Lats tensing up

[Jasonbolt]

What do you guys do to warm up and stretch your back before and after rounds? Specifically the lats.

[saevel25]

Before a round i do dynamic stretching, that is moving the muscles to warm them up, not doing static stretching.

Mostly i like to get a full range of motion in my shoulders. So i will rotate them in big circles forwards and backwards. I will mimic a bench press motion to stretch out the chest. Then i will bring do a side punch, with my arm held out 90 degrees, punch across the chest to stretch the uppper back. Obliques you can rotate your upper torso. Gluts you can do high knees. Thighs, some light squats.

Lats are a bit tricky since they are only worked out with either Pull ups and lat pull downs. I guess the best way would bring your hands above your head and try to stretch them vertically..

[allin]

I lie flat on my back and stretch them vertically,  Holding a club behind you, mid  back or lower, slowly bending over while raising the club, while technically not a lat stretch does seem to loosen them up a bit.

Originally Posted by saevel25

Before a round i do dynamic stretching, that is moving the muscles to warm them up, not doing static stretching.

Mostly i like to get a full range of motion in my shoulders. So i will rotate them in big circles forwards and backwards. I will mimic a bench press motion to stretch out the chest. Then i will bring do a side punch, with my arm held out 90 degrees, punch across the chest to stretch the uppper back. Obliques you can rotate your upper torso. Gluts you can do high knees. Thighs, some light squats.

Lats are a bit tricky since they are only worked out with either Pull ups and lat pull downs. I guess the best way would bring your hands above your head and try to stretch them vertically..

[WUTiger]

My gym is along the way between home and the course. If I'm going to play, or practice full shots, I...

• usually stop by the gym and do 10 to 12 minutes on the elliptical machine. Gets the arms and legs loosened, and warms up the body overall.
• If I can't make gym, I jog three laps around the driving range to get warmed up.

Then, after elliptical or jog, I do some dynamic light stretching club on back, behind head, and behind back, ham-string stretches. Next comes purposeful motion exercises - shortened club swings, half punch shots to loosen up,

Then, I chip and putt and hit some full shots.

I see flexibility as a cumulative benefit of working out regularly. Deep stretching after only a light warm=up can make your muscles sore or injure them (especially if you're 60 years old like me). Also, research from Texas suggests that people who do super-flexibility exercises before hitting golf shots end up overstretching their tendons, which puts wobble in their body movements and causes them to hit wild shots in the early holes.

I do most stretching after the gym workkout, or after a round of golf. Part of "cool down."