Sports Specific Training - Golf

As the field of hydraulic fitness continues to develop we are finding more and more people offering gyms specializing and catering to different areas of the population. We first found this group on a special 3 minute segment on CNBC news. The not only cater to the baby boomer generation, with music from the boomer generation and exercise routines specific to their age, but also help you with sports specific training such as golf, tennis, walking, and other activities.
Boomer fitness has a workout for everyone, even if you don't have a specific sport you want to improve on. Using hydraulic fitness machines they truly have taken the next step in sports specific training.
Here is an article submitted to us from the owner of Boomer Fitness, Arleen Cauchi, going into some of the ideas behind the training for a golfer.

Is Your Workout Hurting Your Golf Game
What?! Every golf magazine talks about golf-conditioning and how it can help improve your golf game. So wouldn’t any exercise help a player’s game? The answer is no and this should not be an excuse to stop working out. Everyday discoveries are being made associating improved health benefits and working out. So, if you are going to workout, why not work out in a manner that will help your golf game, not hurt it. And, if you don’t exercise, there is probably no better motivator than knowing a proven conditioning program could add 30-yards to your drives, reduce nagging back pain, and keep your scorecard the lowest among your golfing buds. Unfortunately playing golf is not the best means for getting your body in better shape.

Physical Demands of Golf

Golf is a physically demanding sport. Remember, it is your body swinging those new clubs and it dictates your golfing ability and the outcome of your game. Muscular imbalances, lack of strength, or limited flexibility will create restrictions in your golf swing and therefore affect performance and could cause soreness or injuries.

For players at every level, the golf swing is one of most difficult skills to execute consistently because it requires a high degree of spatial awareness for the ever-changing conditions of play. Let’s examine a typical round of golf. Over 18 holes of play you will most likely need to walk 8,000 yards (4,000 yards if you are driving a cart). You will be hitting distance drives (par 5’s) with woods or shorter drives (par 3’s) with irons. You will hit from the side of a hill or slope, from the rough, and the sand. There are various physical demands with every golf swing but, let’s keep it simple and talk about a few highlights.

> Longer Drives
> Approach Shot
> Hitting from the Rough
> Hitting from the Sand
> Hitting from a Slope
> Less Back Pain
> Concentration while Playing
> Playing for the Long Haul

Longer Drives: A longer golf swing gives a player time to increase the club head speed in order to gain more distance. Enhancing joint flexibility in the shoulders, back, and hips can lengthen the golf swing. “How much distance will I gain?” you ask. Of course every player is different but, Jesper Parnevick gained 15 yards. Ernie Els added 33 yards and David Duval tacked on 20 yards. Scott Mason, an avid amateur golfer with a 3-handicap, was able to gain 30 yards on his drives and he gained 2 clubs on his irons! These results did not take years or several months to achieve. What would you say if it only took 6 weeks of golf specific conditioning for these individuals to achieve these dramatic results?

Most of us begin to loose flexibility at age 25. Unfortunately, many general workouts today emphasize strength building while neglecting proper stretching. Without a proper stretching regimen, the increase in muscle strength will actually decrease flexibility resulting in an even shorter swing. Let’s do the math. [Muscle + No Stretch] x [Shorter Swing + (-Club Head Speed)] = Lot’s of Rounds at the 19th Hole

Approach Shot: When you gain distance you can use higher lofted clubs as you approach the green for more accuracy. During the golf swing, the transfer of energy and power from the lower body to upper body is the most pivotal link and the most common weakness observed in recreational golfers. Developing an effective power source for a productive swing can be developed with dynamic exercises that work the coordination of your trunk.

Hitting from Rough: Functional posture makes a world of difference in your swinging action and lets you impart far more force in your ball strike. Most postural conditions do not occur overnight. The body slowly adapts to poor posture, and some body parts, like the neck, shoulder, back, and hip may be overused to compensate for loss of motion someplace else. Building your core and trunk strength will help you improve and maintain good posture and thereby your swing power.

Less Back Pain: Most golfers have experienced back pain. By building your abdominal and core muscles, your body will do a better job of protecting your back resulting in less back pain.

Hitting from the Sand: A loose grip is actually recommended but, you must have the strength to hold the club loosely. Without this strength more energy is spent griping the club. Developing good grip strength can help you when hitting through the sand or for those off-center shots.

Hitting from a slope: A typical round of golf will have you hitting the ball from all sorts of angles and unstable footing. The ability to maintain your balance and center of gravity during the movement of the swing is essential. The average golfer can balance on 1 foot for 7 seconds while the average professional golfer can balance on 1 foot for 25 seconds. Exercises that focus on balance and core strength will greatly help.

Concentration while Playing: Fatigue and 3 Bloody Mary’s is why most players lose concentration. Consider that a round of golf takes at least 4 hours to play. A 10-handicap golfer will take about 50 hard swigs and another 50 to 70 practice swings per round with a club that weights slightly less than a baseball bat. A workout regimen that increases aerobic capacity will increase your endurance and will allow you to maintain focus through out 18-holes of play.

Playing for long haul: Life in general, as well as the game of golf, creates imbalances in our body. For example, for most of us, the right side will be the strong side. Attaining muscle balance means that your left arm is just as strong as your right arm. In golf, this is essential, since you are supposed to control and deliver about 80% of your power with the non-dominant side of your body. This skill is difficult but it is even harder if your dominant side is twice as strong as the non-dominant side. Fitness experts like to compare muscle imbalance to a car with improper alignment. The car looks fine but over time, the imbalance leads to uneven tire wear thus, affecting the overall ride of the vehicle. Let’s say you are hitting 150 balls a week at the driving range in an effort to improve your game. You are going to start developing muscle imbalances. If you don’t do something to counteract those imbalances, you will not be golfing at your optimal level and you may be prone to injury.

Summary:
In conclusion, to address the physical demands of your golf game, your workout should include reducing muscular imbalances, building strength with emphasis on the core, increasing flexibility particularly in the hips, shoulders, back and hamstrings, improving balance, and dynamic exercises for power transfer and endurance. Neglecting any of these areas will affect your swing and your end game.

Article written by Boomer Fitness. Boomer Fitness is an upscale fitness center in downtown San Carlos that specializes in Golf and Tennis conditioning. For more information contact Boomer Fitness at (650) 593-1193 or Info@GoBFit.com
Those interested in hydraulic fitness equipment and how it can meet the needs of your club go here. Or email questions to bill@genesiscircuits.com