I see a lot of golfers that suffer from back pain, and as they start to feel better my priority is to teach them exercises that will help prevent future episodes. One of the main reasons for developing back pain is a lack of endurance throughout the trunk and core. These exercise I’m about to show you should not take the place of seeing a medical practitioner because there are many components that contribute to back pain. However these core exercises are excellent in developing the strength and endurance needed to prevent future episodes of back pain in golfers.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos, Golf Injuries

The side plank is an excellent exercise that helps build trunk stability and core strength. Recently I have been utilizing a new technique that comes from the research of Stuart McGill and is also utilized by the Kettlebell expert Pavel Tsatsouline.
I also actually used the technique back in my martial arts days through the practice of breath control and the use of Chi.

Stuart McGill calls it “super stiffness” and Pavel describes it in his book The Naked Warrior (which I highly recommend) as “Zipping Up”. Essentially you develop the ability of isometrically tensing all your muscles while in a certain posture or during a certain exercise. McGill explains that this actually happens unconsciously at impact in the golf swing. Please don’t try to consciously do it, or you may have bad results. However I believe you can train this concept as you perform certain exercises such as the side plank.

As you watch the video below and then perform the exercise, I want you to try tensing your entire body when in the side plank position. From your fist, elbow, shoulder, trunk, hips and legs as you hold the position. This may take some practice, but it will give you great results. To start off, only hold the side plank for 10 seconds, and then switch to the other side. You can start with a few reps and progress up to 8-10 reps of 10 second hods.

Have fun adding super stability to your side plank!

Posted under Exercise Tips

A common problem I find with golfers is physical restrictions through the hips. When we look at the body from a mobility and stability stand point we know that the hips need to be flexible and mobile. If not, there are compensations that occur as well injuries. Mobile hips allow your body to get in the best possible position in your swing which can help improve your power.

These 3 exercises in this video shows movements that improve hip mobility in each plane of the body. Therefore you receive a multi-directional benefit to the exercises. Give theses exercises a try.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

You can no longer use lack of time as an excuse for not exercising! The evidence continues to come in regarding the benefits of interval training. Short sessions of daily exercise really works. I have been implementing a 20 minute methodology with many of my clients and it fits right in with their busy lives.

I want to share an article that discusses research on this topic. The interesting thing with this research is that the 20 minutes of exercise doesn’t need to be intense. Go here to read about how short term exercise can benefit your fitness. Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips

I like using the foam roller with my clients for many reasons. The one thing I know for sure is that foam rolling before your stretching, and mobility work, is awesome for improving your flexibility and overall golf swing. Watch this video for a sequence of foam rolling exercises that you should do before you stretch and/or even before you head to the golf course. Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

I recently read an article that used the analogy of a car when describing the maintenance of a healthy body. It totally made sense. Her’s may take, so read on.

What if you were given a car at the age of 16 but was told that this would be the only car you would ever own. Also you were told when the car got old you can switch out a few parts (not many), but the parts would not be the same as the originals.

How would take care of it? pretty good I would think. You would change the oil, feed it good gas, wash it all the time and frequently maintain it. I’m thinking you would also drive it sensibly and not abuse it.

Does the same hold for your body? Do you treat it well so it will last for a long time?

With the current questions in our health care system I think it is pretty scary as to what it may look like in a few years. So you can either be proactive or sit back and wait to see what happens.
The thing is…..we will all eventually spend money and time on our health. It might be an emergency room visit, a total knee replacement or 10 drugs to take every day. It’s going to consume time & money!

However, I think it makes more sense to be proactive and spend the time now to work on your health. Invest the time & money in the nutritionist, the massage therapist and the exercise coach now because I hate to see what the future holds if you don’t. Trying to fix the broken down car in the future will take a lot more time & money than what we realize.
Prevention is key…..develop and implement your plan now.
Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Golf Injuries, Weight Loss

Over the years I have come across a lot of smart people in the field of rehabilitation, fitness and sports performance. Of the many things I have learned, I’m always making sure that each of my clients are doing exercises that are specific to their own unique problems and goals. With that being said I want to describe a systematic approach to exercise that will help those that do not have personal coaching.

An interesting concept I have been utilizing for the last year or so, is a joint by joint approach to rehab, fitness and performance of golfers. This concept was first discussed by Mike Boyle and Gray Cook, two leaders in the area of sports performance. The idea is that each major joint (or area of the body) has a tendency to function more as a mobile joint, or as a stable joint. Yes, they all require a certain degree of each, and joint injury plays a role, however, this concept tends to hold true.

