James Marshall (Hogan1953)
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Any suggestions on a work-out programme for my younger students over the winter months? Which muscles should they be building and how? Should they go for power, strength or stamina or a combination of all three?
Golfing Muscles
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Erik_K
New
Lots (I might LOTS) of ways to go about this.
In my opinion, they should engage in some sort of stretching routine prior to lifting weights. Flexibility is very important. Particularly some stretches that his the lats (back) muscles and traps (upper shoulder, and neck).
Also, for any athletic motion, the lower body is crucial for a stable foundation. When discussing weight lifting, I am big advocate of compound exercises. In general isolating a muscle isn't very effective, although gyms are full of these machines. As such, free weights are the way to go.
Good lower body excercises:
Squat-quite simply the best excercise you can do. If you don't have access to a squat cage, then use dumbbells. Squat down so the quads are PARALLEL to the ground. This is very important!
Stiff legged dead lift-great for hamstrings and lower back. Don't let your back become become arched when doing this and use a very slow tempo for the eccentric movement. You want to feel the stretch here.
Leg press-great for overall lower body power. An effective excercise for really blasting the quads.
Lunges-another all around great excercise. These you can do with dumbbells, or with a barbell across your back. If using the barbell, be careful and I recommend doing this within the squat cage, or perhaps a smith machine.
Tempo/rep pattern:
Depends on the goal. If the objective is strength-high weight, low reps (4-6 reps, 3 sets). Work the muscle in such a way that you can't physically do another rep or two. There's a big difference between failure and muscle fatigue (lactic acid buildup).
Tempo: in general, it should take twice as long on the 'lowering' portion of the repitition than the lifting , or 'raising' portion. You'd be amazed how differently things feel when you minimize momentum.
I prefer to have a routine where I am hitting a different muscle group each day of the week. For example:
Monday - quads, calves, hamstrings
Tuesday - back and traps
Wednesday - bicep and tricep
Thursday - shoulders and forearms
Friday - chest and abs
That's a solid routine and maybe every 4-5 weeks you need to modify things to keep it interesting. Keep track of how much your are lifting and set weekely goals (increase squat by 10 lbs, smooth(er) form on dead lifts, etc).
Cardio should also be sprinkled in. It can be challenging to do cardio right after a weight session since your glycogen stores are somewhat depleted. As such, some people like to do cardio in the mornings, when glycogen stores are already low and the calorie burn is a bit higher and then weight lifting at night (or maybe on the lunch break).
If stamina/weight loss is the goal, then supersetting is the way to go. The idea here is to back and forth from a lower body and upperbody excercise with very little rest in between sets. For instance, you might start out with a leg press (high reps now) and then do seated db presses (military presses). Then go back to the leg press machine and do this 'block' of exercises 3 times over. Always work the big muscles first and progress to the calves, biceps and tricep movements.
I do 4 of these 'blocks.' That's 8 different excercises (and 24 total sets). Couple that with cardio and that's a total body workout that's very challenging.
A sample routine (some call this german body composition routines)...
'A' block
squat (10-12 reps)
barbell military press (10 reps)
'B' block
leg press (12-15 reps)
side lat raise (8-10 reps)
'C' block
leg curl (15 reps)
bicep curl (10 reps)
'D' block
EZ bar curl (12 reps)
decline bench crunches (10-12 reps)
Again, I would start with the squat, do 10 reps, then walk over the military press machine/station do 10 reps, back to the squat, then over to press station, and then one last time for squats and finish up the first block more presses. Before proceeding to 'B' block, rest for 2 minutes. Even though the rep pattern is high, you still want intensity. Thus, this sort of a combination of both failure and fatigue. Keep the weight 'low' enough so you can do about 10 reps, but 'high' enough so we have sufficient intensity to stimulate and recruit all of the fibers. Thus after the 10th or 12th rep, you should feel tired, but bot totally from muscle fatigue. Again, keep a journal of your progress and force yourself to increase the load every few weeks.
A Different Perspective
http://www.hawaii.rr.com/leisure/reviews/kelvin_miyahira/2005-08_ttsfaster.htm
I'd read that article for a different perspective.
Bacc
http://www.hawaii.rr.com/leisure/reviews/kelvin_miyahira/2005-08_ttsfaster.htm
I'd read that article for a different perspective.
