Conditioning expert needed

[tpicciani]

OK, I've been out of golf for 10+ years. I got back into it just last week, taking a lesson, spending 4 sessions on the range, and playing two 9 hole rounds.

I'm 50 years old, weigh 178, and I'm 5'3".

My lesson yesterday showed I still had good mechanics but I have some conditioning issues. As I get tired things go bad.

So today, for 4 holes I did pretty well. My drives went 250. My 8 iron went 125 and everything went straight.

Then my left side started tightening up. There's no pulled muscle, just stiffness. My round went to pot after that because I couldn't turn through impact.

What sorts of exercises are there to work this stuff out and strengthen that left side? I'm sure if I keep at it the stiffness will go away.

Hoping there are a few PT people out there that read this thread. :)

BTW, I'm stretching with torso twist stretches every night to help firm up the area.

Thanks.

Tom P.

[Shindig]

OK, I've been out of golf for 10+ years. I got back into it just last week, taking a lesson, spending 4 sessions on the range, and playing two 9 hole rounds.

I am not a conditioning expert - I need to say that before posting the rest. Getting back to swinging the club will get that back into you. I used to get exhausted hitting a large bucket at the range (I was really out of shape 2 years ago, before I hit golf balls for the first time). I swing a medicine ball daily and have for the past year or so. I got into this from Butch Harmon's Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf . I essentially adopted the exercise routine he suggest in the book - it takes 10-15 minutes daily and is well worth it.

[skitzo]

Just start doing some simple stretching exercises and be patient. Couple of weeks will show improvement, and and will keep getting better...but PATIENCE is key.

[slackhouse]

I swing a medicine ball daily and have for the past year or so. I got into this from Butch Harmon's

I've been looking into some conditioning stuff also. Exactly what is it you do for the 10-15 minutes.

[doublesuited77]

the key is building core muscles, especially abs and developing a strong balanced base. This will give you power and improve your balance (the #1 key to power and consistancy.

my fitness routine includes lots of work with the medicene ball and lots of one-leg squats and lunges and other balance drills with a bosu ball.

[Shindig]

I've been looking into some conditioning stuff also. Exactly what is it you do for the 10-15 minutes.

Medicine Ball: 2-3 minutes. Hold in golf-stance like position. Use torso/core to do backswing then forward swing. 10 repetitions, then do it as though swinging left-handed (or whichever you didn't do for the first one).

Hammer Curls - repetitions not weight is the key. I use 10 lbs and do 15-20 reps, 3x. I got this idea from Sean Fister's "My Shot" article in Golf Digest , and asked a friend how to develop that muscle. Flys - again, reps not weight. These three constitute 10-15 minutes in the morning if I'm doing it that day. Given more time, I go to the gym and do more exercises. And not in the 10-15 mins, due to getting to the gym in the first place. Stairmaster is a regular when I'm at the gym. I do ten minutes; I think I read somewhere that Billy Payne does 45 minutes daily. I don't have his leisure time. I also do some exercises for other leg muscles whose name (both of the muscles and the exercise) I forgot, but I'll try to check the name of the machine next time I'm at the gym.

[JKilgore44]

I am a bit of a conditioning expert, although expert is a BIG word. I'm a senior Kinesiology major at Texas A&M; University, if that means anything to you. But anyhow, back to the subject.

5'3" 178lbs a bit overweight which could contribute to your stiffness coming late in your round. The first thing I would suggest to you would be an exercise bike. Set it up in your living room and ride it twice a day for 15 minutes at a time on med/high resisitance. You can watch the golf network or sportscenter and you'll be done before you know it. The second thing I would suggest in back and torso stretching, EVERYDAY. You can't just stretch before you play and expect to stay limber. You need to stretch those muscles as much as possible, every chance you get. The final suggestion I have for you conditioning routine is to cut out the crappy food. You can't eat McDonalds and hot dogs everyday and expect to improve your game (only John Daly has been able to succeed with this). If you would like a more precise conditioning routine, feel free to PM me and I'll give you a more exact routine.