Golf Fitness Programme

lotie

Anybody got recommendations for a good fitness program to get ready for the golf season. Book, DVD, instructor.... You all know how many wonder systems are available on the web (3 minutes a day and hit it 30yds longer!). I'm simply looking for a simple program to improve flexibility, strenght and stamina (am 40 playing off 10).

Cheers!

PhilipMarlowe

Me and fitness don't go well together... me and flexibility go even worse.
I've made a new-years resolution this year about press-ups and reading a little about it online has just led me to this recession-busting programme that looks interesting to me - 100 push up challenge

stebed

I am in a similar situation to you, 40 in 3 months and playing off 11. Christmas has added about a stone more "muscle" than I would like but fortunately my wife really came up trumps this Christmas and has bought me a full Titleist TPI screening with John Kelly at St. Margret's GC and follow up lessons which I start tomorrow. I believe most of the workout they prescribe can be done at home with very little equipment but will find out more tomorrow.

G1032

Licksy wrote: »

recession-busting programme that looks interesting to me - 100 push up challenge

Tried that before. Gave up half way through. Just got too lazy. Might give it a go again.

PhilipMarlowe

I downloaded the app to my iPhone and tried it out yesterday... basically it keeps track of what you should be doing / what you do. Simple thing I guess but pretty neat to have it on the phone... the tables are all online anyway so you could print them out. Didn't find the start of the thing too easy so we'll see how long I last at it! Must be an approaching 40 thing...

Curly7

First off strengthen your core and legs, do crunches, planks, russian twists, squats, lunges and box jumps (you can do these all at home if you can't get to the gym) This will give you a good base for power and balance

Then if you have access to a gym do some lat pulldowns, upright rows and deadlifts to strengthen your back and lats. Not only will this help with distance and power but it will help your posture.

Combine these with a stretching regime and you'll be flying, you'll notice the differnce on the back 9 when you usually get tired

golfmadfootyfan

I Would recommend not doing any weight training as this will only restrict your swing mechanics. The most important thing you should be doing is improving your flexibility, balance and core strength. I would highly recommend the golf conditioning clinic in swords as I have been there and have seen a noticeable improvement in my golf game. Hope this helps

Curly7

golfmadfootyfan wrote: »

I Would recommend not doing any weight training as this will only restrict your swing mechanics. The most important thing you should be doing is improving your flexibility, balance and core strength. I would highly recommend the golf conditioning clinic in swords as I have been there and have seen a noticeable improvement in my golf game. Hope this helps

No weight training??? You're having a laugh right???? Look at what all the pros are doing now, look especially at the world number 1!

Curly7

golfmadfootyfan wrote: »

I Would recommend not doing any weight training as this will only restrict your swing mechanics. The most important thing you should be doing is improving your flexibility, balance and core strength. I would highly recommend the golf conditioning clinic in swords as I have been there and have seen a noticeable improvement in my golf game. Hope this helps

from Tigers website below...

Weight training

My weight-training program is designed for balance, control and endurance. I lift to enhance my entire body because golf requires upper and lower symmetry. I also develop my right and left sides equally because it improves how I strike the ball.

The idea is to build the strength I need to crush a golf ball rather than develop big muscle volume. I lift sub-maximal weights at higher reps, sometimes 25 to 50, because I'm going for tone and endurance instead of bulk. Bodybuilders usually lift heavier weights in sets of six to 12 because they're going for mass. Sometimes, I add plates to break up the routine and challenge myself, but I rarely lift a lot of weight.

My program works all of my muscle groups, but there are a few areas that need extra focus. Golfers are always hunched over, so it's important to strengthen the back and shoulders to support good posture. Legs are the platform for every swing, so my goal is to create a strong power base.

To keep things interesting, I use a mix of weights, resistance and isometric training. If you keep your muscles guessing, it makes them work harder. Whatever I'm doing, I'm careful not to overstress my muscles. I push to the point of muscle failure, not pain.

gorfield

golfmadfootyfan wrote: »

I Would recommend not doing any weight training as this will only restrict your swing mechanics. The most important thing you should be doing is improving your flexibility, balance and core strength. I would highly recommend the golf conditioning clinic in swords as I have been there and have seen a noticeable improvement in my golf game. Hope this helps

I think this guy might disagree....http://robbiecannon.wordpress.com/author/robbiecannon/

Robbie has transformed his game through conditioning and is an inspiration to anyone that knows him. He has gone from being a decent amateur to a championship winner and now a full irish international. Im a close friend or robbies and i know he would be delighted to answer any questions and help out anyone.

Nerdstrom

gorfield wrote: »

I think this guy might disagree....http://robbiecannon.wordpress.com/author/robbiecannon/

Robbie has transformed his game through conditioning and is an inspiration to anyone that knows him. He has gone from being a decent amateur to a championship winner and now a full irish international. Im a close friend or robbies and i know he would be delighted to answer any questions and help out anyone.

