Golf requires a combination of explosive strength, reactive power and flexibility to produce maximum power on long shots. You don't need to lift heavy weights to improve your golf fitness, but some resistance work can help increase your ability to hit the ball far. Use a variety of body weight exercises and dynamic and static stretching to reach your golf potential.
Golf Fitness
You hit golf shots using explosive and reactive power, which you generate in different ways. Explosive power occurs when you make a single, powerful movement in one direction, such as pushing off of your front foot or moving your hips forward. Reactive power is the combination of two or more muscle movements to create power, such as bending your front leg down just before pushing upward with it, or the back-and-forward trunk rotation during your swing. Static stretching improves your flexibility, which allows you to take your club back farther, creating more acceleration.
Explosive Strength Exercises
Train explosive strength using exercises such as box jumps, which have you jump with both feet onto a box. Start with the box at knee height and raise the height as you improve your jump. Stand with one leg on the box then push yourself upward as high as you can with the raised leg. You can do box squats with barbells, dumbbells, resistance bands or just your body's weight. Start from a sitting position then stand straight up. Experiment with low weights at first to avoid back injury. Try deadlifts, calf raises, leg presses, hamstring curls and lunges for additional lower body work.
Reactive Power Exercises
Improve your reactive power with exercises such as depth jumps. Stand on a box, jump off, then spring upward as high as you can. For reactive squats start from a standing position, then lower yourself about half as far as a regular squat and jump up quickly. Use 50 percent of the maximum weight you can lift and do 10 reps. Your ability to turn your torso back and forth quickly is key in golf. Improve reactive core power with a variety of crunches that work your obliques by having you move side to side, rather than just forward and back. You can do this lying on your back and turning to the side as you go up, lying on your side and reaching across your body or sitting holding a weight at arms' length while turning side to side.
Stretching
Holding a stretch decreases your power for up to 30 minutes after you stretch so save static stretching for after your practice or round. Warm up with dynamic stretches such as arm swings and circles, jumping jacks and swinging your clubs without hitting balls. Make sure to do shoulder stretches after each workout to strengthen weaker rotator cuff muscles and prevent injury. Hold a towel behind your back with both arms, and pull down for 20 seconds, then switch arms. Reverse the stretch by pulling up on the towel. Stretch your legs, trunk and back using common stretches such as toe touches or pulling your foot up to your buttocks after each workout.
Member Comments