Swim workout and golf

[ATLBraves]

Hey everyone. I was just curious if there were people out there who swim to supplement their golf game?

[upndown21]

Yes, I swim 2-3 times a week. Great total body workout if you vary your strokes.

[ATLBraves]

  upndown21 said:

Yes, I swim 2-3 times a week. Great total body workout if you vary your strokes.

Do you ever get fatigued in your shoulders?

[upndown21]

Never. 15 years ago I had rotator cuff surgery and the only thing that makes my sholders sore is high weight bench press.

[gregsandiego]

I'm a swimmer and have been doing it much longer than golf. Several years back I was very out of shape and swimming along with diet  put me back in to shape.

I think the exercise is great but it doesn't directly contribute to the golf score. I'm not a great golfer (yet) but I figure if I didn't swim I'd be even worse.

[ATLBraves]

  gregsandiego said:

I'm a swimmer and have been doing it much longer than golf. Several years back I was very out of shape and swimming along with diet  put me back in to shape.

I think the exercise is great but it doesn't directly contribute to the golf score. I'm not a great golfer (yet) but I figure if I didn't swim I'd be even worse.

If anything, your preventing injury by strengthening your shoulder muscles (deltoids, trapezius......) and the joint.  Keep swimming it'll help in the long run.

[gregsandiego]

  ATLBraves said:

If anything, your preventing injury by strengthening your shoulder muscles (deltoids, trapezius......) and the joint.  Keep swimming it'll help in the long run.

Agreed. What about you ATLBraves. How much do you swim?

[ATLBraves]

  gregsandiego said:

Agreed. What about you ATLBraves. How much do you swim?

I try to swim at least 5,000 meters a week.  It helps with my shoulder function and back performance.  When I started to get very serious about golf I cut my swimming in half to dedicate more time to the game.

[gregsandiego]

  ATLBraves said:

I try to swim at least 5,000 meters a week.  It helps with my shoulder function and back performance.  When I started to get very serious about golf I cut my swimming in half to dedicate more time to the game.

Me too mainly because I usually can't fit both in - or don't want to - on the same day.

[Yukari]

I've been swimming since my early days in my childhood and was on my school swim team and water polo team.  I continue to swim almost every day (5 day/week).

I think it helps me tremendously with my shoulder turn during my golf swing.  It also keeps my back lose and prevents having any problems with my back.

[boogielicious]

Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape. Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.

[ATLBraves]

  boogielicious said:

Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape. Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.

My father has the same issue that your describing here. Have you tried doing some basic foot extensions and flexions with a resistance band? That'll srengthen up the fascia and underlying muscles in your foot region. Also, do you tend to flex your toes and foot muscles during the swim? Try relaxing them a bit and see if that will work

[harry hooker]

I swam at a pretty high level until i was 16. Then work got in the way. Perhaps i should start again. Probably been in a pool 20 times in the last 25 years. Before that i was training 8 times a week.

[boogielicious]

  ATLBraves said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape.

Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.

My father has the same issue that your describing here. Have you tried doing some basic foot extensions and flexions with a resistance band? That'll srengthen up the fascia and underlying muscles in your foot region. Also, do you tend to flex your toes and foot muscles during the swim? Try relaxing them a bit and see if that will work

Thanks for the suggestion.  I will try those exercises.  My feet are relaxed when I kick and I only do a two beat, which is why the cramps are odd.

[InTheRough]

  None said:

  boogielicious said:

Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape.

Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.

I was a competetive swimmer my entire life until i went to college and stopped so i could focus on baseball and used to get calf cramps every darn day.  Sounds lame but Gatorade really helped me prevent the cramps---dont overdo it though or you will weigh yourself down with all of the sugar--for every one sip of gatorade i took i would take 2 sips of water

[boogielicious]

  InTheRough said:

[CONTENTEMBED=/t/83045/swim-workout-and-golf#post_1167713 layout=inline]Quote:[/CONTENTEMBED] [QUOTE name="boogielicious" url="/t/83045/swim-workout-and-golf#post_1167618"] Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape. Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.[/QUOTE] I was a competetive swimmer my entire life until i went to college and stopped so i could focus on baseball and used to get calf cramps every darn day.  Sounds lame but Gatorade really helped me prevent the cramps---dont overdo it though or you will weigh yourself down with all of the sugar--for every one sip of gatorade i took i would take 2 sips of water

Thanks. I've done Gatorade and it helped on occasion. I usually did G2 to reduce the sugar.

[Yukari]

  boogielicious said:

Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape.

Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.

Often cramping is caused by low level of potassium.  Hence Gatorade helps sometimes.  I would recommend you eat bananas regularly to increase your potassium level.

[boogielicious]

  Yukari said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

Swimming is great for shoulder strength and function. Just remember to stretch after. I love to swim, but the last ten years I have been battling foot cramps. I've tried everything to stop them, quinine, getting very hydrated before the workout, salt, etc. it is very frustrating. Anyone know of anything else for me to try? My doctor is out of ideas. FWIW, I've always had cramping issues even when I'm in fantastic shape.

Last winter I ended up just using a float between my legs and just swimming without kicking. My normal freestyle is a two beat kick, so it's not because I over kick.

Often cramping is caused by low level of potassium.  Hence Gatorade helps sometimes.  I would recommend you eat bananas regularly to increase your potassium level.

Thanks. I will try that.