Do You Need To Be Fit For Golf?

Do you need to be fit for golf? That is the question.. It’s the question I get when I tell someone I’m a golf fitness instructor.. I always get the reference to the professional golfer who is overweight, smokes cigarettes and drinks beer. “But what about_____ he’s not fit!”

If you define fitness as someone who is:

• slim
• muscular
• aerobically fit
• “healthy”

you’re correct, he’s not! But that is a limited view of what it actually means to be fit and what it means to be “Fit For Golf.”

Although John Daly doesn’t look fit he is by definition,  Fit For Golf. He can move his body effectively and efficiently to reproduce a powerful and predictable golf swing. See for yourself.

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=R0KOJCFHF4O

The ultimate goal of a golf fitness program is to make you a better golfer.

“Like so many others I resisted the notion that I was out of shape. I have been working with Brett for 3 years and I now know what I believe to be true for virtually every golfer over 50, namely that we are physically unable to produce the swing that our pros are teaching us.” _ Mark C. (New York & Phoenix)

So golf fitness isn’t the pursuit of a better looking body, but rather the pursuit of a better functioning body.

And to do that we need the following physical qualities:

• flexibility
• mobility
• stability
• strength
• power
• balance
• muscular endurance

How The Body Works

The human body works in alternating patterns of stable segments connected by mobile joints.

Those mobile joints are:

• your big toe
• your ankle
• your hips
• your thoracic spine
• your shoulders
• your wrists

The challenge for most amateur golfers is flexibility/mobility and stability.. Those are the primary physical qualities they they need order to have the ability to maintain posture  posture throughout the golf swing

It’s these qualities that are necessary to  generate speed and power with minimal risk of injury.

“Most amateur golfers do not possess the physical capabilities to perform the required body movements that are involved in a mechanically correct golf swing.”_Brett Cohen

If you lack the physical ability to move those joints while keeping the segments above and below stable you will manifest a swing fault and be an inconsistent golfer as well as a weak ball striker.

Why Is It So Hard? 

99% of amateur golfers are sitting 8-10 hours/day or have done so for decades.. All that sitting alters the length/tension relationship of the muscles that surround your joints and that in effect limits joint mobility.

“Most amateur golfers struggle with hip mobility and thoracic spine mobility. Both of which contribute to inconsistency, loss of power and low back pain!”_Brett Cohen

But I Go To The Gym

Guys, I’ve been working out and working in gyms since 1987! I’ve seen it all. You have no clue what to do! If you think that doing 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical trainers and sitting in an exercise machine is going to help your golf game you’re way off! That is mirror fitness!

“GOLF FITNESS ISN’T BEACH FITNESS.. IT’S NOT ABOUT LOOKING GOOD. ULTIMATELY IT’S ABOUT BECOMING BETTER ON THE GOLF COURSE.. GETTING IN ‘GOLF SHAPE’ REQUIRES A PROGRAM WITH A DISTINCT DEFINITION OF SUCCESS. MEASURE MOVEMENT QUALITY, NOT YOUR WAISTLINE.” – JASON GLASS, TITLEIST PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE FACULTY

As a golf performance coach I don’t train muscles, I train movements. The movements you need to be able to perform to have a repeatable and respectable golf swing are:

• bending
• squatting
• pushing
• pulling
• twisting

The fact is the average amateur golfer does not have the knowledge of how to put together a complete training program or a workable plan of action that will integrate all the components necessary for their success.

“THE FOCUS OF SPORTS TRAINING SHOULD BE ON THE CREATION OF EFFICIENT MOVEMENT PATTERNS THAT COME FROM A STRONG BALANCED BASE. THESE ARE THE POWERFUL, FLUID MOVEMENTS YOU SEE PERFORMED BY THE BEST ATHLETES IN EACH SPORT. EFFICIENT MOVEMENT PATTERNS ARE ONLY POSSIBLE IF MOBILITY AND STABILITY ARE BALANCED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BODY. BODY BALANCE IS KEY FACTOR IN ELITE TRAINING PROGRAMS BECAUSE ITS NECESSARY FOR ACHIEVING OPTIONAL STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY AND STAMINA.” __ GREY COOK, ATHLETIC BODY IN BALANCE

Brett’s Bottom Line:

Today, almost every PGA and LPGA player uses a golf fitness professional to help them reduce the risk of playing related injuries and improve performance.

Golf fitness isn’t a fad, it’s a movement that will only become more relevant and integrated in the future.

“The key to good golf is good movement. In order to play better you need to move better. We need to clean up the movement patterns relevant to golf before we load them.”__Brett Cohen

 To get started on your Fit For Golf program give me a call to book for your FREE consult and schedule your Golf Fitness Check-Up..

Don’t forget to download my FREE guide to Longer Drives, Lower Scores and Fewer Injuries!

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