Bacc
shootin4par
New
Erik,
You mention stretching BEFORE working out, in regards to the importance of flexibility. From what I have learned streching AFTER is more important because that is then the muscles are sore, contracted, and tight. So if your body goes into the rest/repair stage, without stretching, your muscles will get repaired in a tight and contracted state, therefore limiting flexibility. Also, this is why stretching after a round can be more important than strecthing before a round with regards to keeping flexibility.
Hogan53, ask that your kids do not stetch on cold muscles because this can damage them. how many times do people get out of their car and start stetching right away? That can actually hurt them rather then help them. Tight and cold muscles are not meant to be stretched, some blood needs to be flowing through the muscles. A good mental picture would be trying to stetch cold rubber as opposed to warm rubber. The yield or snap point for cold muscles is lower then the yield point for warm muscles.
You mention stretching BEFORE working out, in regards to the importance of flexibility. From what I have learned streching AFTER is more important because that is then the muscles are sore, contracted, and tight. So if your body goes into the rest/repair stage, without stretching, your muscles will get repaired in a tight and contracted state, therefore limiting flexibility. Also, this is why stretching after a round can be more important than strecthing before a round with regards to keeping flexibility.
Hogan53, ask that your kids do not stetch on cold muscles because this can damage them. how many times do people get out of their car and start stetching right away? That can actually hurt them rather then help them. Tight and cold muscles are not meant to be stretched, some blood needs to be flowing through the muscles. A good mental picture would be trying to stetch cold rubber as opposed to warm rubber. The yield or snap point for cold muscles is lower then the yield point for warm muscles.
Erik_K
New
Stretching afterward is also good and a sound practice.
Stretching beforehand is also fine. Every watch a profootball game live? After slapping the pads on, those guys get out to the field and start running around and stretching. Often I like to jog for a few minutes on the treadmill to get warmed up, then stretch for 5 minutes or so. After that, I start lifting.
I agree with getting the blood flowing before hitting the weights or a rigorous cardio routine. My old track coach used to tell me that before we hear the starting gun, we should already be sweating a little bit, i.e. already warmed up and loose.
birdie_man
New
Yes it must be strong!!!
Max performance!
...
My right forearm is very strong....left, ehhh- not so much.
Max performance!
...
My right forearm is very strong....left, ehhh- not so much.
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birdie_man
New
BTW....
Can't stretch cold muscles?? Not lightly even??
What do you do then? It can't be good SWINGING with cold muscles either no?
Can't stretch cold muscles?? Not lightly even??
What do you do then? It can't be good SWINGING with cold muscles either no?
Jim Kobylinski
Super Moderator
The best workouts for golf include exercises that mimic golf movements and create explosive type movments.
birdie_man
New
Ya I always do a two-handed rotational pull down (my terms) on the cable machine....
It resembles a baseball swing or a golf swing.....I heven't read about it but I figure it must be a good one.
It resembles a baseball swing or a golf swing.....I heven't read about it but I figure it must be a good one.
shootin4par
New
CAN you stretch them lightly? Yes you CAN, Is it beneficial,no.
best way to warm up is half swing, that gets the blood flowing and then once the muscles are warm then you can stretch or go on to full swing.
once again back to the rubber analogy
take cold rubber and stretch it, then take that same rubber and heat it up a little, the cold rubber stretching does not make much sense at this point now does it?
to maintain overall flexibility strecthing after activity is most important
to get you warmed up and loose get the blood flowing, then stretch.
it is all about that backswing X factor
shootin4par
New
very good points
birdie_man
New
That does make sense actually s4p.
...
What better to warm up for swinging a golf club than.....well.....swinging a golf club. (slowly as you say)
There does seem to be more of a "warming up" in that too.....there is some movement....rather than stretching which is more or less stagnant.
I'm no expert but it makes sense in my noggin.
So it is beneficial to stretch after "the rubber is warmed" up then?
...
What better to warm up for swinging a golf club than.....well.....swinging a golf club. (slowly as you say)
There does seem to be more of a "warming up" in that too.....there is some movement....rather than stretching which is more or less stagnant.
I'm no expert but it makes sense in my noggin.
So it is beneficial to stretch after "the rubber is warmed" up then?
bts
New
pivot totation
That's right. Back and forth, as hard as they can and as fast as they can, with straight spine and fixed flexed knees.
birdie_man
New
Straight spine??
