Get Fit for Golf Season
Golf season is fast approaching, and if you want to have a good season this year (better than last year, at least!), then there are a few things you should do to prepare. No, I’m not talking about cleaning the mud off your golf clubs. These are things to help you get your body ready for golfing.
If you figure that playing a round of golf is enough fitness for one week, then you are not alone. And it is true to some degree, but the far more important thing I want to discuss is how to get your body ready in advance of the new season after you’ve been out of shape all winter.
And for those who ride the course in a cart rather than walking, and then pack away a couple of cold drinks after the round, the fitness element can be almost non-existent. If your body is capable, I encourage you to save the money and global-warming contributing emissions from your golf cart usage, and take to the fairways by foot this year.
But before the season starts, there are several ways to prepare your body for the rigors ahead. The goal is to get you ready to handle the lengthy time standing and walking on the course, and to gently build muscles that are used frequently in golf.
Aerobic and stamina-building exercises are the key to beating the long walks in the heat of summer. And flexibility and muscle training will help you achieve longer drives, better swing consistency, and overall mid-torso strength. You won’t need to become a heavy lifting body builder at all! No, the goal is to tackle the repetitive, asymmetrical movements of golf by gently strengthening your muscles in advance.
Rotational flexibility, hip flexibility, lower back muscles, and shoulder strength all play a role in each golfer’s swing. And working these areas will also help you avoid getting spasms in your leg or back muscles during a long day on the links. If you have been cramped up in an office desk and chair all winter, then this is even more important.
Don’t feel intimidated by the time commitment, because you can perform many of these exercises during your lunch break, or at home in the evening in front of the television. You also don’t necessarily need to break a sweat doing most of them. The rotational power in your torso relies on the hips, buttocks, thighs, abdominals, and lower back muscles all working in coordination. So begin by stretching those core areas. Later you can begin strength training, but still maintain the emphasis on the core power zone areas.
The core area is all the bones, muscles, and ligaments between your chest and your knees. Hundreds of exercises and variations can help you work your core, including abdominal crunches, gentle trunk rotations, gentle torso twists, lower back stretches such as “cat” arches and hunches, hamstring stretches, and side rotations using resistance.
If you are like me and tend to spend the winters being sedentary, make sure you begin gently. The risk is that you will overdo things at the beginning, and injure some of your core areas, causing you to push back that first tee-off date. Begin each session by warming up for a short while using some aerobic option such as walking on an incline on a treadmill, a stationary bike, or a rowing machine
The key is to start early in the spring. I will provide some specific exercises in my next article, but don’t delay starting until a few days before your first tee-off! Try some of these things in an easy, short, daily effort, long before the first game of the year, and your torso strength and stamina will be much enhanced. Your body will thank you right up until the final hole of the round.
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly working with professional golfers, most notable PGA and Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To learn more about Sean Cochran and his golf fitness exercises and training programs go to Core Golf Fitness
