Golfing and exercise

I ventured out to the driving range this evening after dinner to hit a bucket of balls. I hadn’t held a club since last July, when I was about 40 pounds heavier and had only been weight training for about a month. Man, did I have a miserable 30 minutes! I’m going to attribute it to the fact that my center of gravity has changed substantially and I now have some muscular definition; of course, I can only use that excuse for so long, right?

While I’m sure that the changes in my physical makeup play some part in the lousy hitting tonight, the more plausible excuse is that I haven’t hit a ball for several months, and I didn’t do ANYTHING to warm up. 

Despite the poor showing tonight, I really enjoy going out and playing. Contrary to popular opinion, there are several health benefits related to golfing, not the least of which is actually getting outside instead of being planted in front of a computer screen. So before I go out the next time, I’ll be sure to do some of the following warm-ups, courtesy of PGAProfessional.com:

Arm Circles

Instructions:

• Raise arms out to side
• Start with small circles with your hands and gradually increase
• Hands should feel light
• Keep speed of movement moderate
• After 15 seconds switch directions and repeat
• Complete each direction twice

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Warm up and increase blood flow to shoulders
• Prepare shoulders for a full range of motion in swing
• Allows golfer to make a fluid, easy swing on first tee
• Promote relaxation and fluidity in shoulder for effortless swing

Overhead Extension

Instructions:

• Grab club just outside shoulder width
• Hold club over head with arms extended
• Feet shoulder width apart
• Bring club down to legs and raise again
• Repeat movement for 15 seconds

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Prepares shoulders for better top-of-backswing position
• Improves functional range of motion in finish position/or follow through
• Increases leverage on downswing from the top

Overhead Sidebend

Instructions:

• Grab club just outside shoulder width
• Feet shoulder width apart
• Hold club extended overhead
• Lean body to one side feeling stretch on opposite side
• Hold for brief moment and go immediately to other side and repeat
• Repeat each side 3 times each

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Greatly improve range of motion of trunk on back swing and follow through
• Reduce any limitation in trunk rotation, improving full back swing
• Create more club head speed and power with bigger coil
• Reduce stress on lower back in both extreme take away and finish

Golf Rotations

Instructions:

• Place club over shoulders behind head
• Grab at each end of club
• Assume golf posture and rotate upper body back and through
• Keep lower body quite still and feel the stretch in mid section (”core”)
• Repeat each side 10 times

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Prepare golf specific muscles of the trunk to make an aggressive move from the first tee on
• Also prepares proper sequencing of swing, while warming muscles
• Will improve body movements during swing from the beginning, not sacrificing strokes of the first couple of holes

Modified Good Mornings

Instructions:

• Slightly flexed knees
• Grab club and bend at hips
• Let arms hang relaxed in front of legs
• Stretch hamstrings and lower back by lowering club down legs
• Return to starting position and repeat 15 times

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Increase circulation in lumbar (lower back) area to withstand the high torque from initial swings
• Allow for a more relaxed posture position through out swing
• Reduce chance of injury to lower back early in the round

Partial Squat

Instructions:

• Feet shoulder width apart
• Place club in front of you and hold with both hands for balance
• Lower body by bending at the knees not hips
• Raise back up and repeat 15 times
• Keep upper body very erect

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Increase blood flow and circulation through out body
• Great total body warm up to allow body to make a relaxed, comfortable first swing
• Increase range of motion in hips encouraging a more synchronized swing from the ground up

Side Lunge

Instructions:

• Hold club behind neck, looking straight ahead
• Step directly out to one side feeling a little pull up inside of leg
• Go directly the other direction and repeat
• Stay very upright

Benefit to Golf Swing:

• Warm up and improve range of motion in hips and groin area
• Allow a fuller back swing with out tension in hips or inner thigh
• Be able to stay in shot longer on follow through with shifting off the right foot (for a right handed golfer) too early