Do you know that there is a fitness routine to help you play better in golf?
Recreational golfers across the nation have started to see that a fitness routine has benefits. Like the pros, taking care of your body can improve your physical and mental capacity on and off the course. By simply working on your power, strength, and posture, the way you swing and how fast you can execute it will be improved. You’d consistently hit the ball further and straighter.
In this article, you’ll learn how to improve your game by simply incorporating a fitness routine. You’ll know the different kinds of exercises you can add to your training.
For Fitness
Golf doesn’t require its players to be slim and athletic. It’s one of the benefits of the sport. You get to play a sport that doesn’t require you to trim down and adopt a clean-eating lifestyle. However, golf requires discipline.
Exercising discipline in golf extends to the way you keep your body healthy. You need to be fit physically to play golf well. You’ll be swinging a heavy club violently, which is equivalent to high-speed single efforts. According to the Titlelist Performance Institute, you’ll need to improve mobility, speed, hypertrophy, and strength to accomplish that. And to achieve this, you need to be fit first.
Being physically fit for golf means reducing the risk of injury, playing more consistently, and minimizing fatigue while playing. It will allow you to play better and reach your overall health markers.
To be fit, you can do basic fitness exercises such as lunges, squats, burpees, glute bridge, and planks (including side planks). Try adding dumbbells to your routine. Use it to do standing overhead dumbbell presses, dumbbell rows, and single-leg deadlifts.
For Strength
If you’re serious about golfing, you need to understand the importance of muscle loss. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics stated that people start to lose muscle mass at 30. You need muscles for your strength training, which is crucial in maintaining ball control and hitting longer drives.
You should perform muscle-strengthening activities and exercises at least twice a week. Focus on exercises that work the major muscle groups, including the arms, shoulders, abdomen, chest, back, hips, and legs. Everyday activities such as gardening and carrying groceries can strengthen muscles. Examples of strength exercises include sit-ups, pull-ups, and push-ups. You can also use resistance bands and weights to strengthen your muscles.
For Power
In golf, power is the speed that allows you to generate force. You need to improve your power so you can increase your clubhead speed, enabling the ball to go farther when hit.
Three of the most popular exercises for increasing power involves the use of a medicine ball.
It is a weighted ball that’s about 13.7 inches wide. Its weight ranges from 2 to 25 pounds. Use it to perform the parallel, perpendicular, and scoop toss.
To do the medicine ball parallel throw, stand facing a wall that’s about 3 feet away. With the ball at waist level, rotate your body away from the wall. Applying speed and strength, throw the ball onto the wall and catch it with outstretched hands as soon as it bounces back to you. To do the medicine ball perpendicular throw, you do the same, but you should be facing sideways instead. With the medicine ball scoop toss, you toss the ball upwards while bending your knees.
Using the right products during training is important. Many technologies, like an indoor golf course simulator and training aids, help you master golf. But, make sure you get only high-quality equipment that will produce results.
For Mobility and Stability
At the start of the downswing, you’ll notice how professional golfers detach their hips from their upper bodies. What actually happens is that they can stretch their torso muscles. This gives them the power to execute their swing sequence. To do the same, you should exercise your mobility.
Some exercises to improve mobility include split squat, 90/90 stretch, and standing Y. Rotation exercises such as bear sit rotation, pelvic rotation, half-kneeling rotation with side bend can also enhance mobility.
Be Mentally Fit
Once you achieve your fitness goal, you should maintain your routine. Exercise regularly. Commit to what you started.
Being mentally fit is also important for golfers. Experiencing stress and tension while playing is normal in any sport. Unfortunately, these two can affect how athletes perform. It’s important to be mentally fit to avoid stress and tension on the golf course. One of the best ways to do this is by managing your expectations unless you’re a pro player.
By managing your expectations, you get to accept your mistakes and that can lead to improvements and better play.