Thanks for the post Gorfield, I had heard of Robbie but I didnt realise he was so focused on his fitness. I found his site very interesting but i didnt see if he was available via e-mail.

This off-season is the first one where I have tried to focus on golf related fitness, and I would appreciate his advice about what to do in the gym. Iv been doing some stuff I have picked up along the way, but I'm not entirely sure its correct.

Any advice on how to contact him??

gorfield

You can leave him a comment on his blog under the video, hes the kind of guy that will certainly get back to you, if you dont hear from him in the next day after leaving a comment get back to me and ill phone him to see if he wouldnt mind me passing on his number.

puttputt

Have you looked at www.mytpi.com , you can register for free and there are lots of exercises for flexibility and strength that you can do at home.

Myksyk

I've committed to this in the last few months and hope to see a difference this year in my game. Going to the gym two to three times a week (running, weights) and have a non-taxing regime at home of doing 50 crunches, 30 reverse crunches and 25 slow push-ups every morning and night - NO excuses! Have definitely noticed a difference. Has also helped greatly with a nagging lower back pain which has essentially disappeared.

jimjo

Always remember a good healthy diet is an integral part to any fitness programme.

The fitness forum on here is packed to the rafters with knowledgeable posters.

Russman

+1 on the importance of stretching, especially the hamstrings, really frees the back up. RDLs (done properly) are particularly good for this in my experience.

Just my tuppence worth

golfmadfootyfan

Curly7 wrote: »

No weight training??? You're having a laugh right???? Look at what all the pros are doing now, look especially at the world number 1!

Curly7, I should have explained myself better. If you have never undertaken weight training before i wouldn't recommend it first. First You should work on your flexibility as the majority of amateur golfers have poor to very poor flexibility. A proper golf specific physical screen would determine this. If you hit the weights first you are only making the muscles that are important to you swing tighter ( which is the opposite any golfer wants). Once you have improved your flexibility then you should start targeting balance and core strenght, The stronger your core muscles that further the distance you will hit the ball. Then you should hit the weights. Remember no one on this forum is tiger woods, so just because he is doing it now doesnt mean we have to do it. You have to start at the beginning and work your way up otherwise you will you will not improve.

toggle

golfmadfootyfan wrote: »

Hey Nerdstrom,
I would recommend giving this site a look over as this guy really knows what hes doing, He offers really good rates and works with alot of professional golfers on the Irish circuit.

As a matter of interest where did Garrie do his golf specific training?
You mentioned in your testimonial that you had been previously screened that showed various physical limitations, were you not given a program by that person?

Regards
Toggle

BrianD3

I have seen so called golf specific programmes before, most were bullsh1t composed of pissy isolation exercises and very high reps.

What is beneficial for golf is a general strength programme incorporating free weight compound lifts, grip training and heavy core work with reps probably in the 1-8 rep range.

There is little point doing 25-50 reps to failure of any exercise, it surprises me that Tiger Woods apparently does that. I would suggest that either he has been badly advised or else that is not his actual programme. The piece quoted from his website is full of bad information and cliches about "bodybuilding" and "toning" it's like something a clueless personal trainer would have written.

In terms of recognising the value of the correct kind of training, golf is years behind other sports that involve swinging a bat/club such as baseball etc. The exception is those who compete in Long Drive, they would be clued in and most of them would have a background in heavy athletics eg hammer throwing, weightlifting , powerlifting. And before anyone says that they are just big brutes who blast the ball a huge distance with little accuracy, many are very good golfers with low or scratch handicaps.

golfmadfootyfan

BrianD3 wrote: »

I have seen so called golf specific programmes before, most were bullsh1t composed of pissy isolation exercises and very high reps.

What is beneficial for golf is a general strength programme incorporating free weight compound lifts, grip training and heavy core work with reps probably in the 1-8 rep range.

There is little point doing 25-50 reps to failure of any exercise, it surprises me that Tiger Woods apparently does that. I would suggest that either he has been badly advised or else that is not his actual programme. The piece quoted from his website is full of bad information and cliches about "bodybuilding" and "toning" it's like something a clueless personal trainer would have written.

In terms of recognising the value of the correct kind of training, golf is years behind other sports that involve swinging a bat/club such as baseball etc. The exception is those who compete in Long Drive, they would be clued in and most of them would have a background in heavy athletics eg hammer throwing, weightlifting , powerlifting. And before anyone says that they are just big brutes who blast the ball a huge distance with little accuracy, many are very good golfers with low or scratch handicaps.

