Why Weight Training Is Important for Every Golfer
Weight training and golf do not seem to mesh well together.
At least, this is the perception of some golfers who say that lifting dumbbells bunches them up and ruins their swing.
However, these players had the misfortune to engage themselves in a lifting program fit for bodybuilders and not specific to golfers.
For a good golf swing, the entire body needs to be strengthened.
The core, the legs, the arms all need to be primed up and as such most of the isolation exercises advocated in weight training for other sports like football, for example, isn't what a golfer needs.
What is a beneficial weight training regimen is marked by sequences involving the entire body.
It revolves around strengthening multiple muscle groups to enable it to deliver a more powerful golf-swing.
Thus, instead of simple bicep curls or bench presses that focus only on one area of the body, a golfer would do well to do ball crunches and Russian twists that develop core strength.
For your resistance training exercises to be even more effective, you have to incorporate flexibility and balance training into your routine as well.
A golfer needs a wide range of motion in order to drive the ball far into the fairway.
The hamstrings, back, hips and shoulders are areas of your body that need to be flexible in order for your golf game to improve.
Balance also needs to be practiced inasmuch as the player needs to be able to control his body movements and develop a stance that will support a powerful swing.
Besides, certain shots such as those done to get the ball out of a buried lie in a sand bunker, would require the body to keep the lower body still while swinging.
Balance exercises on a stability ball would help accomplish this.
Finally, endurance exercises will enable a golfer to make consistently strong, powerful and accurate swings in one game.
Through muscular endurance training, the muscles get strengthened and the golfer is able to retain the quality of a stroke no matter how many times he swings.
Errors such as slices and hooks are largely prevented.
The bottomline is: When done correctly, weight training has tremendous benefits for the golfer.
Not only will it allow him to give powerful shots, but will pave the way for lesser errors and lower scores.
At least, this is the perception of some golfers who say that lifting dumbbells bunches them up and ruins their swing.
However, these players had the misfortune to engage themselves in a lifting program fit for bodybuilders and not specific to golfers.
For a good golf swing, the entire body needs to be strengthened.
The core, the legs, the arms all need to be primed up and as such most of the isolation exercises advocated in weight training for other sports like football, for example, isn't what a golfer needs.
What is a beneficial weight training regimen is marked by sequences involving the entire body.
It revolves around strengthening multiple muscle groups to enable it to deliver a more powerful golf-swing.
Thus, instead of simple bicep curls or bench presses that focus only on one area of the body, a golfer would do well to do ball crunches and Russian twists that develop core strength.
For your resistance training exercises to be even more effective, you have to incorporate flexibility and balance training into your routine as well.
A golfer needs a wide range of motion in order to drive the ball far into the fairway.
The hamstrings, back, hips and shoulders are areas of your body that need to be flexible in order for your golf game to improve.
Balance also needs to be practiced inasmuch as the player needs to be able to control his body movements and develop a stance that will support a powerful swing.
Besides, certain shots such as those done to get the ball out of a buried lie in a sand bunker, would require the body to keep the lower body still while swinging.
Balance exercises on a stability ball would help accomplish this.
Finally, endurance exercises will enable a golfer to make consistently strong, powerful and accurate swings in one game.
Through muscular endurance training, the muscles get strengthened and the golfer is able to retain the quality of a stroke no matter how many times he swings.
Errors such as slices and hooks are largely prevented.
The bottomline is: When done correctly, weight training has tremendous benefits for the golfer.
Not only will it allow him to give powerful shots, but will pave the way for lesser errors and lower scores.
