Exercise For A Golfer: Don’t Fear it

Despite the success many professionals have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy in their game, mainly because of golf-specific exercises, many amateur golfers still shun any golf specific exercises. 

Even when it is rather obvious that leading names in the game like the legendary Tiger Woods heavily rely on staying in good shape by having personal trainers and by being involved in golf specific exercises.

Probably the main reason why most still fear and avoid exercise for golf is the belief that they will develop muscles. Lifting weights is a very effective way of toning the golf-specific muscles for the game, by strengthening them. Strength training using weights will never increase the size of your muscles.

In this post I’ll explain why golfers shouldn’t fear exercise.

Nobody would loathe building big muscles more than most lady golfers. Yet many of them have dramatically improved their games by increasing their strength through golf-specific weight training. 

Actually you need to be in the gym several hours a day lifting very heavy weights to develop weight-lifters’ muscles. The weight-lifting exercise regime for golf involves lifting lighter weights many more times over a very short period of time compared to a weightlifter looking for muscles with heavier weights lifted fewer times at a time but for longer hours daily.

The fact that many lady golfers have been able to dramatically improve their game by getting involved in exercises for golfers, but have not built heavy stiff muscles, should be encouragement enough for many amateurs to seriously consider exercise programs for a golfer.

Apart from weights, most of the exercises for a golfer involve stretching exercises designed to improve a golf swing. Some of these stretch exercises for a golfer can easily be done from the comfort of an office or home when you have a moment to spare.

The sooner you realize your body is the “magic bullet’, the sooner you can start your exercise training for golf and see real results.

These results will be long-lasting too!

No band-aid swing fixes that don’t even last for 18 holes.  

Your exercise training for golf should focus on your personal, physical limitations to save time and money.  Eliminate your limitations and watch your golf game soar!

To play your best golf you need to implement exercises for golfers as soon as possible.  The sooner you start, the sooner you will see results on the course.

So what’s the difference between going to the gym and plopping down on machines and doing exercises for golfers?

First off,do you sit when you play golf?

Then why would you sit in a “controlled” machine thinking it will improve your golf?

Golf is “on your feet” and in a dynamic position (golf posture).

Because the demands for golf are so unique, you need to approach your golf improvement from a different angle than just going into a gym and thinking it will help your golf game.

Exercises for golfers doesn’t just mean strength exercises.  You’ve got to do golf stretching exercises as well.

Whenever I hear a golfer say he/she needs to stretch more my first thought is “they are missing the boat”.  Golf stretching without golf exercise is not permanent flexibility.

Here’s an example for you.  

Stretch a rubber band.  Now stretch it more and more.  What happens to the rubber band?  It gets brittle and eventually breaks.

Picture your muscles just like that rubber band.  

The winning combination is golf exercise and golf stretching .  This will give you the best results.

When putting together your exercise for golf program, take a look at the body position required to make a mechanically sound swing.

Once you realize this dynamic and very unique position, you can do golf exercises specific to this position.

Things to remember.

• Do the majority of your golf exercises on your feet.

• Do them in your golf posture if at all possible.

• Keep your knees flexed, just like your golf swing.

• Do as many rotational exercises as possible.

• Make sure to do the follow through side of the swing.

• Do a high enough repetition to promote golf muscular endurance.

Exercises for golfers can be fun and keep you motivated to stick with your program.  Adherence is the main culprit for lack of results.  Like any fitness or weight loss program, if you don’t do it consistently you won’t see the results.

Staying motivated by picturing the “end-result” on the course will be a huge help.  Envision you on that first tee as a more powerful and fit golfer.  Picture blasting your drives by all your playing partners.  And lastly, paint a strong visual of you having the lowest score consistently when you play in your normal golf groups.

There is no doubt that flexibility for golf is extremely important to your golf game. Little wonder that one of the biggest fears among many golfers looking to improve their game is that of losing their flexibility specific to golf as a result of weight training that builds muscles and stretching exercises.

This is one of the reasons why many amateur golfers still avoid joining golf-specific exercise and conditioning programs. They mistakenly link every weight-training program with muscle building and bodybuilding.

Although it is true that muscle building and bodybuilding will tend to make somebody stiff, the facts are that weight training can either be used for body-building and building of muscles, or it can be used to build strength. 

The golf specific weight training programs are aimed at building strength and endurance. Not muscles. A genuine golf exercise program will have nothing in its weight training routine to remotely relate it to muscle or bodybuilding.

In fact stronger conditioned muscles will tend to dramatically improve flexibility for golf, rather than reduce it. Flabby, weak, unexercised muscles are the ones that will tend to be very stiff and over time will take away the flexibility for golf in anybody.

Stretch exercises, which work best with strengthened muscles are very effective in helping to increase flexibility. These exercises usually have a major impact on the quality of the golf swing for most players.

Therefore it is not true that incorporating dumbbells into golf specific exercises makes a golfer lose flexibility. Rather the entire program plays a major role in enhancing flexibility for golf and the results from players who have tremendously improved their game, speak for themselves.

I hope you now have a better understanding of exercises for golfers.