Although all athletes should have a well rounded workout routine to achieve success, it has been shown that sport specific exercises should be incorporated into their routine.
Golf is no different; it is essential for your success that you focus on the fitness components for golf. This can make the difference between poor and mediocre, mediocre and outstanding!
Golf may look simple to an outsider: hit the ball, walk a little, hit the ball again. Repeat until the ball goes into the hole. But this is deceptive -- golf is very complex from a physiological point of view.
Consider the swing. It involves balance, vision, strength, timing, a feel for the wind, focus and coordination. All these and more and they must all come into play instantaneously in one concerted motion.
Of all these factors, the one that will take the most consistent effort is the one implementing the fitness components for golf. Exercise, stretching and a healthy diet are all essential for achieving this.
All too often golfers do not follow this regimen and yet they expect their game to improve by simply hitting a bucket of balls once a week. They believe that the game IS the exercise. No!
The exercise comes before the game. The strength and endurance it gives you is just another tool for the game. This is especially true the older you get. As we age, we lose muscle mass and flexibility.
This is a fact. But the good news is that the process is not only stoppable, it is reversible!
If your game is off, or if you want to consistently be shooting in the low 80s, but you’re not, or if you are frustrated because you’ve put in the time at the driving range but your score isn’t going down -- you have probably been neglecting fitness components for golf.
Imagine, if you keep doing exactly what you are doing now, but improve your strength by ten percent and you increase your flexibility and range of motion by ten percent, what do you think will happen?
You will increase the speed of your swing and thus the distance of your drive will increase. This is the magic of the fitness components for golf!
Sure, you are busy; everybody is these days. But if you look carefully you can find time to improve your game by incorporating fitness components for golf into your daily life.
Make it a habit, make it a priority. You can stretch at the office when you take a break. No need to join a gym and waste an hour a day driving back and forth. A set of weights is around $100.
Buy a set, keep them in the garage and work out for twenty minutes before your evening shower. You will sleep better and your strength will steadily improve!
For more Golf Fitness information , read the Perform Better Golf Blog, published daily by Mike Pedersen.
About the Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf training and 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 golf exercise dvds, training programs, and workout products, and his new and proven Golf Fitness System, specifically designed to improve golf specific strength, flexibility, coordination, and overall golf swing mechanics!
