Golf Workouts Can Quickly Add Yards To Your Drives
I'm sure by now you've heard most of the professional players; both men and women actively
participate in golf workouts. It's no secret. But why then do most amateur golfers ignore
this? Is it because it seems like work? Or, does the thought of actually breaking a sweat
get you tired already?
Either way?the proof is in the bag. The number one player in the
world, Vijay Singh, does his golf workouts all the way through Sunday of each tournament.
Does it look like it's hurting his game? I don't think so. Back in 1997, a young, very
athletic golfer came on the professional scene and blew everyone away. I think you know who
I'm talking about.
Tiger took golf to another level. A real eye-opener for the veteran
players who were hitting the 19th hole after every round?and the last thought on their mind
was "exercise". What a wake-up call to be totally dominated by a player who was
only 20 years old at the time.
How about the year Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 and totally
dominated the LPGA? Do you know what she attributes it to? Golf workouts! She hired a
trainer and got serious about her fitness. And look what happened? She hasn't looked back
since. She just recently came out with an instruction book and devoted a chapter to golf
workouts.
To my recollection, that's the first women's instruction book to include golf
workouts. Working out to playing better golf isn't just for the guys; Annika has proved that.
Now more LPGA players are working out to try and catch her, just like the guys did with
Tiger.
How about the senior tour? Now players are realizing they can still make good
money, even after they've turned 50 and can't really compete with the young guys anymore.
With the money at stake, they too are all working out. This group of players both amateur and
pro is the biggest demographic that needs it the most.
With age comes a decline in both
flexibility and strength. When the body declines, the swing goes right along with it. The
result is a big loss in yardage, more mishits, and ballooning scores. The end
result?frustration! I can't tell you how many times I've played with and received phone calls
from older golfers who are just about ready to quit the game.
They are SO frustrated at
this rapid decline, that golf's not fun anymore. But there is hope. The answer? Get your
body moving just a little better. How? By participating in golf workouts that focus on golf-
specific strength AND flexibility. It's amazing to see golfers in this age bracket
dramatically improve their driving distance, accuracy and scores.
You don't have to
accept that with age, your body declines. No way! You've got to fight it all the way! I'm
dead serious. The ones who do, are the ones who are enjoying the game again and taking all
the money in their foursome.
What is a golf workout anyways? Is there such a thing?
You bet there is. The golf swing is an awkward movement that puts a tremendous amount of
stress on the body. To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body
to be both strong and flexible specific to the swing.
I could spend dozens of pages
describing what this entails, but for the sake of this concise article, let's keep it
simple.
The golf swing is a rotational movement, with your body in golf posture. Slight
flex of the knees and a bending forward at the hips. Since the golf swing is primarily
rotational, wouldn't it make sense to focus on rotational strength and flexibility? That is
improving your turning ability related to range of motion and speed.
So anything
involving twisting with resistance such as a medicine ball, a dumbbell, or even a weighted
club would work. You need to have a resistance to take your body beyond where it normally
goes.
For instance, if you took a club and placed it behind your neck, got in your golf
posture and rotated back and forth; do you think that by itself would improve your range of
motion or power?
No, you need to add resistance to accomplish this. Take a weighted
club and make golf swings. Now you'll be making a bigger turn AND improving your power. Same
thing with a medicine ball. Make turns back and through holding a 4 to 6 pound ball and
you'll see a BIG improvement.
In fact, most of your abdominal work should be rotational.
Doing straight crunches won't improve your driving distance. Doing rotational movements with
added weight will. This is where I could go on and on, but I won't overload you.
I hope
I've convinced you to take a real serious look at what all the other successful professional
players are doing to stay at the top of their game. Doing golf workouts can and will
dramatically change your game forever. Now get out there and get it started. No
procrastinating. Do it right now!
