This exercise is great for anyone that can’t touch their toes. Touching your toes is a basic forward bending pattern and gives you information regarding your hamstring flexibility, your hip mobility and posterior weight shifting ability. Problems with toe touching may not be all about hamstring tightness. That is why having a golf fitness professional screen your movement patterns can save you valuable time in finding what works for improving flexibility.

Some key points to remember when doing this exercise are:
- keep your feet together
- start with the arms extended high and return to the extended position
- crush the object between your knees
- if you can’t keep the knees straight then let them bend because it will help re-train the motor pattern

Watch this video several times to make sure you have the correct technique. Also perform 10 reps in each foot position and do it every day. Good luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

Here is another flexibility exercise that will help improve those tight hamstrings. This is an active or dynamic type of movement that calls upon trunk stability for correct execution. This is also more advanced than the previous one, so make sure you are able to keep the knee straight and foot pulled back. If you can’t then stay with the wall assisted stretch a little longer. Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

I have been busy working on and implementing a functional movement screen into my assessment of golfers. This functional movement screen was created by Gray Cook, a Physical Therapist and Strength Coach that has made a huge difference in athletes performance. More about this later.

What I want to do today is share the first of 3 exercises that I am using to help improve the flexibility and mobility of the hamstrings and hip. Gray has found much success with these as I have. Hamstring flexibility is important in all kinds of activities and often times can be difficult to improve. I pride myself in using various approaches in improving flexibility and mobility in my clients but really want to share these exercises.

This video here should be utilized first, and then as your flexibility improves you can move on to the next ones I will be sharing. So here you go!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

Core training for golfers is topic that is discussed quite frequently. I believe it is essential to have a good understanding of the core and how you should approach exercise selection and training. The core is the muscular area that makes up the pelvic and abdominal region of the body. There are essentially hundreds of different exercises that focus in on the core area. You can do anything from muscle specific training we taught back pain patients, to medicine ball training, to Pilates. The bottom line is, we all need a core that functions correctly and has strength, and endurance.

The importance of a correctly functioning core is, that we need it for all other movements our body goes through. It helps direct functional movement patterns by controlling and transferring forces through the body.

Now when it comes to the golf swing this is the key point. A golfer needs to have control of their core and the ability to stabilize in the correct sequence of the swing. What this does, is allow the energy develop in the backswing (coil) to be transferred through the body during the downswing and follow-through (uncoil). The golf swing is essentially the loading and unloading of energy to be imparted to the golf ball.

Here are 2 exercises that first must be mastered before you do more complex or dynamic core training. good luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

I was talking with one of my golf clients a few days ago and she explained that her teaching professional asked if she was tight through her upper back. She told him no and explained that I found that she had good flexibility with her shoulder turn. So the teaching professional simply asked if she could turn a little farther while staying in a good position. She tried it and of course she could, because she has the flexibility/mobility. What then happened was she hit balls while turning more and they were going much farther. Simply put she was able to hit farther with that greater shoulder turn.

Now I know that many people lack this flexibility/mobility in the upper back, as well as the stability through the pelvis that is needed in the backswing. So here is an exercise that helps work on both mobility and stability specific to the backswing. Give it a try!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Exercise Videos

Here are a few more golf specific exercises to help improve the strength and stability in the hips. Improved stability will help correct the slide and sway many golfers have in their golf swing.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Swing Faults

As golf fitness specialists, we know that good mobility through the hip, especially internal rotation is very important. It can effect many positions in the golf swing as well as cause swing faults. Two of those swing faults are seen quite frequently in golf swings. I am talking about a slide and a sway. The slide is when the pelvis/hips move excessively toward the target during the downswing. The slide is then the opposite, where the hips and lower body move away from the target during the backswing. Both of these result in altered weight shifts and loss of power.

A second physical component to both of these swing faults is the ability to stabilize through each hip. This stability requires both strength and neurological control in the hip musculature. I recently showed a nice muscle activation technique that helps improve both mobility and stability. So, I wanted to follow up with a few exercises that helps in developing these needed components of hip function in the golf swing. Give these a try.

Posted under Exercise Tips, Swing Faults

Good hip mobility is very important in the golf swing.  A golfers ability to rotate around each hip in the swing helps reduce swing fault tendencies.  Additionally it helps save the low back from unnecessary forces.  Use this low level isometric exercise to help release tightness in the hip and improve stabilty.

Posted under Exercise Tips

I recently read a report and viewed a video by Rich Schefren regarding constraints in your life that my be holding back your success. The information was specific to an internet business, but as I was reading I realized that his principles can apply to anything. So if you check out the information look past the specific examples and focus in on the underlying strategy.

The main points he refers to is that your success in anything is determined by your constraints, that is, the deep core beliefs that limit your success. If you apply it to golf you must look deep down to see what is really holding you back.

When it comes to improving your golf game we often use the reason of not having enough time to practice or exercise. This may be true but what is actually eating up your time during the day?, and how can that be changed? So if you are truly trying to improve your game or wanting to get into better physical shape, think hard on what may be holding you back. I know I’m going to contemplate this question on a daily basis.

So check out his blog and get his report by clicking here. Believe me when I say his report is worth the read. Good Luck!

Posted under Uncategorized

A good shoulder turn into your backswing & follow through are essential in having a powerful swing. Often times golfers tend to twist from the low back (lumbar spine) rather than the upper back (thoracic spine)during the swing. The low back was not designed to rotate to the degree it often does during the golf swing. This can lead to extra stress and ultimately injury. The upper back on the other hand is actually designed to rotate much better and to a greater degree.

With all the bad posture positions we put ourselves in, like sitting at a desk or driving a car, we tend to get stiff over time. This stiffness in the upper back limits our rotation/shoulder turn during the golf swing.

We are always looking for ways to increase our flexibility, so try these 2 exercises
today to help increase that shoulder turn.
Good Luck!

Posted under Exercise Tips, Swing Faults