Golf Strength Training - Strength for maximum Control
May 8, 2008
Generally speaking, golf is a slow-pace sport very different from fast-movement activities such as basketball, tennis, aerobic dance, or skiing. The exception to this rule is the explosive action of the golf swing, which places significant stress on shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints, and produces high torque forces on the low back and hip structures.
A golf strength training workout routine may sound grueling and also time-consuming…but it doesn’t need to be! I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed at the idea of starting a program of this nature.
No Gym
You may think you need to join a gym to begin your routine but you don’t. In fact…that could be the worse thing you do! The reason being a gym is full of machines. Machines typically have you sitting down. Machines also isolate usually one muscles group at a time…and in a controlled motion.
Most golfers, although always concerned about time away from the course, are willing to do a few stretching exercises to enhance their joint flexibility. However, golfers have traditionally resisted recommendations to try strength training. Regrettably, the popular consensus among golfers is that strength training is more likely to harm their game then help it. They are concerned that strength exercise will give them large, tight muscles that cannot be smoothly coordinated in skilled golf actions. Older golfers also fear that strength training will increase both their bodyweight and their blood pressure, as well as adversely affect medical conditions such as low back pain and arthritis.
Strength training has changed the nature of golf. It is no longer just a game of skill and finesse, but also of strength. Tiger Woods has revolutionized golf with his combined skill and strength. Over a year of weight training Woods added 20 pounds of muscle to his lean muscular frame. With this added muscle he had raised the level of golf to the point where par-5s are obsolete.
When you start working on golf strength training you might be a bit put off by the fact that many of these workouts involve the use of weights or dumbbells, don’t be, the reason you need these things is that in order to develop strength you need some sort of resistance. Using some sort of weight for example when you work on your golf swing means that you will be taking your body further than it wants to go because of the resistance - this will strengthen both your shoulders and your abdominal muscles.
Golf strength training program studies have shown that muscular output from both sides of your body are equal during your golf swing. It’s your hip muscles that initiate the movement and are activated in a specific sequence during the actual swing. The force of the motion travels up through your hips, trunk and into your arms.
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