lifting weights and golf

Does lifting weights benefit your game or not. Cause ive been lifting weights with some friends for bout 6 months now and my chest is getting kinda big, i heard that if your chest gets too big or your arms for that matter, it can affect your swing in a bad way.

I have been doing a lot of reading about this lately. Yes weight lifting can improve your golf game. Erik was on the right track. Big bulky muscles can interfere with your swing. Golfers want long lean muscle. Most of what I have read has said to be lifting weight that you can lift for 12-15 reps, with plenty of stretching in-between sets. And yes, the chest is one area you really don't to get to bulky, because it will interfere with your swing.

There are a couple of good books out that talk about golf fitness. I didn't buy any of them when I looked, just chose some of the better stuff out of while in the store. Some of the Men's Health books have little golf sections to read.

When you lift weights for golf right after you do a set you want to stretch those muscles that you just worked out with, this way they wont shorten up and hurt your golf swing.

I'm a high handicapper, and I began exercising (with golf in mind) about a year ago, and doing a serious routine about four months ago. I believe the answer is yes, it helps your game. When I get out and play a bit this summer, we'll see just how much it helped. Among other things, I've gained flexibility and power, and I've seen driving distance increase a little bit.

However, there are some notes about this. * tone, not bulk. You see those guys at the gym who powerlift two reps with an insane amount of weight? That's not what you should be doing. Before moving up in weights, you want to be able to do at least 15, probably 20 reps, and move up in 2.5 or 5 lbs at most. I don't know what the stopping point is for weights, but in general, repetitions are best. * Medicine ball, seriously. You can swing it the same way you swing a golf club, so you know you're working those muscles and flexibility on the right ones. * Don't injure yourself. I know many people who have injured their shoulders doing bench-press. As such, I've avoided the bench-press in favor of exercises that don't risk my shoulders. Maybe I'm being overly cautious. * Don't underestimate cardio. I used to play poorly from holes 15 onward on account of being tired. Part of this is that I was mostly sedentary prior to picking up golf. On the other hand, I can now walk 18 holes and not get overly tired, and I'm working on being less fatigued at the end. Depending on who you ask, Stairmaster is either the best or worst exercise you can do. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about running. * Figure out which muscles to develop. The best way to do this is to pay attention when you hit clubs as to which muscles you're using. And you can see what Sean Fister has to say about this: What muscles do you want to develop to get more distance? The shoulder girdle is huge, on the left shoulder especially. On the left arm it's the triceps, the right arm the inner triceps and the biceps. The most important muscle of all is the muscle that meets your biceps on top of your forearm, the one that bulges near that sharp bone on top near your elbow. See mine? It's similar to Mark McGwire's. That's the muscle that will win or lose for you. Link * Yoga. I know this isn't lifting weights, but I've heard quite a few people swear by it. I took it for 8 weeks this past quarter, but I've barely played since the class began, so I don't know how much it has helped for a full round. Still, I know I'm stretching the golf muscles in that class. I hope this helps. Let me know if you'd like me to clarify something.

completely agree about yoga and pilates. the key is your core muscles (thighs, stomach, lower back). Also remember flexibility is just as important as strength (arguable much more so). stretching, especially around your hips, can add a TON as power.

Lifting weights, contrry to a lot of opinion, does not mess up your golf swing. It simply gives your body more efficient muscles to do the job with. Now, if they get so big that it interferes with your swing path, that's another story (but the same can be said for a beer gut).

Im only 15 so im still growing, last year I remember not being able to hit as far as i have this year, ive gained a bit more muscle and i can definatly hit it further. As i age i get stronger and i know working out definatly helps.

As a young golfer as well, once i started to work out i've hit it alot farther.

Lifting weights has lengthed my game if that is what the topic is asking ^^, not sure if I have gotten any better or not because of it. But as everyone else says its building the right kind of muscles, also make sure your building them in the right place. The muscles UNDER your torso are your real power source, tighten your abs before doing cruches and the like to help build that up.

Yeah, so this is the perfect post for me Afterall, I am a Kinesiology major.

First of all, getting stronger will in no way hurt your golf game, health, or social life for that matter. Look at the best player in the world, he's definately in shape. If you're intrested in gaining distance and eventually accuracy, the weight room is something you should consider. Remeber that there are tons of ways to get stronger without getting bulkier. Bulk is something that comes mainly from your diet. Eating lots of protein will build lots of muscle mass, which NOT what we, as golfers, want. Remember to keep a balanced diet during your workouts, trying to take in between 2000-3000 calories daily.

As for the workout, keep a medium-high rep routine in place. The most important muscles in a golf swing are your shoulders, triceps, and abs. With that in mind, I'll share with you a good golf workout that I've implemented for myself. Hopefully it can help you in the end. Give it a try, it's fairly easy, and even if it doesn't help you score lower, at least you'll hit some bombs!

Workout:
Monday-Stretch, Bench Press, Arnold Press, Overhead Tricep Extensions, Dips, forearm curls15 min Cardio
Tuesday-Strech, Stretch, Stretch (Morning, mid-day, Evening)
Wednesday-Stretch, Dumbbell flys, Front Shoulder extensions, side shoulder extensions, Forearm curls, Abs
Thursday-Stretch, Stretch, Stretch
Friday-Stretch, Walk 18-36 holes with ankle weights.
Saturday-Stretch, Rest
Sunday-Stretch, Rest

As far as sets go, try 4 sets of 14 reps with medium to low weight. As you begin to feel yourself repping the medium-low weight easily, increase it and continue to push yourself. You will need to stretch every day. It won't hurt you, don't worry. Don't walk 18 holes with ankle weights unless you're positive that your body can handle it. The first time I tried this, I just about passed out, and I'm in pretty good shape. With this workout, you should still be able to play, it's only a 45 minute routine. I gurantee that it will help you improve your distance.

If you would like a personalized routine for your body type or explanation of the lifts or stretchs, send me a PM. I'll be more than happy to explain the correct form and the muscles each lift targets. Also, I know of hundreds of other lift to target specific "golf" muscles. For instance, when you're sitting in your office at work, or on your butt watching TV, take a big piece of newspaper,spread it out completely, and place your hand in the middle of it. Now slowly being crumbling it up one handed. Continue until it's the size of a golfball and it can't get any tighter. Sounds easy huh? Just try it

The only place that i've seen a bad effect of weight lifting is on days when I lift arms and play golf, my touch around the greens is usually a little off.

yeah it does get a little hard playing after a lift. My back starts to give out on me from putting and swinging so much.

i've got a 48" chest and it hasn't effected my swing anymore than my natural lack of talent. just got to keep the swing in plane.

I'm an ex-meathead that was into weights more than golf during my college years (due to college football and good old-fashioned vanity).

Now that golf is my primary sports focus, I follow the principles of the Egoscue Method and Titleist Performance Institute.

Jack Nicklaus wrote the forward to Egoscue's first book -- if it's good enough for Jack, it's good enough for me! Plus, meatheads built like Junior Seau are also clients -- along with little old ladies. I like that.

You being in San Diego, you have both TPI and Egoscue corporate right in your backyard -- lucky you. Check them out if you're serious about getting fit and stronger for golf.

HTH...

http://egoscue.com/htdocs/about/testimonials.asp

http://mytpi.com/

Ive lifted weights since I was in high school and as your body continues to fill out there will be some changes in your swing pattern. Just keep an eye on them and fix them as they come along. Also keep in mind that when you work out a muscle group particularly in the arms that you may have not worked on in a while, the soarness will cause you game to screw up big time for a day or two. Dont get disappointed, itll be back to good in no time