Golf – Improve Your Swing With a Simple Exercise Program

As with any sport your performance on the golf course depends not simply upon your skill at hitting the ball but upon having at least a basic level of fitness which will allow you get the very best out of your golf swing. Here are a few simple pointers to an exercise program aimed at getting you a better swing.

Stretching. Stretching exercises are very important and you should start by gently rotating all of the “golf” joints including the hands and fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Then follow this by loosening up that all important neck and spine by gently and slowly rotating the head first clockwise and then counter-clockwise.

Don’t overdo your stretching and start out slowly holding each stretch for several seconds and then repeating and gradually and smoothly working up to a full extension for each joint.

Stand with your feet together and stretch your arms straight up above your head. Rotate your forearms, then your wrists and finally flex the finger joints. Next, rotate each arm in turn both forwards and backward and finish by rotating the arms together first in the same direction, forwards and backwards, and then in opposite directions.

Now, bend your elbows and clasp your hands together on the top of your head. Start by using the right hand to pull your body to the right and then your left hand to pull your body to the left.

Finally, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and with your arms loosely by your sides and then bend to the left and right and then forwards and backwards.

Throughout all of these stretching exercises be careful to stretch the muscles and not to strain them. Keep your exercises slow and deliberate and gradually increase your stretching as you get used to each exercise.

Warming-up. Start with a short walk of about ten minutes and then break into a gentle jog on a relatively flat and even surface for about five minutes before returning to a brisk walk for another five or ten minutes. Remember that you are not training for the Olympics but that it is important to elevate your heart rate slightly and to get blood flowing to the muscles.

Gradually you can increase the distance being covered and the time spent jogging but don’t overdo it. Keep in mind that this is simply an exercise to warm-up the body.

Low Impact Exercises. Once you have stretched your muscles and warmed up the body you can then move on to exercise some specific areas of the body which will help with your golf swing.

To exercise your hips, sit on an upright (dining) chair and begin rotating your ankles outwards while keeping your thighs and knees pointing directly forwards. Then, again keeping your thighs and knees pointing straight in front of you, cross your left ankle over the right and hold this position for a few seconds. Do the same with the right ankle and repeat this swapping between the left and right ankles several times.

For a final hip exercise, lie on your left side on a hard surface (the floor) and bend your left knee slightly while keeping your right leg straight. Slowly raise your right leg straight up into the air and hold it there for two or three seconds before lowering it again. Repeat this several times before rolling over onto your right side and repeating the exercise for the left leg.

The next exercise will loosen up your hamstring. Stand in front of a low bench or chair and keeping your leg straight bring your left foot up onto the bench. Now, keeping your back straight and you chin up slowly bend forward and reach towards the toes of your left foot. Hold the position for two or three seconds before straightening up and then repeat again several times. Finally, change legs and repeat the exercise for your right leg.

Okay we’re almost there. Next, we need to loosen up the lower back. Sit up straight on a low bench or chair with your head held up and your shoulders squared. Keeping your feet flat on the floor, slowly turn your upper body to the left and reach around your body as if you are feeling for the back of the chair. Hold this position for two or three seconds and repeat several times before repeating the exercise by turning your upper body to the right.

Last one! The final thing we need to do is to get the forearms ready for that killer golf swing. Extend your left hand straight out in front of your body with the palm face-up and use the right hand to gently pull the fingers of the left hand back towards the body while resisting this with your left arm. Hold this position for ten to fifteen seconds and then repeat the exercise with the left palm face-down. Finally, change hands and do the same thing for the right forearm.

Well, that’s it. You are warmed up and are ready to get out there and drive that ball even farther off the tee.