Golf Blog by The Orlando Golf Blogger

The Essentials of a Golf Fitness Program – Part Deux

Hello again everyone!

Thank you for your patience in Part two of our series where I’ll talk about the much anticipated Strength/Stability and Power components of a golf fitness program.

If you missed out on part one, here’s the link.

Essential Components of a Golf Fitness Program

So without further ado:

Strength/Stability

Once you have developed mobility in your body and you are able to create a “bio-mechanically efficient” golf swing (see “kinematic sequence & MyTpi.com for more info) and move your joints through proper range of motion, then you are ready for strength and stability.

Strength and stability refers to not only using resistance to strengthen your body (like weights, cables, bands, body weight, etc.) but also the ability to stabilize both your body and the joint that is moving. As golf has a lot of moving parts, the ability to stabilize and utilize the CORE is essential in creating a stable base from which you can create a sounds swing.

Some great stability and strength drills include: front plank/prone iso abs, kneeling chops from high to low or low to high to create distinction between your upper and lower body, rotations with bands utilizing your obliques, side planks, high row and low row with bands or cables, downward chest press with cables or bands and many, many more. To see some of these in action and view others, check out the exercise library at MyTpi.com.

Typically, I like clients to perform two sets of many different exercises with a resistance that is fatiguing usually within 12-15 repetitions. If done three times a week with days of rest in between you can achieve great results. If you are “hardcore” then you could also vary between “push/pull” days where one day includes pushing exercises and the other, pulling exercises. This could allow you to train five to six times a week….but then when would you have time to golf?

Power

Ah yes, the unquenchable thirst for more power and distance. Although power comprises of an important component of a golf fitness program, the reason it comes last is to truly prepare your body for the ballistic movements. Moving at high speeds can be a recipe for disaster and injury. Just think about that one swing you took and tried to kill it and felt your back ache  for days afterward…you know what I’m talking about.

So once you have all the other components implemented and have made significant improvements, then power can be introduced.

Many great power movements include a medicine ball such as lateral tosses against a wall both face on and perpendicular to the wall, seated rotation med ball slams, and a fave of mine, the squat/press/rotate and throw to partner. If you can’t use a medicine ball, try incorporating bands in the same movement pattern with a higher speed. Another great one for the lower body includes lateral jumps from 1 leg to the other which can incorporate both power AND balance.

Once you’re ready, power exercises can be implemented a few days in the week with your program. Usually two or three exercises with one or two sets each is plenty. Remember, the goal of power exercises is NOT to make you sore, the goal is to train your fast twitch muscle fibers so that they engage with more velocity during your swing. This leads to increased swing speed and ultimately, the much desired increase in distance off the tee.

Well folks, that about covers it for the Essentials of a Golf Fitness Program! I hope you learned some valuable information with which to attack your golf fitness goals.

And remember, if you have any questions or would like to set-up your own, individualized golf fitness program, you can contact me at John@PinHighFitness.com or 800-610-8939. You can also follow me on twitter at PinHighFitness.

Today’s guest post was written by John Heringer, owner of PinHighFitness.com. John is a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Golf Fitness Specialist as well as a Certified Strength and Core Specialist (CSCA) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Greetings everyone!

Tis the season to start your golf fitness program! It’s been great to watch Dave begin his journey into the realm of golf fitness and I wanted to see if I could also help give you all a couple pointers.

Now I know I should never assume, but I’m going to go ahead and guess that many of you think that a golf fitness program consists of:

A) Just actually going to the gym
B) Throwing in a couple crunches for your “core”
C) Getting a great machine-based workout for all your muscle groups

Well, while your intentions are great, the logic behind the workouts will fall short. You see not all fitness programs are created equal. This is why football players, hockey players, triathletes, and golfers will all have distinct types of programs.

I know what you’re thinking…”But John, maybe I don’t have aspirations of playing on the tour and just want to get in shape!”

Well folks, if your program is well rounded and includes some cardio, you can achieve both; great fitness and maximal golf performance.

Let me cover some of the basics of golf fitness today and if Dave is kind enough, perhaps he’ll invite me back.

The Essential Components of a Golf Fitness Program

These are principles that should guide your entire golf fitness program. They include: Flexibility/Mobility, Balance, Endurance, Stability/Strength, and Power. Today, I’ll talk about the 1st three.

Flexibility/Mobility

As a golfer, your body requires a tremendous amount of flexibility and mobility for a truly efficient swing. The problem is that many golfers just don’t have it. They have “C” posture with rounded shoulders at address or perhaps they can’t even get the club up overhead.

The first step in a golf fitness program is to identify those areas and start creating more mobility. If there is pain, you need to seek medical attention to get at the root of it. Once you have taken away the pain, you can proceed accordingly.

Balance

Yes, I know you realize balance is important but how many of you actually practice it?! Try raising one leg up to 90 degrees and holding it there for 30 seconds. If that’s easy, now close your eyes and you will see it become substantially more difficult. Balance is a cornerstone of a golf fitness program because you need a stable base in order to create an efficient swing. Trying to work on that back? Try a standing 1 arm row on 1 leg and kill two birds with one stone.

Endurance

Just because you play golf and walk, doesn’t mean you do cardio! Although walking is great exercise, eventually your body adapts and after a while it doesn’t do much to stimulate your cardiovascular system. There are two distinct types of cardio that I’ll briefly touch on.

• Steady State Training – Maintaining a certain percentage of your Max Heart Rate for a specific duration of time. For example, 75-80% or 30 minutes. Great for establishing a good aerobic base.

• Interval Training – Now this one people are not so familiar with. It incorporates high levels of intensity followed by active rest recovery. For example, 30 seconds of a fast walk on an incline followed by 30 seconds of a normal walk pace on flat terrain. Typically you would perform anywhere from 2-8 bouts of this combo accompanied with a proper warm-up and cool-down. This can be very demanding on the body as your heart rate will go up very high but due to the type of training, the “afterburn” (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption) will help you burn more calories and ultimately more body fat! In addition, it simulates the sport of golf. Think about it; one big powerful swing followed by a rest as you walk/drive to your ball.

Note: As this can be demanding, I only recommend performing it 1-3x/week depending on your experience with exercise.

Lastly, if you do decide to pursue a golf fitness program, don’t half-ass it (pardon my French). Get some help from a qualified trainer, preferably one that is certified by the Titleist Performance Institute (www.mytpi.com, a wealth of golf fitness articles and exercises). They can conduct an entire physical screening process to help determine where you need help on your program so that you minimize risk and maximize your efficiency.

Well, I hope this has helped you all get a better grasp on the basics of a golf fitness program. If you would like more help or are interested in your own personalized golf fitness program, please contact me at John@PinHighFitness.com or 800-610-8939. You can also follow me on twitter at PinHighFitness.

Today’s guest post was written by John Heringer, owner of PinHighFitness.com. John is a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Golf Fitness Specialist as well as a Certified Strength and Core Specialist (CSCA) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Bottom Line.. he’s at least  billion times more qualified than I am to be talking Golf Fitness.