Get fit before you hit

Build up your body now for a strong golf game this summer

by Justin Grinnell

The golf swing, a powerful movement, causes a lot of torque on the body. This is one of the main reasons why people hurt their lower back when they golf. The core musculature is not strong enough to support the torque of the swing, and their body and brain are not used to moving that fast through space.

If you want to improve the physical part of the swing, two things must be addressed. First you need to train for more power. And then, you need to fire up your core muscles to get your body ready for the torque.

Get fit before you hit

Build up your body now for a strong golf game this summer T More power

First: Train for more power

Everyone needs to train for explosive power at some level. One of my favorite ways to do this is with medicine ball throws.

As you age you lose fast twitch muscle fibers and speed. Some studies have shown that we lose power at a much faster rate than we do strength as time passes That’s a big reason why it’s so important to include some explosive power training in your workouts.

Two simple yet effective medicine ball drills you can do to improve your power development for golf are:

1. The split stance side toss is my go-to for folks just to feel and learn how to use their whole body to train rotational power. Try two to four sets of five to 10 reps each side.

2. The step to overhead toss combines locomotion with a little more core activation and helps improve the resiliency of the shoulder. If you have shoulder issues, proceed with caution on this one. Start with two to four sets of five reps.

Step to overhead throw

Next, wake up the core

What we think of as the “core” muscles, such as the muscles in the pelvic and hip muscles, need some much-needed attention along with the deep stabilizers along the spine.

Fit these workouts in three to five days a week, or add them to your current workout routine. The mini-band walk is the simplest exercise to do anywhere (you can fit the mini-band in your golf bag). So, you can do at least one of these at the course and that will provide a ton of warm-up benefits. 1. Ball stir the pot Two sets of five slow reps each direction seems to do the trick. 2. Lateral band walks I like 40-50 total reps in each direction. A 10,9,8,7 ladder

All the stretching in the world will not get these muscles to fire up and work more effectively. Keep to your stretching routine but don’t forget to work those pelvic and core muscles.

Split stand side toss

Ball stir-the-pot

Lateral band walks