In harmonious execution

For the last several weeks I have been talking about golf and the components that make it up. Today I will conclude my posts regarding the general breakdown of golf and the physical attributes needed for success.

So, first was on mental preparation as you move towards the ball. Next was on the shoulder and it's importance, last week was on the hips and what they do, now it's on the synchronous execution of all of these parts and the success you will generate with them.

Without focus and clarity, your game is going to be terrible. Healthy shoulders will allow for the proper follow-through of your swing. Healthy hips will for the ball to fly with ease. But if you consistently break these into individual parts, you will fail.

Your body is so much more than parts. It's an orchestra of reaction and action that when one part is not functioning properly, the rest will fail with it. So it's more than strength, endurance, flexibility, focus, and knowledge...it's all those sections combined to provide you with movement and success.

When one part fails, the body will try to work around it, but it's not the same. Have you ever tried to take a shot with a hurt shoulder? You can, but your focus is off because you don't want to make it worse. But we are often too stubborn to acknowledge our weakness or inabilities.

Our bodies in golf and in other activities work in harmony within itself. We are greater than parts and often no less than such. Train the mind, body, and soul and you shall achieve success on the course and in life

Work in harmonious execution.

Put your a$$ into it!

Last week I talked about the shoulders in golf, today it's the hips...better yet, that ass of yours.  Golf is no different from many other sports in that your hips are everything.  If you
can get your hip flexors and glutes strong, you will have a strong game (that is if you can deal with the wind, heat/cold, or everyone staring as you make the shot).

As with everything else in your body, you move as a unit, not individual parts.  So strengthening your glutes, while improving your golf game, will also make the rest of you much stronger and more resilient.

An easy way to strengthen your glutes is to just flex your glutes as you stand there.  You can target it much more, but that's something that you can do any day, anywhere, and without looking too weird while you do it.   Some of the other things that you can do look a little awkward and thus are unlikely to be performed in a much more public setting, unless you just don't care.

I've also alluded to the glutes being your "core" in a previous post, and thus I won't be saying much more about it here.  Just know this, your core is everything in the game of golf.  Weak core = weak game, strong core = strong game.

So put your ass into it, your game will thank you and you can probably get some $$ or whatever from your friends when you do it.  

Healthy Shoulders, Healthy Game

The shoulders may not be the most pivotal joint in the game of golf, but they are important.  The joint works in synchrony with the hips to produce a quality swing.  Without the shoudlers, you fail in the setup and the execution of the swing so it's important to keep them healthy.

Healthy shoulders is a dynamic effort.  They are involved in nearly every movement in the upper body in some way or another.  Keeping the shoulders healthy is vital for not only golf, but for general comfort as well.  The shoulders are often disregarded for larger muscle groups such as the chest (pectorals) or back (lats, traps;  I'm only using the "common" names for the muscles to keep it simple for most readers).

For the most part, the main part of the shoulder is the deltoid.  Take your arm, either one, and keep the elbow straight, now bring the arm up to either the side or to the front only in line with the top of the shoulder.  This is your deltoid at work, pretty simple huh?  Keeping this muscle strong is vital to the overall health of the shoulders.

The rotator cuff is a collection of smaller muscles that rotate the arm.  This is the thing that many tear as they enter the
ir 50s and 60s.  The surgery and subsequent rehabilitation is an arduous process.  So the goal would be to strengthen these muscles when you can.  You don't need much weight, bands are good for this.  But keeping this group healthy can keep your golf game for awhile.

Shoulders, the main junction in your upper body.  Without these, everything you want to do stops or dramatically reduces.  Keep them healthy and you'll play forever.  

Before you take that swing.....Relax?

In continuation of my golfer's fitness series, I wanted to start out with something that can easily be the game-changer, regardless of your ability.  If you can relax, and as long as your mechanics aren't crap, you should be able to play pretty well regardless of the surrounding circumstances.

Obviously, this is intended for the golfer who's been at it for awhile, not the novice.  And realistically, there's a lot of carry-over into other areas of fitness, and to life in general.  In some cases, it seems contradictory to "relax" especially when you need to focus or to tense up or whatever, but it's not a bunch of BS and it can help you perform better!

Not everyone performs at their best under "relaxed" conditions, so I must include this point before everyone tries it and some fail.  Relaxation is a form of focusing the energy needed to accomplish the task.  This isn't to say that you're not tensed or ready to perform, but you block out a lot of negative incoming energy and focus only on what you can control, which is yourself.

Before you swing the club towards the ball, just "white" out.  When I go to do this with a golf club, kickboxing, or weightlifting I envision nothing but blank white space.  It's kind of like the old static on the TV, but just more blank than static.  From here, I go with what my body knows whatever the task at hand.   Usually, I perform significantly better, smoother, and faster when I "white out" than when I am too determined at whatever it is that I'm doing.

Sometimes, deep breathing helps out tremendously.  Going to the blank space and taking a few deep breaths can help you get into the zone you need to perform at a better rate.  I usually take 3 breaths and that clears me up and then I do my thing.

There is some research out there as well to point to mental relaxation and performance.  The Soviets had done extensive research on this subject with their athletes research (America!) and are still discovering the merits to relaxation.
and likely killed them if they didn't win, you know...communism.  We even caught onto the bandwagon with our own

So relax and you'll see your golf game improve.  Relax and see your life improve.  

Bogeys, Birdies, & Eagles

This past weekend was the Masters.  One of the most historic and watched golf matches in the world and it got me thinking a lot about those who play golf, not necessarily at the level of those in the Masters but in general.

How many of you who read this play golf?  How many people do you know who play golf?  Do you, if you play, or those you know who play, participate in any fitness program that is not golf?

I bring this up because one attribute of many of my clients, especially during the summers, are that they are golfers.  Often, improving some aspect of their golf game is important to them and through weight training and conditioning, we can make that happen.

Professional and collegiate golfers, and sometimes high school, all participate in a strength & conditioning plan to improve some aspects of their game.  We can look at it in a variety of ways, from injury prevention to improving the ease of the swing, and many other attributes.  It's simple though, take two golfers of the same ability, take one through an S&C program while leave the other to solely playing golf, and the one through the S&C program is going to play better.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be going into some insight of how to look into an S&C Program for golfers.  This will highlight the purpose of the programs and the benefits that you would receive if you were to participate in a program of some sort.  Also, the rationale of why to not "go it alone" and have someone on standby for physical training.