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The Big Five

By Mike Hansen

A golf fitness program differs from a general fitness program because more principles are included. To get your golf game in shape, follow these five:

STRENGTH TRAINING

Strength training makes athletes stronger and helps prevent injuries.

Since golf is played with your body bent forward at the hips and your knees slightly bent, strength training movements should mimic this position. If you want to train your chest muscles, skip sitting at a machine and use cables while in a golf set-up position. Besides your chest, you’ll be strengthening your core, legs, triceps, shoulders and improving your balance.

Shoulder presses also can be performed in your golf stance. Hold two dumbbells next to your ears and press, forming a triangle with your arms over your head. Be sure to keep the dumbbells in line with your ears throughout the movement.

CORE TRAINING

The core is the most important — and most neglected — muscle group for golfers. Abdominal routines need to be performed on a consistent basis to see improvement. A weak core can result in injury, poor ball-striking and lack of distance.

A great core exercise is a lunge with a twist. Stand with your right leg extended in front of you while keeping your back straight and stomach tight. Drop to your left knee and twist to your right (over your front leg) as you go down. To increase the difficulty, hold a small dumbbell in front of you.

FLEXIBILITY

Staying down in your stance while attempting to get a longer back swing is difficult if you’re not flexible in your arms, legs, hips and core.

An easy stretch is the pretzel twist. Sit on the ground with both feet in front of you, bend your right knee and place it over your left leg. Turn your upper body to the right and place your left elbow outside your right knee and turn your shoulders as far as possible. Hold for 15-30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

A complete flexibility program should be done four or five days a week, and stretching between exercises while strength training also is important.

A good stretch to maintain a full back swing is to get in your golf stance, place a club behind your neck with both arms on the club and twist at the hips to both sides. This can be done before and during a round to maintain

BALANCE

To make a consistent swing for 18 holes, you must have stability in your lower body. The most simple way to work your lower body muscles is to stand on one foot while performing all standing exercises.

Try a set of 10 overhead dumbbell presses while standing on each leg. This may be difficult at first, but as the legs get more solid, the rest of your body will follow.

CARDIOVASCULAR

Playing 18 holes can take up to five hours or more, so you must be in good cardiovascular condition to maintain your energy and focus. This is true even when riding in a cart.

Two to three 20-minute sessions of cardiovascular exercise at 50 percent to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate is sufficient to improve your endurance. Aerobic exercises are anything that increases your heart rate, such as brisk walks, running, biking, using elliptical machines and swimming. The formula to figure your maximum heart rate is: 220 minus your age; multiply by .5 and .7 and keep your heart beats per minute between those numbers. If the number is too low, work harder; if it’s too high, slow down.

About the Author:

Mike Hansen holds a degree in Exercise Science and is a Titleist Performance Institute Certified Golf Fitness Instructor, located in Irvine, CA. He is the featured golf fitness columnist for Southland Golf magazine. His website is www.healthygolfer.com