Work Out Routine (Exercise for Golf)

[jlund]

^ More or less what he said. You just have to stretch a bunch. I usually take out a 20lb body bar and stretch my back in between sets....

[whetstone]

Any time you load the body over what it's used to, you will get sore. Besides stretching, doing more frequent/less intense workouts will help with the soreness.

[Yukari]

Problem is that most people tend to try to lift weights that are too heavy. When I was on a swim and water polo team, we used to lift weights, but a relatively lighter ones with more reps. You want to build leaner muscles not compact muscles.

I work out with weights 3 times a week and swim or run 5 days a week. I don't try to build compact muscles (like weight lifters/body builders), but more of lean muscle (more like gymnasts). If you try to lift as much as you can, you'll build compact muscles that are good for strength but terrible for flexibility.

[ks8829]

I am 53 and need to stay flexible and I had bad issues in the pass. What I do is to walk mixed in with light jogging, swimming and light weight work outs. When ever your back is sore, your body is telling you do some exercises.

The more exercise that you do daily the more flexible you will be and prevent any injuries from golf, especially your lower back.

I jog from 20 - 30 minutes at much as I can on soft surfaces, such as a rubberize track, sand or even dirt, I try to avoid the hard concrete because its hard on the joints and it will catch up with you later in life. I try to go slow and listen to my body.

The light weight helps firm up the muscles and I notice a slight gain in driving distances and added endurance on the back nine closing holes, all good stuff.


Any exerecise will help, especially on the back nine when you are carrying your bag.

[Par Fore]

10 minute light cardio before you workout, then stretch, then weights, then stretch at the end
One day of yoga a week
Stretch every day, even when you don't workout - stretch before and after you play golf/hit balls
Try to do at least 15 minutes of abs/core exercises three times a week - the stronger your core, the more support you have for your back

[whetstone]

I 100% disagree with this statement. Muscle is muscle, there is no such thing as "lean"or "compact" muscle.

Lean-ness is a term used to describe the amount of bodyfat one is carrying.

Problem is that most people tend to try to lift weights that are too heavy. When I was on a swim and water polo team, we used to lift weights, but a relatively lighter ones with more reps. You want to build leaner muscles not compact muscles.

[CarlSpackler]

One of the best ways I know to help reduce the soreness do to hypertrophy from weight training is to exercise that body part the day after using light weights and not going to failure. This will flood that area with blood to promote healing. Stretching is good to remain limber and flexible, but I've noticed that it will only remedy soreness from hypertrophy for a very short period of time.

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

I sort of approach it like basketball. If you lift for 6 months without playing you'll throw first shot over the backboard the next time you try to play.

So i work out at least twice a week, with the exception of abs every other day regardless, but i practice golf at least 3 days a week and typically more.

If you grow your swing with your muscles I don't think you'll see any adverse effects or less flexibility. In fact, if anything I'm more flexible just from swinging so much.

I have the luxury of living near a very good indoor golf training facility, but swinging a club smoothly for a half hour or so at night is essentially all I'm going. I'm just hitting foam balls instead of nothing.

[Gebus]

It all depends on your gym program...
I am lucky because the Coach of my university golf team also has a masters in kinesiology (which is a fancy way of saying he is a master personal trainer) and he makes our gym programs. Golf is all about stability and resistance training not really about lifting weights.
Some examples of excercises I do at the gym
Squats while balancing on a swiss ball (or yoga ball)
Lunges with a squat bar on your shoulders front foot on a bosu ball and turn both ways at extension
Push up position with feet on a swiss ball and bring your knees into your chest
Push up position with hands on upside down bosu and try to stay stable as long as possible with abs clenched
etc.

I am not gaining alot of muscle mass but I am becoming much more stable and staying extremely limber.

Dont forget to supplement properly.

[pxc]

Squats while balancing on a swiss ball (or yoga ball)

How in the world do you do squats while balanced on a ball? I can't even visualize that.

