I’m a big believer that it’s important to address all modalities of the body, not just focus on one specific motion in training.  And these days, I feel like so many trainers are in a rush to mimic the golf swing in a workout or assume that because it looks like a golf swing, it must be good.  In many of these cases though, it has the opposite effect and can cause problems or even lead to injuries and dysfunction.

Today though, I will make a case for why sometimes you do in fact have to add in a little bit of “Golfish” (a word the great Charlie Weingroff coined during his presentation at the World Golf Fitness Summit a few years ago) to the menu.

As I talked about in yesterday’s post, I’m in the middle of getting ready for a golf tournament next week and my body just has not been cooperating at all.  My range session on Monday felt like I was swinging a club with absolutely not stability or muscle engagement.  I came back to my office afterwards and did a strength workout as well as the exercises I posted.  The end result was waking up pretty sore this morning, but also a much more synced up body!  Yes, I am one of those people that feels more connected with my movements when I’m a little sore.  Today was also one of the first days I felt like I could put the gas pedal on, particularly with my driver.

A huge part of regaining the connection in my body this past day was using some exercises that do mimic a golf swing in addition to many others.  But those motor patterns in the swing are essential to reinforce and my body in particular responds quicker in the gym than on the range.

So here are a few of the other exercises I included to get things back on track:

• Quick Turns:  This is a great drill for feeling the ground and core engage.  Stand tall with your hands together and push.  Pretend that you have a wall on each side of you and begin rotating right and left as fast as you can.  The rotation needs to come from the torso, remembering to only go as far as the wall would be located.  30 seconds as fast as you can!
• Turn and Reach:  Start in a solid split stance position feeling the glutes engaged.  Begin by reaching your arm towards the ceiling and then using the torso to rotate the arm behind you.  Once you have hit your max range of motion you can continue to circle the arm.  10 Reps on each side
• Push Down Lunges:  This is another great exercise for creating tension in the core and separation.  Step back into a reverse lunge while simultaneously pushing your hands towards the ground.  This might work as a great dance move as well!  10 reps each side (this would also be a great driving range warm up exercise!)
• Hip Turns:  Let’s do the twist!  Arms across your chest, keep the feet connected and rotate from the hips and core.  If you have a mirror, you can use that for feedback to see if you are keeping the upper body stable.  30 seconds or until it goes like this……did you catch that song reference? 🙂

So there you go, a few exercises that have a more golf feel to them that will engage the body and help reinforce movement patterns.  This is a major win!!

I have a golf lesson tomorrow to check back in on some trackman numbers and see how I’m progressing with my swing changes.  Updates to come!

-S