard it is to maintain over 18 holes (four and a half hours). Just take a look at the position your body is in during your set up. There are many physical issues taking place, even though it is a static position at the start. Let's go over the physical requirements of the golf stance right now. Bend At Hips To Address Golf Ball To achieve this initial movement takes strength and flexibility in not only the lower back, but the hamstrings and core muscle groups. If these muscle groups are limited, you will have a very difficult time achieving this simple move. Flex In The Knees A combination of bending at the hips and knees allows you to get to the ball. The shorter the club, the more the bend at both the hips and knees. If your quadriceps are weak, you will have a very difficult time maintaining the proper knee flex therefore causing you to create in improper golf stance…resulting in mishits and lack of distance. Ankle Flexion Take a look at the ankle joint of any golfer. It is definitely bent (flexed) to accommodate the bending of the knees and hips. If your calf muscles are weak/or tight, you will find it very uncomfortable to stay down at the ball. I see so many golfers with tight calf muscles and they never even knew it. Spine Extension (Erectness) This is a BIGGY! How many times have you seen the golfer (maybe even you) in his/her golf stance with the dread ‘camels back?' This is very common among older golfers and is a KILLER in the golf swing. I could (and probably will) write a complete article on this physical limitation. But the bottom line is a rounded (weak) upper spine will dramatically hinder your ability to make a full backswing. Result: very short drives and a lot of embarrassment. I just briefly covered just a couple of physical requirements of the golf stance, but I hope you know see the importance of addressing your physical limitations to achieve the end result. Longer drives, lower scores and beating the pants off your golfing
buddies! Pay more attention to your golf stance! About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness manual and dvds at www.performbettergolf.com Copyright Mike Pedersen - www.performbettergolf.com What Are the Best Exercises for the Golfer?by: Sean Cochran With all the talk about the players on tour getting stronger and
more flexible, we hear a lot about exercising for golf from television
commentators and read about it in the golf publications. But what
exactly are the best exercises for the amateur golfer? What exactly is the golf swing? The golf swing is an athletic movement that requires using of the entire body from "feet to fingertips" in order to complete the swing. Realize that the golf swing is not about the club, not just about your grip, or where your head is during the swing. The golf swing is a movement that requires your entire body to move through a sequence of movements with the correct timing. To perform the "athletic movement" of the golf swing requires the body to begin at address, move through the actual phases of the golf swing and complete it with the follow through. In order to perform this activity with efficiency and repetitively, the body must have certain physical parameters. These parameters, as I call them, are actual physical categories of the body that need to be developed to a certain level. These categories of the body are the platform from which the body is able to perform the athletic movement of a golf swing efficiently. The categories are probably familiar to many of you, but for the purpose of this article let us briefly run through them. The body is required to have certain levels of flexibility, balance, endurance, strength, and power to complete a golf swing. If the body lacks in any of the above categories, then the results will be seen in the golf swing. The results are usually in the form of poor mechanics, bad shots, or poor scores on the course. So, now that we know what the connection is between the "body" and the "swing" let us address the question about the best exercises for golf. The Best Exercises for Golf Let's say you walk into your local health club and see all the fancy machines and aerobic machines at the facility to get you shape. What ones would choose? Would you choose running on the treadmill for 30 minutes, or would it be better to push out a couple sets of bench presses? Well, the answer to our question really lies within the connection between your swing and your body. I will tell you that exercises meant to "pump you up!" or give you that "six pack" are not necessarily the correct exercises for your golf game. Neither is that weight training program you used back in high school. So, with those thoughts in mind what do you think the best exercises for golf are? Right now we know, in general terms about the golf swing, what is required of the body for the golf swing and what exercises are not good for the swing. Armed with that knowledge we can decipher what the best exercises for golf are for you. Beginning with flexibility, we know that the entire body must move through certain ranges of motion to perform an effective golf swing. And what happens if your body is not able to move through the required ranges of motion of the golf swing? The answer: the golf swing will mechanically suffer resulting in shots that are less than optimal. So part of the exercises that are good for golfers are flexibility exercises and, even more so, flexibility exercises that work the muscles used in the golf swing through the movements involved in the golf swing. So first and foremost flexibility exercises should be on the top of your list. The second category of exercises that would be conducive to the golf swing would have to do with balance. We hear about balance in reference to the golf swing all the time. "Stay balanced through the swing; transfer your weight to maintain balance during the |
