By: Brian Neufeld, GolfTourney.com Contributor
As cold weather blankets the majority of the country, most golfers put their clubs away and forget about the sport until the spring thaw. While we’ve covered some tips to get through the offseason before, one crucial element we did not include is weight training. From increasing power off the tee to improving stamina for those grueling summer rounds, a proper weight training program can be beneficial to your golf game in a number of ways. Below, we’ll give you some tips to specialize your weight program specifically for the game of golf.
Don’t Skip Leg Day
The majority of your power in the golf swing comes from your upper body and back muscles. This does not mean that having a solid base below the waist can’t help you as well. Not only will strengthening your legs help improve your stamina for walking rounds, but it can also allow for improvement with your overall swing. Almost any squat lifts will help strengthen your hips, glutes, and thighs helping to promote more consistency in your swing and in some cases also increasing power.
Resistance Training
When most of us picture weight training, we picture a big bar loaded with weights with the goal of completing a lift one time. While lifting like this can be beneficial in very specific scenarios, resistance training has taken over the golf world as the preferred method. Unless you’re Bryson DeChambeau, increasing muscle mass and getting “ripped” should not be your main goal with any golf weight program. Resistance training will help keep your muscles in shape without adding a bunch of mass and possibly influencing your golf swing. If resistance bands are unavailable to you, consider doing high repetitions with low weight amounts as a substitute.
Shoulders and Back
While doing curls and bench press may seem more exciting, focusing your upper body lifting on the shoulders and back muscles will have the best end result for your golf game. There are a plethora of shoulder press lifts that will increase strength in the shoulders and back, potentially leading to an increase in power. A vast majority of golfers experience back pain and weight training your back muscles is a great way to alleviate that. As with any weight training, be sure to properly stretch before working out. Here we have covered some simple stretches for improving your golf game.
As the science around weight training and golf continues to evolve, it is important to stay up to date on the most current research and begin to incorporate these findings into your golf training routine. Only about a decade ago, weight training in golf was considered a waste of time if not outright detrimental to your game. Today, we know that an educated weight training program is beneficial to your health and your golf game. Don’t hesitate to introduce some weight training into your offseason golf program.
About the Author: Brian Neufeld
Brian Neufeld’s background includes more than 15 years of experience in golf course management, specializing in agronomy. Brian uses his knowledge of the game and best practices in turf sustention to create informative pieces for GolfTourney.com’s readers.
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