Hi Brian,

I agree with what your say as to regards to lifting relatively heavy but the most important aspect for any golfer to work on is flexibility first. Especially if a person has never done any lifting before.. the majority of amateur golfers have tight restricted swings, just have a look on the course next time you play, it has nothing to do with a lack of strength training, more to do with lifestyle and and lack of flexibility and if they were to undertake a strength training program with little or no flexibility work they would restrict there swing even further. I would definitely recommend anyone who wants to improve there golf for the coming season to get a physical analysis done first to find out where they are at physically and then get something specific done up for them like I have. also not all golf fitness programs incorporate pissy isolation exercises, mine certainly doesnt, i suppose it depends on how good your trainer is and the knowledge they have.

Garrie

toggle wrote: »

As a matter of interest where did Garrie do his golf specific training?
You mentioned in your testimonial that you had been previously screened that showed various physical limitations, were you not given a program by that person?

Regards
Toggle

Hey Toggle,

Garrie O'Neill here...

PhilipMarlowe

Said too much already I think..... the last two posts came from the same address.

PhilipMarlowe

Deleted some posts and edited a few others.
For some reason I haven't banned anybody.... while this christmas spirit lasts, anyone that wants to advertise their business on this site should send an email to hello at boards dot ie about it.

toggle

Licksy wrote: »

Deleted some posts and edited a few others.
For some reason I haven't banned anybody.... while this christmas spirit lasts, anyone that wants to advertise their business on this site should send an email to hello at boards dot ie about it.

What was wrong with my post that it was deleted?

PhilipMarlowe

Sorry, it was quoting a post that had a link in it... back up now.

jackcee

I have never taken my golf seriously.

Perversely, now that I've reached the autumn of my years, I've decided that there is more to golf than riding on a buggy with the sun on my back.

Prepared to put a bit of work in to improve my game - such as it is.

Have been reading the posts here - but, not familar with some of the terminology, cruches, semi-crunches etc., !!!!!!!!!!!!!

About six days a week, I put in a flat-out three mile walk. Very occasional swimmer. Even more occasional yoga merchant.

I read somewhere, that swimming was not to be recommended for golfers - something to do with muscles. Mind you, it was a contributor to some discussion or other - so maybe that is off the wall.

When I do the basic yoga stuff, I find it helps to strengthen my back, spine, etc., - but I feel that it stiffens me up a bit. Maybe that is because, I dont it regularly enough.

At my stage, I feel that flexibility is the most important thing.

Looking for suggestions, but I just will not go to a gym - swore off that years ago.

EnjoyandImprove

yeah golf fitness, tiger has obviously done a lot of heavy weights, has he gotten longer, no! has he gained more control, hell no, he hits it pretty wild, so what tangible benefit has he gotten from his training? has he avoided injuries? i would say that there may be a link between his dodgy knee and doing squats for example i mean he is so big he must be using heavy weights. people say the bad knee is caused by his lightning hips and left leg straightening through the ball but im not so sure

1united

what are the best basic exercises and stretching for golf, as jackcee says above don't want to go to gym, haven't the time for that with work and kids, just looking for something to maintain a reasonable level of fitness for the game and avoid these bloody shinsplints I've had this last 2 weeks (play at Rossmore which is fairly hilly and the legs are wrecked lately). Just something simple I can do at home a few evenings a week.

GreeBo

Yoga & Pilates are excellent for improving both the core strength and flexibility that you need for golf.
General fitness certainly helps, but I dont think you need to be "an athlete" to play 18 holes, maybe if you are regularly playing 36 in 24 hours its more important.

A strong core (legs, abs, back, shoulders) will do more for you in my opinion.
Flexibility will allow you to apply the strength you gained from above.

Pilates & Yoga let you work on both of these at the same time without really having to worry about causing an injury or needing any equipment (other than the leotard )

Par72

I have a workout program assigned to me by a physiotherapist and the exercises are all on the Titleist Performance Institute website - www.mytpi.com
You don't have to be assigned a workout though, you can still sign up to the website and look at the exercises specific for what you want to work on.

ilovelamp2000

GreeBo wrote: »

Yoga & Pilates are excellent for improving both the core strength and flexibility that you need for golf.
General fitness certainly helps, but I dont think you need to be "an athlete" to play 18 holes, maybe if you are regularly playing 36 in 24 hours its more important.

A strong core (legs, abs, back, shoulders) will do more for you in my opinion.
Flexibility will allow you to apply the strength you gained from above.

Pilates & Yoga let you work on both of these at the same time without really having to worry about causing an injury or needing any equipment (other than the leotard )

I was going to make a similar suggestion.

I am someone who has lifted weights fairly religiously for the past decade or so (i'm 28 now) and consequently would be quite strong and certainly stronger than anyone I've ever played golf with.

It was only after quite a bit of Pilates that I really felt comfortable lengthening the swing and really getting the benefit of the strength I do have. I'd imagine your average joe's golf game would benefit more from doing pilates than a gym based program.

couerdelion

If any of you go to the gym and are looking for inspiration for a golf fitness programme then ifitness on the iPhone have a decent 3 day programme.

I can post it if any interest?