Workout BEFORE or AFTER golf?

[Crim]

The new facility I'm at also has a small area with weights that I plan to use. Should I plan to workout before or after full swing practice?

[mvmac]

I don't think it really matters. This is just from seeing what the pros do and some of my personal experience recently. Guys workout before and/or after their rounds. If you haven't worked out in a while it might make sense to workout after you hit balls.

[newtogolf]

It depends on what your priority is so you can dedicate your best effort to what's most important.

If I'm training to run a marathon, it's more important that I give my runs top priority and I run before golf.  If I'm just training to maintain conditioning (between races), then I run after golf.  I usually try to schedule my training and golf so that I don't have to do both on the same day.

[Crim]

It depends on what your priority is so you can dedicate your best effort to what's most important.

If I'm training to run a marathon, it's more important that I give my runs top priority and I run before golf.  If I'm just training to maintain conditioning (between races), then I run after golf.  I usually try to schedule my training and golf so that I don't have to do both on the same day.

My main priority is golf. I only work out to stay in relatively good shape and not look like gumby.

[newtogolf]

My main priority is golf. I only work out to stay in relatively good shape and not look like gumby.

It's been a while since I owned a Gumby but I think he was pretty flexible so it's not all bad.

[Crim]

It's been a while since I owned a Gumby but I think he was pretty flexible so it's not all bad.

hahaha yeah after I posted the pic I thought, you know with that lanky flexible frame, Gumby might have some decent club speed.

I was thinking more of aesthetics

[muller7]

definitely after golf

[Tailgater]

I find that I play better after working out because I am a little tight, which prevents me from over swinging.

[Dave2512]

Considering I usually have a few beers golfing before. But most days I workout before and after work. If I am golfing I prefer to workout somewhat close to my tee time, gets me focused and it's a good warm up. Even on the days I head out after work I have an employee help me with some medicine ball throws before I go. That way if I get there and have to head to the tee I am good to go.

[WUTiger]

Depends on what type of workout. If I have time, I stop by my gym on the way to the course and get on the elliptical trainer for about 15 minutes. This gets my muscles warmed up and helps me feel loose. I then do a 4-part dynamic stretching routine before I hit a few balls and tee off.

If you overdo it on the weights, it could throw off your swing tempo. And, you could have fatigue on the back nine.

I was at a golf shop last summer, and another person came in to use the hitting bay. The first 10 shots he hit were pretty good, but then he started overswinging and really spraying the ball. He then said he lifted weights for an hour before coming so he could get loosened up.

[JamesA]

Hey I just joined the forum, but though I'd give my opinion. What type of workout are you doing? Lifting weights? Cardio?  Or a mix of both? Personally I tend to just lift weights and I would never dream of working out before playing a round. If you are properly working out your muscles should be aching. Let your muscles recover, eat and play golf when your muscles have recovered. That's just my opinion though :)

[festivus]

Lots of top players play better after a workout.  The nervous system is excited, the big muscles are active so you're less likely to fall out of rhythm and enact handsy manipulations.

I think it depends on what you're doing - what do you call a workout?  To me that's self-massage, lifting free weights, calisthenics, and possibly conditioning.  To others that just means running and stretching.

Over time I convinced a lot of athletes over a wide range of sports that some modest-weight but up-tempo lifting is a great pre-game activity.  It has so many benefits.

In the pros many will work out after a round or game but that's to maximize recovery time.  If you're not playing 5 straight days, it's less important and you have more flexibility.

[Lihu]

Plan a workout after. Higher skill activities should come first, after a light stretch and warmup. This is old school thinking, so maybe it's changed?

That being said, hitting golf balls is my workout. I stretch out before hitting them and after hitting them. It takes me 2 hours to hit a bucket of 120, now. 2-3 practice swings per ball. Estimated calorie burn is around 1200 (based upon consumption and weight loss). I think the 30 driver shots take the most.

[festivus]

Plan a workout after. Higher skill activities should come first, after a light stretch and warmup.

That being said, hitting golf balls is my workout. I stretch out before hitting them and after hitting them. It takes me 2 hours to hit a bucket of 120, now. 2-3 practice swings per ball. Estimated calorie burn is around 1200 (based upoon consumption and weight loss). I think the 30 driver shots take the most.

Depends on what your workout is.  A clean, snatch or turkish get-up is incredibly high skill.

Getting the hands to calm down relative to the big boy muscles being facilitated is a great primer for golf.

I love it that you stretch after hitting.  Stretching before will cause a loss of swing speed for at least 30 minutes - may not be a big deal as you warm up on the range but it's a fact.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21068685

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Plan a workout after. Higher skill activities should come first, after a light stretch and warmup.

That being said, hitting golf balls is my workout. I stretch out before hitting them and after hitting them. It takes me 2 hours to hit a bucket of 120, now. 2-3 practice swings per ball. Estimated calorie burn is around 1200 (based upoon consumption and weight loss). I think the 30 driver shots take the most.

Depends on what your workout is.  A clean, snatch or turkish get-up is incredibly high skill.

Getting the hands to calm down relative to the big boy muscles being facilitated is a great primer for golf.

I love it that you stretch after hitting.  Stretching before will cause a loss of swing speed for at least 30 minutes - may not be a big deal as you warm up on the range but it's a fact.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21068685

Yeah, I amended my statement, because this is what I was taught doing varsity sports many years ago and is probably outdated thinking.

My pre-golf stretching is relatively light, and I typically take 30 to 40 minutes just swinging and hitting wedges. It takes almost an hour before I am ready for the driver.

[festivus]

Well, your statements are actually spot on but I appreciate the thoughts nonetheless.  High skill items should come first.  That's why what the workout is means so much.

You can probably get more benefit and skip the swing speed loss with some self-massage (foam rolling or other), dynamic stretching and a few activation drills.  I included a couple videos of some things we do with athletes of all levels and sports:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8IjAdP6ddI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyinXQyA92A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZadmPcBmj0M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBNrYsKvyLk

That's a heck of a useful 10 minutes to spend for a golf warm-up.  $20 of equipment that will last for years, easily portable, and done almost anywhere.

[Lihu]

Well, your statements are actually spot on but I appreciate the thoughts nonetheless.  High skill items should come first.  That's why what the workout is means so much.

You can probably get more benefit and skip the swing speed loss with some self-massage (foam rolling or other), dynamic stretching and a few activation drills.  I included a couple videos of some things we do with athletes of all levels and sports:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8IjAdP6ddI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyinXQyA92A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZadmPcBmj0M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBNrYsKvyLk

That's a heck of a useful 10 minutes to spend for a golf warm-up.  $20 of equipment that will last for years, easily portable, and done almost anywhere.

Nice, I will take a look at these. My current issue is to reduce the warmup time for driver. Thanks for the information.

[ProFitnessPlans]

Not sure what kind of shape you are in but I would do it after -- you don't want to play fatigued (unless it's a light workout).   I'd start with an active warmup hitting all 3 planes (3 directions) glute bridges, side planks, and on all 4's opposite leg / arm out (then switch) for your warm up.  Also stick to pulling motions (so if you lift by muscle groups, back and biceps for example)... The key is not to over-do it - wear and tear chronic injuries (overtime and accelerated from overuse) are NOT fun to deal with and are very common.