[Leftygolfer]

I have lifted for about 4 months now consistantly. I do as heavy as weight as possible as I am trying to get stronger and lose weight. I do legs, back, and chest once a week. I have gotten more flexible since I started. I could never touch my toes till now and I feel more limbar in my back and sides. WHen I am sore it is a little ackward to swing the club but I am not that sore anymore regardless of my workout. I haven't played much since the weather but my body feels better than ever. I have increased weight on every excersise I do. I do four sets. First set 20 reps, 2nd 12, 3rd 8, and then the forth maybe 6. I stretch a little bit but not nearly as regularly as I should. I don't know who gets less flexable from lifting but it isn't me.

[Uber$winG]

To help mitigate the soreness of lifting weights one should be as diligent about the post workout routine as one is about the actual workout routine.
-It’s all about diet: be sure to fuel the body with the proper amounts of both macro and micro nutrients, and stay well hydrated.
-Rest: sleep well and sleep often (if it is possible) this is the time when the body repairs itself.
-Cardio: aerobic exercise helps to oxygenate the body electric (sorry, a little Walt Whitman there).
-Stretch: any kind of yoga program will suffice.
The human body is relatively dumb, that is to say, it doesn’t know if it’s sore because it was lifting furniture or lifting weights… breaking down muscle is simply breaking down muscle.

I have to say too, there are a lot of misconceptions regarding flexibility and muscle. I have read on this forum some say that the more muscle you have the less flexible you are and that’s patently false. For example, look at male gymnasts, those guys are both very muscular and very flexible – flexibility is a developmental condition.

I’d like to say this too, when you are lifting for golf you have to realize that big muscles have no direct effect on how well you play golf. It’s important to develop a lifting routine that will benefit your golf swing – the actual act of swinging a golf club.

I do two kinds of lifting; one is the regular kind of body building routine (bench, curls, squats, etc.), and the second is Olympic style lifting (clean and jerk, high pulls, etc.) with the addition of some plyometrics. I do Olympic lifting every other day.

It’s the Olympic style lifting that has really made the difference in the off season. This kind of lifting will develop the fast-twitch muscle fibers, strength, and - believe it or not - a certain degree of flexibility…. and aside from the actual mechanics, I believe that these are the essential elements to both a sound and powerful golf swing.

[JetFan1983]

Problem is that most people tend to try to lift weights that are too heavy. When I was on a swim and water polo team, we used to lift weights, but a relatively lighter ones with more reps. You want to build leaner muscles not compact muscles.

This is incorrect. When you do 8-10 rep sets with more weight, you are engaging many more of your fast twitch muscle fibers than 12-16 reps. The key thing though is to have balance when you exercise: some sets at 8-10 reps, some sets at 12-16 reps, cardio, interval training, and advanced stretching of some kind.

But if you want to build stronger fast twitch fibers, you need to be incorporating sets where you are failing between 8 and 10 reps. I think even failing at around 5 or 6 reps is good for fast twitch too.

[CarlSpackler]

How in the world do you do squats while balanced on a ball? I can't even visualize that.

Danielle-son... musta have a balance.

I was thinking the same thing btw.

[Gebus]

How in the world do you do squats while balanced on a ball? I can't even visualize that.

It isn't easy, first you do it inside the squat cage like machine so if you start falling you have something to grab onto

It took a week or two before I could even stay balanced on the ball for longer than 5 seconds, Once you can stay balanced the squat isn't that much harder. To make it worst the coach wants me to do it with a 45 lb bar next week...

[gogolfing]

I do a hot yoga class once a week and it is great. Good stretch with a workout combined. The heat allows for a great deep stretch; the class I am in will be anywhere from 99˚ to 104˚ with 60-65% humidity. Hydrate tons during the day and afterward and it isn't as bad as it sounds. The class I do is 75 minutes, includes balance, stretching and core stuff, so it is great for golf.

[pxc]

It isn't easy, first you do it inside the squat cage like machine so if you start falling you have something to grab onto

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read. Your coach is going to get you killed.

[IceDave]

I go to Body Pump classes, it is split up in squats, benchpress, back, arms, legs, shoulders and abdomen then some stretches. Been doing this for 2-3 years, incredible results body-wise, and added balance for the swing.

The most important thing for me is that you do some sort of excercise off-season, almost anything helps. If you don't you will be really rusty at the start of the golf season.