Bill Miracle
New
I used to like doing that but...it's too strenuous. I've switched to 4oz...on the rocks!
shootin4par
New
when I go to a course first I like to putt, the chip, then pitch. This way you warm up hitting shots. If you want to stretch after that go ahead.
in answer to your second question, yes. similar to what erik K said in post 5
think of it this way
on a scale of 1-10 cold muscles stretch to a 3
so you get out of the car and strech cold and get those muscles to a 5
well half swings after 20 or so get the muscles to a 5 as well so the stetching beforehand has effectively been canceled out.
after 20 full swings you get those muscles to a 7
then after that you stretch and get them to a 8, so stretching here does have benefits
now after the round you feel tight and the muscles are back to 5
the muscles heal/rest here so your flexibility will not really increase, it may actually decrese
but if you go back and stretch them back out to and 8 then the muscles heal here so your general flexibility will be increased and will help you get to a 9
Static stretching before a workout can kill your strength...may be better to stick to dynamic motions and specific warmups (e.g. lighter sets for the actual exercise you're doing).
If you're going to squat, warm up with some light sets - instead of jogging for 10 minutes. Energy work (cardio) and weight training are two completely different animals and must be treated as such. A cardio warmup does next to nothing for a weight training workout. Keep cardio as separate as possible from weight training (but a lot depends on your goals). If you're trying to trim down then add some low intensity cardio AFTER the weight training. Any cardio before weight training is extremely counterproductive.
For golf...big compounds are the best just like for almost any other goal. Of course, single-joint isolation exercises do have their role but they should be few and far between. Squats are great (all sorts of variations you can do), deadlifts are great (tons of variations), bench presses, overhead presses, pullups, dips, barbell rows, etc. You can devise a pretty effective workout centered around those types of motions. Obviously not all in the same workout though. You can be in and out of the gym in under an hour if you design a good plan and don't spend any time messing around.
Back in high school I used to be a bodypart split guy but saw the error in my ways. For the past couple years I've been doing full body routines and love them. I'm just wrapping up my sixth week on a program and have seen some excellent results. But I perform a lot of exercises that probably make people stare at me (which is fine!) rather than easier, "mainstream golf-specific" exercises. Let's be honest, rolling around on a big inflatable ball isn't going to do much for you. Neither will lunges with 5lb dumbbells in each hand. Neither will 15 sets of ab work. And on and on. Don't be afraid to push yourself hard!
If you're going to squat, warm up with some light sets - instead of jogging for 10 minutes. Energy work (cardio) and weight training are two completely different animals and must be treated as such. A cardio warmup does next to nothing for a weight training workout. Keep cardio as separate as possible from weight training (but a lot depends on your goals). If you're trying to trim down then add some low intensity cardio AFTER the weight training. Any cardio before weight training is extremely counterproductive.
For golf...big compounds are the best just like for almost any other goal. Of course, single-joint isolation exercises do have their role but they should be few and far between. Squats are great (all sorts of variations you can do), deadlifts are great (tons of variations), bench presses, overhead presses, pullups, dips, barbell rows, etc. You can devise a pretty effective workout centered around those types of motions. Obviously not all in the same workout though. You can be in and out of the gym in under an hour if you design a good plan and don't spend any time messing around.
Back in high school I used to be a bodypart split guy but saw the error in my ways. For the past couple years I've been doing full body routines and love them. I'm just wrapping up my sixth week on a program and have seen some excellent results. But I perform a lot of exercises that probably make people stare at me (which is fine!) rather than easier, "mainstream golf-specific" exercises. Let's be honest, rolling around on a big inflatable ball isn't going to do much for you. Neither will lunges with 5lb dumbbells in each hand. Neither will 15 sets of ab work. And on and on. Don't be afraid to push yourself hard!
I can't agree more. Been lifting weights for over 15 years and will give Matt's comments teh big thumbs up. Build youreself a program around larger compound excercises, like the ones he has listed.
Just like Manzella says a golf ball only knows how it is being hit, it doesn't care about all the ins and outs of your swing, muscle is muscle, it doesn't care what sport you play, it only grows from being torn down and then being allowed to grow again.
To add to the idea. Lately, since I am a couple years on the other side of 30 I have been finding that less is more. I have been focusing my workouts on maybe 10 sets and it takes about 30 minutes and seems to be just as effective as 25 sets over 90min. When I was in my late teens and early 20's I could grow great on the bigger workload, but since I am now old a shorter but intese routine seems better.
BTW numerous studies show that weight training adds to flexibility not the other way around. That rumour is the biggest pile of BS on the planet, next to drivers with screws to help you hit a draw.
birdie_man
New
Matt...
Full body routines....
So you work out everything then go one day on one day off?
Full body routines....
So you work out everything then go one day on one day off?
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