7 Things Your Golf Flexibility Program Should Include
By: Max Johnson
When
most people think of golf fitness, they usually think
of weight lifting or some kind of strength resistance training
. The single most important golf fitness factor for your golf
performance is flexibility.
The less golf fitness stretching exercises you do,
the less
flexibility you have. This will equate to not being able to
play to your potential. It is that simple. Ignorance of the
proper golf stretches and lack of flexibility are responsible
for keeping the games of many players from ever reaching
their full potential - on all levels.
No equipment breakthroughs, no magical flying golf
balls, no $300 lessons and no "electrically charged" bracelets will ever
take the place of what a proper golf fitness stretching exercise program
can do for your game.
With the right golf stretching exercises, the
easier and further your body can turn, the better, more powerful, your
swing is. Period.
Moving the club head over a greater distance
allows for the generation of more club head speed, hence more distance
on the ball - WITH LESS EFFORT.
So, what should an ideal golf fitness flexibility
program consist of?
1) It must offer several golf fitness program
variations. A long version for regular training days and a short version
for Pre-Round Stretching. A few variations with the large exercise ball
should also be included (extremely important for the golfer) along with
a couple of club stretches to do just before tee-off & between holes if
necessary.
2) It should be thorough - addressing the head and
neck all, the way down to the feet. Remember, the golf swing is a full
body movement.
3) It must follow a symmetrical protocol - the
true key to maintaining optimal muscle/tendon/joint balance on both
sides of the body. This allows for enhanced golf swing power without a
large increase in swing effort. And this is also very important to
chronic and acute injury prevention - and hence fitness and playing
longevity.
4) It must include several key compound stretches
- stretches that elongate several joint areas at the same time -
mimicking natural movement patterns. Allowing the golfer to be more
accurate through enhanced fitness flexibility, body awareness & control.
5) It must be realistic & easy to do for golfers
at any fitness level with no equipment except for a stretching floor mat
(and an exercise ball for certain stretches).
6) It must include a series of single or double
joint golf stretching exercises. The effects of these stretches increase
exponentially when the specific body movement requires several of these
joints to move in coordination with each other (i.e. - the golf swing).
7) It should feel good - especially afterward.
This type of stretch routine should make you feel as if your posture is
immediately better & you should feel stronger - just because your body
moves so much easier & more fluidly. You should almost feel like you
could rip the cover off a ball if you were to hit one right after your
golf fitness stretch routine.
Article Source:
http://www.bettergolfarticles.com

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