Simple Golf Warm Up Exerciseby: Mike Pedersen Golf warm up you say? Aren't you supposed to rush to the course, pull out the BIG DOG, take a few hacks at it and start your round? Golf warm up exercise you say? Aren't you supposed to rush to the course, pull out the BIG DOG, take a few hacks at it and start your round? Is that what you do? Come on be honest with yourself. If so, what was the result on the first tee? I’ll bet it wasn’t even a par! Am I wrong? I don’t mean to add too much sarcasm in there, but I want to get your attention to the importance of doing golf warm up exercise to avoid those big numbers the first few holes. Are you with me? Good. Now let me talk to you like you’re an athlete for a minute. Time to re-live the glory days one more time. Now remember back in the day when you had a game, meet or competition. Did you run out on the field or court and start playing your sport? I’ll bet not! You did a sport-specific warm up didn’t you? Well why wouldn’t you do one before golf then? Ah…gotcha didn’t I! You would most definitely do a warm up. Not just pounding balls either. That’s the worst thing you could do. You need to do golf warm up exercises to prepare for optimal golf performance on the course. Now picture the golf swing and all it’s moving parts. The shoulders are very active, if not the most active in the golf swing. So better do a couple of exercises for that area. What about your golf posture? Well…your bent at the waist with tension on your lower back, hamstrings and glutes. So you better do one or two golf warm up exercises for those areas also. Have I convinced you yet? If not, then keep your same routine and expect the same results. I hate to sound too negative, but I strongly believe you need to do your golf warm up exercises. Here's one golf warm up exercise of eight, that I have put together to get you started on the right track. I call it the squat with an arm raise: Feet shoulder width apart. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Check out his new golf fitness site at Perform Better Golf. Golf Exercise Tip – How To Warm Upby: Mike Pedersen A useful golf exercise tip to take into consideration is the fact that warming up before your game of golf can dramatically help you improve the quality of your game. The warm up session does not need to be something elaborate or strenuous. You can get creative and take a brisk walk from your car to the course. The idea is to get your muscles warm before you even engage in stretch exercises prior to tee off. This is the sort of golf exercise tip that should not be ignored by any golfer. Stretch exercises are very important to the golf swing tip. We have seen from various golfers who have taken on our exercise program. And yet stretch exercises will work out much better for you when you briefly warm up before embarking on them on the course. The idea is to get your muscles warm and ready before doing your stretch routine in readiness for the game. You will prove this golf exercise tip because usually after completing your warm up and stretch exercises, you will feel much more comfortable when executing the golf swing. |
swing…" But what does balance exactly mean? Balance is the ability to control your body through a specific movement pattern. The movement pattern we are discussing just happens to be the golf swing. We know the importance of balance in relation to the golf swing, so how do we train our body for better balance in the golf swing? Before we answer that question we need to know a little more about balance. Balance in relation to the body has to do with the connection between your nerves and muscles. Essentially your nervous system, as a result of messages sent from your brain, tells your muscles how to move to maintain the body's balance. The more efficient your nerves and muscles are to these messages the greater balance abilities the body develops. So balance exercises train both the nervous system and muscular system to become more efficient at this function. Summing it all up, balance is the second category of exercises that will assist your golf game. The third category of exercises that are beneficial to golf have to do with your muscles. The golf swing requires the muscles of your body to move through a specific range of motion (flexibility) and help with your balance capacities. In order to perform these actions and others, your body needs certain levels of strength and endurance. The definition of strength is the ability of the muscles to exert force for the given "athletic action" (simplified definition but a good working definition for us). Endurance is the ability of your muscles to do the same activity over and over again for a specific amount of time. First off, let us discuss strength. The golf swing has one intention of developing club head speed while maintaining balance through the swing. The muscles in your body must have enough strength in them to do both. Now, when we discuss building strength for the golf swing it is NOT the type of strength needed to bench press 250 lbs. Or squat 500! It is strength geared towards the improvement of your swing. I refer to this type of strength as "golf strength." So when you get to the gym, performing strength exercises like bench press will not help your swing. Exercises that train the body in the positions and through the movements of the golf swing will help your swing. In addition to strength, we need to develop endurance in your muscles. Think of how many swings you may take over the course of 18 holes. In order for you to be able to swing the club the same way on the 18th hole as you did on the 1st hole. Your body has to have high levels of endurance. This will allow your body to perform the golf swing without getting tired. You develop endurance similar to how you develop "golf strength." Utilize exercises that train the body in the positions and through the movements of the golf swing. Lighter loads with higher repetitions will be used for these exercises. The end result will be the development of "golf endurance." The final segment of exercises beneficial to your golf swing is power training. Power training is geared towards the ability of your body to generate high levels of club head speed. Power development by the body is what allows for greater distance on your shots. Clubs help, golf balls help, but it really comes down to the piece of machinery, your body, swinging those club and hitting those golf balls. Development of power for the golf swing is very similar to the development of "golf strength and endurance." It is the utilization of exercises that place your body in the positions and move you through movements similar to the golf swing. Summary So there you have it, the answer to the types of exercises best for the improvement of your golf swing. I think you now realize it is not one exercise, but a group of exercises that incorporate flexibility, balance, endurance, strength, and power. A combination of these exercises is what will enhance your golf swing. Looking for specific exercises? Take a look at our website www.bioforcegolf.com
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors
in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters
Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction
and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on
the website www.bioforcegolf.com. Check out his manual and DVD, Your
Body & Your Swing, on BioForceGolf.com.
To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com. |
- Golf Exercise Benefits
- Back Exercise And Golf Are Synonymous
- Simple Golf Warm Up Exercise
- Golf Exercise Tip – How To Warm Up
- Golf Stance…And Its Physical Requirements
- What Are the Best Exercises for the Golfer?
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