If you want your golf swing to have more power, consider a core golf workout. This type of physical training involves mainly work on the upper body ’s torque as it swings back the golf club, then unleashes a downswing. The exercises in a core golf workout are aimed at giving the torso greater rotational strength and flexibility.
We might liken your physical core to an engine that provides the torque for your explosive movement -- which in this case is your backswing and downswing. As in most sports, it is from the physical core that the force to execute the athletic move emanates.
An adequate core golf workout need not require much time or fancy equipment, if you can go about it in ways that are creative or resourceful. In fact, some common things found in the home or office may prove to be just as helpful as what you can get from the sporting goods store.
Your office chair, for instance, can serve as your core golf workout bench. Even as you sit in front of the computer, you can do rotational stretches by reaching for the back of your seat with one hand, and turning around as far as you can, while pushing your other hand a bit against your thigh.
Stay in this twisted position for about 10 seconds then do the same turning movement in the opposite direction. You can even do rotational stretches right now as you read this article!
This very simple core golf workout can go a long way towards increasing your flexibility. Do it several times every day and aim to rotate farther each time. You’ll be extending the range of your reach and your swing’s driving distance as well in no time at all!
Now try this other core golf workout for increasing strength. Grab anything at home or in the office that can serve as a hand weight and extend your arms straight out in front of you.
While maintaining a forward gaze, rotate your arms to the right as far as possible then perform the same swinging motion in the opposite direction. Do both directions 20 times each.
That didn’t take much, did it?
All you probably needed was a can of tomato sauce or a carton of milk to grasp. So much the better if you have some dumbbells gathering dust in the attic or storage room.
Note how you’ll gain not only strength doing this exercise, but flexibility as well. With time, your torso can rotate farther than it used to. Get even more from the routine by incrementally increasing the weight of objects you hold in your hands over time.
As a golfing enthusiast, you probably pay close attention to the physical details of your swing, including posture, motion and speed of execution. No doubt you want to improve in each of these aspects.
All the more reason then for you to make core golf workouts and the flexibility and strength they bring part of your agenda. You can even keep your exercise routines under wraps as you impress the other members of your foursome with the power of your golf swings. After that, you can tell them all about your secret: the core golf workout.
I hope you now see how important it is to improve the strength of your core with golf specific workouts. The ball is in your court now! Will you get proactive and take the next step?
For more up to date Golf Workout information and advice or core training, read the Perform Better Golf Blog, published daily by Mike Pedersen.
About the Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf strength trainers and golf conditioning experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Manual, and founder of several online golf fitness and exercise websites.
Check out his golfworkout exercie dvds, fitness training for golf products, and his new and proven Golf Stretching DVD, specifically designed to improve golf flexibility, coordination, and overall golf swing mechanics!
