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Golf on Cape Cod - FitnessIN THE SWINGBy An Marshall Is your body surviving the summer season, or are you a back sprain
or elbow problem waiting to happen? These questions might not be so important if you train for the game. Golf is a unique sport. It is not enough just to play the game. Training for the game means that your body is neuromuscularly-attuned for the mechanics of golf, your kinesthetic senses are heightened, your swing is consistent, smooth, and effortless, and you have confidence over the ball. How does this happen? It will not happen through a generic exercise routine. Bicep curls or machine-based exercises have little correlation to the golf swing. Golf involves multidirectional movements and uses a whole series of muscles requiring precise timing and synergy. Twisting, turning and weight shifting are involved, and therefore should be included in training. Conditioning for golf is an essential part of preparation. One
must train to play rather than training while playing on the green.
The first phase of training in the gym focuses on each quality
of the sport in isolation. The exercise program should be harder
work than the actual game by five to 10 percent. This creates
the edge necessary for critical shots (i.e., from the sand trap).
The next phase is putting the pieces together. Directly simulating
the dynamic activity of golf, systems of movement are practiced.
This means repeating patterns of moving your center of gravity
under control, enhancing joint receptor communication, and storing
and releasing power. Balance and STABILITY refers to muscles that co-contract around a joint to provide a solid foundation from which movement occurs. Deep muscles closest to the core act like anchors. These muscles must be able to contract over long periods of time to sustain activity and provide postural balance. When core muscles are weak, other muscles that are inappropriate and/or ineffective try to do the job. This type of repetitive misuse leads to injury. Therefore, a wrist, elbow or back problem can actually be the result of weak abdominals. Muscles targeted in stabilization exercises are deep abdominal, back and shoulder girdle - specifically, the transversus, mulfitidus, and rotator cuff. These muscles are required for the posture and balance skills necessary over the average five-hour round. Changes in the stable platform or loss of balance can completely alter the outcome of any shot because of deviation at contact point. Working with props such as a big air-filled physio ball, Styrofoam roller, and rubber disc are great progressions for enhancing stability. For the long game, STRENGTH is imperative. One physical therapist indicates as much as 50 additional yards can be gained through enhanced strength. Strengthening exercises require the muscles to work harder than normal. Resistance such as body weight, dumbbells, machines, weighted balls and bars are used. Each exercise is performed for about one minute. POWER is strength relative to time. Power dictates club head speed. Exercises that promote movement skill, balance, coordination and speed from the core (torso, hips, rotator cuff) can increase club head speed from 82.4 to 87.4 mph (an increase of 6.1percent). The body essentially learns to accurately propel the ball through its "whipping" motion. Golf is an athletic endeavor, and in any sport there are different stages of performance conditioning. The golf exercise routine should reflect the cycles in golf play - pre-season, mid-season, and off-season. A typical pre-season program begins with performing exercises to isolate target muscles first. Examples might include (1) learning the "drawing-in exercise" to activate the transversus abdominus, (2) the use of band resistance to strengthen rotator cuff at varying degrees of range motion, and (3) squats to overload the lower body musculature. More integrated patterns at a later stage might include (1) practicing shoulder rotation using rubber tubing, (2) throwing a weighted medicine ball sideways to strengthen obliques for trunk rotation, (3) squatting and shifting weight to only one leg as the legs straighten. Then progress to practicing components of the golf swing at different speeds on an unstable surface like a wobble board. Depending on whether you play "cart golf" or "cardio golf" (carrying your own bag), your needs for training differ aerobically. Cardio golf means expending more than four hundred calories a round. The average walking distance for a round is five miles. Rather than wilting around the 12th or 13th hole, improving your reserves will allow you to maintain stamina to continue. Statistics show that only 11percent of golfers exercise to improve
their golf performance. Studies indicate that golf performance
training provides more power off the tee, increased consistency
and accuracy, decreased number of injuries, more energy for mental
focus, and graceful swings.
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