Golf is a demanding sport. It makes demands on your body, especially the muscles that support your spine and pelvis. You need to be strong in these areas because they are critical for athletic performance during golf swings, putting, or just standing up under the pressure of playing this game.
About 3 million Americans participate in golf every week; let’s say you could get a 1% improvement from each player with training if it were implemented today—that would amount to 865 players per week. Golf strength training can help your game improve, while also increasing the likelihood that you will stick with it and actually enjoy playing golf.Join us as we share some tips for strengthening these muscles in a way that will have an impact on your swing!
Related Post: Best Golf Workouts & Exercises
Contents
4 Reasons Why Golfers Need Golf Strength Training
1. Better Balance
Keeping your body in balance is key to preventing injuries while playing golf. When you train both sides of your body equally, you create a more stable foundation and prevent imbalances that can lead to injury.
In addition, strengthening your core power will help improve swing speed and muscle balance, resulting in more consistent golf shots. Plus, by training regularly you reduce the risk of injury on the course.
2. More Power
Golfers need to generate more power if they want to hit further and score better. There are several ways to do this, such as improving your swing technique or using the right equipment. However, another way to add power is through golf strength training.
This can help you build muscle and improve your overall fitness level, giving you the extra edge on the course, especially with golf club head speed.
3. Improved Posture
Poor posture can lead to back pain and other health issues. By focusing on core stability through exercise, you can prevent pain and improve spinal alignment for better posture. This in turn can improve your game by improving your range of motion and overall confidence on the golf course.
4. Proper Alignment
Having proper alignment on your golf shots can dramatically improve your overall performance. For instance, keeping your spine straight throughout your swing reduces stress and strain on the body and allows you to hit the ball farther without increasing your risk of injury.
Key Takeaway: There are many benefits to gain by strengthening your core muscles and improving your overall fitness, including better balance and reduced injury risk on the golf course.
Strength Training For Golfers Calendar
Golfers play golf year round and this can affect their training program. It’s important to keep training fresh and fun so you’ll stick with it and reap the rewards. Here are some ideas for a year-round program where you change your focus according to season.
The reason for the change in focus is that outside forces such as weather and how often you play can change your workouts, forcing you to adjust your plans accordingly and ensure that you peak at the right times. This is something that professional golfers do yo improve their physical fitness and muscular strength so that they can maintain their position as elite golfers and perform to the best of their ability.
Post Season
If you have a post-season, try to focus on light weights and cross-training. This will help maintain your muscle mass and overall strength, allowing you to come back to golf refreshed and injury-free.
Maintaining your muscle mass and overall strength is essential to give yourself the best chance of being raring to go for pre-season. By staying active and eating healthy, you’ll have the ability to return to golf without injury, allowing you to play more and enjoy the game you love.
Additionally, rest is important for muscle recovery – make sure you allow yourself time to fully recover before beginning your next training cycle.
Incorporating a training regime such as this can stand you in good stead.
Pre Season
Many golfers take the time to ramp up their strength and muscle mass during the pre-season. This allows them to hit the ground running when the season starts, and reduces the amount of time spent in the gym or playing less golf during this time.
This is a great time to build your core strength to give yourself a solid base from which to build your game upon, and also work on building leg strength and speed so that you can improve your driving distance. These improvements will translate to the course and help you score better when combined with investing in time at the range to work on your swing mechanics and techniques.
In Season
During the in-season, you’ll want to focus on maintaining your power. You can do this by implementing a periodized strength training routine. This means that the workouts will be less intense than in pre-season, but you’ll be working on developing muscle endurance and power rather than hypertrophy (muscle growth) and strength gains.
It is also important to do this to preserve energy for on-course practice and play. If you’re overtraining in the gym or in the weight room, you’ll be unable to maintain sufficient energy levels to play your best – you’ll likely feel fatigued and have less energy for practice or play, which will impact your game negatively. This is why it’s smart to focus on building endurance and power during the in-season as opposed to focusing on strength and size gains.
You’ll still have the energy you need to maintain a high level of performance and won’t fatigue as easily on the course during play and practice.
Key Takeaway: By categorizing your golf training by season you can ensure your workouts are tailored to each specific period of the year, allowing you to maximize fitness while minimizing injuries and other setbacks to your overall game.
Golf Workout Program And Exercises
Handwalks
Golfers tend to put a lot of stress on their elbows. To prevent “golfer’s elbow” and reduce the risk of shoulder injury, golfers should perform pushups with their hands on the ground.
These hand walks strengthen wrists, forearms, shoulders, chest, core, back and hips while also improving flexibility and range of motion in the shoulders and hips.
Medicine Ball Throw
The medicine ball throw is a great exercise to improve your ability to store and release energy. It should be done at a relatively slow pace and controlled at all times to prevent injury and ensure maximal results. As you get better at this exercise, you should increase the speed of the ball to increase power and explosiveness as you approach the green or tee box.
This will improve your distance off the tee and give you the confidence you need to hit the green from longer distances. It’s a great way to improve power and accuracy as well as add variety to your workout routines.
Bench Press
The bench press is a great exercise for building strength in the upper body. It’s important to use the correct weight, so that you can complete all the reps of the set with good form.
This exercise is a staple of many training programs because it’s simple and effective – it builds muscle while allowing athletes to develop strength in their core muscles as well.
If you’re looking to improve your driving distance, this is a very effective exercise to incorporate into your routine. The bench press builds chest and shoulder strength as well as increases core stability, which improves balance and helps to prevent injuries from occurring when swinging the club. With improved balance and core strength, you’ll be in a better position to hit longer drives.
Seated Rotations
The Seated Rotations exercise is a great way to improve your rotational mobility, which is crucial for the golf swing. This workout can be done sitting or standing on a bench, and it can also be done with a towel between your knees.
This exercise targets the torso rotation of the golfer and will help increase your rotational mobility. It is a simple movement that can be done at home with minimal equipment – all you need is a bench and a weighted object like a dumbbell or a kettlebell. To increase the difficulty of this exercise, try holding a heavier weight in each hand.
Key Takeaway: There is a range of basic exercises that can be regularly performed that will improve your golf game significantly over time. It is important to consistently perform these movements to ensure that your body becomes accustomed to them, however small they may seem.
Rounding Up
To conclude, if you are looking to improve your golf game, we recommend that you add simple daily movements into your routine that will help increase both your strength and flexibility – thus improving your performance on the course, especially those looking for senior golf exercises.
A dedicated golf strength training program is often something that is overlooked by recreational golfers but can help build strength while preventing injury and maximizing overall performance on the golf course. There are a range of exercises that can be performed that are effective at increasing strength without placing undue stress on your body.
Remember that it is important to combine this with a consistent warm-up and cool-down prior to playing a round of golf to ensure you remain healthy and pain-free while golfing.