This mobility/stability concept occurs in an alternating pattern, and if this pattern is changed then dysfunction and compensation will occur. The normal pattern is shown below.

Foot – Stable
Ankle – Mobile
Knee – Stable
Hip – Mobile
Pelvis/Sacrum/Lumbar Spine – Stable
Thoracic Spine (upper back) – Mobile
Scapulo/Thoracic (shoulder blade) – Stable
Gleno-humeral (shoulder) – Mobile
Elbow – Stable
Wrist – Mobile
Cervical Spine – Stable

Regarding dysfunction in the body, we can use the low back as an example. If you do not have good mobility in the hips and in the upper back (thoracic spine), then the low back will give up some of its stability to obtain more motion when needed in those areas. A tight upper back & hips are big causes of low back pain in golfers.

A training error I see all the time is golfers focusing on strengthening their core in a dynamic and sometimes violent manner. This will not only lead to low back injury, but in fact it’s the hips and upper back that often times need improved mobility. That would not only help prevent injury, but also improve the overall golf swing.

So take a good look at the above table and make sure you have mobility where it is needed and stability in the ares where it is needed. Then let this be a guide in your selection of golf specific exercises.
Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips

Have you ever tried hammering a nail with a screwdriver (maybe you have)? Have you ever tried opening a can without a can opener? Have you ever tried hitting a golf shot from the middle of the fairway with a putter?

Well, whether you believe it or not, if you don’t have the right tools for your exercise program you may also not get the results you want.

I’ve heard many people say, “I know how to exercise, I can do it myself.” This may be true, but how many people do you know that start a fitness program only to let it fall by the wayside?

Many people have told me they have tried exercise but it really didn’t help their golf game.

If you’ve tried a lot of different exercises and nothing seems to be working, maybe it’s time you asked yourself if you have the right tools. Having the right tools can make all the difference in the world.

Grab my free golf fitness report (on the left) now, and begin moving toward improved fitness and a better golf game!

Posted under Exercise Tips

My girls are now 4 an 2 1/2 and are very active. I love watching their physical skills and coordination develop. My oldest has been taking a gymnastics class for a while and loves it. My 2 1/2 yr. old will begin next week. Developing fundamental movement skills is something I always focus on with my clients (and my girls). It is key in learning specific sports skills such as that needed in golf. The reason I am a big fan of gymnastics is because they are using their body weight when developing strength and coordinated movements. It is also fun and they can develop at their own pace. I have started using a lot of body weight exercises in the training of both adults and children. In my opinion you can’t beat it when it comes to developing fundamental movement skills.

Free play is also a good way to develop and reinforce fundamental movement patterns. I came across this article recently that discussed the issue of exercise and sport in young children. If you have any young golfers at home check out this article here.

Posted under Golf Fitness for Juniors

More and more research is being done specifically looking at how to improve golf performance. I want to briefly discuss one that was published this year regarding the correlation between physical conditioning and golf performance.

The study was published in the May issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The authors Greg Wells, Maryam Elmi and Scott Thomas titled the research the Physiological Correlates of Golf.

The subjects tested were 9 women and 15 men, all memebers of the Canadian National Golf Team. The physiological characteristics tested were balance, flexibility, core strength, peripheral strength, power, and cardiovascular function. The golf performance factors were ball speed and ball distance using both a driver and a 5-iron. As wells as statistical performance during tournaments. These were mean score, mean number of greens reached in regulation, average putt distance after a chip shot and sand shot, and the number of putts per round.

It is not feasible to describe how each physiological characteristic was tested but there were clear results demonstrating the importance of physical training for golf performance.

One of these results was that women golfers with greater dominant side abdominal strength had longer drives. Additionally core strength and stability in both men and women was found to be important with short game effectiveness. In terms of flexibility, a positive correlation was found between sit and reach flexibility and scoring average. Good balance was found to improve the execution of shots from the fairway and rough as a golfer is approaching the green. It was also found that leg power, upper body strength and arm strength, were all correlated to driving distance and total score.

This study clearly shows the benefits of physical training and conditioning as it relates to golf shot distance and specific performance statistics. It also shows different trends between men and women golfers which indicates the need for sex specific training.

For those of you with an interest in research I suggest you take a look at this study in more detail. It is posted on my website under resources and published research.

Best of luck in you training!

Posted under Golf research