Golf Training, with George Allen: Posture

The off-season is upon us and surely you have already snuggled up next to the fire, resigning to the fact that the golf season is over, right?

Stop!  We at LWOS offer a different way to fight the doldrums of life without golf in a special series of instructional articles that will have you ready to hit the links with gusto. Resident golf writer George Allen, who is a certified personal trainer and golf aficionado, has designed these exercises to help you to improve your technique, add yards to those drives, reduce the amount of injuries we constantly here associated with golf, and all this without having to stand on a range in the freezing cold fashioning that, ever so stylish, icicle look. So where do we start?

Ever since childhood I can remember the echoing voice of my golf coach saying, “George, before you go off practising that ridiculous flop shot or banana hook get the basics right”.  So that’s where we start–with the basics:

Golf Training: Posture

Posture is a key element in the golf swing, not only at set-up but throughout the entire movement. Good posture ultimately promotes faster more efficient rotation and the ability to rotate around a single axis at maximum speed can be directly linked to it.

There are two common problems that I see in men and women’s posture as a personal trainer:

• Kyphosis
• Lordosis

Kyphosis is an exaggerated rounding of the shoulders and visually looks similar to a ‘c’ shape, with the chest concaving inwards, due to an overworked tight chest, and weak back muscles.

“Well that’s because I sit slumped looking down typing all day at work,” I here you say–and you are right!

What many of us don’t realise is that our daily life has an influence on our posture. So not only can what you do on a day-to-day basis hinder your posture, it can also improve it if done correctly.

Here’s what you need to do to fix it:

Stretch out those tight chest muscles (Pectorals)

1. Stand side on to a door or wall
2. Raise elbow to chest height and press your forearm to the wall
3. Step forward with the opposite side leg until you feel a stretch across the front of your chest and hold for 15 seconds
4. Repeat with opposite arm

Strengthen the back muscles (trapezius)

Single arm row

1. Put your left knee on one end of a bench and your left hand at the other end creating a table top with your back
2. Pick up the weight (dumbbell) with your right hand and row upwards keeping your elbow tight to the body and your back flat, pinching your shoulder blades together at the top.
3. Lower the weight slowly back down and repeat for 10 reps

 

Lordosis is an exaggerated inward curvature of the lower back, which gives the appearance a person is permanently sticking their bum out. This is common amongst pregnant women due to carrying the excess weight of a baby and can remain after pregnancy if it isn’t corrected.

Stretch out the over used, tight muscle- erector spinae (lower back)

1. Sit on the floor cross-legged
2. Stretch forward as far as you can until you feel a stretch in your lower back
3. Hold for 15 seconds and relax repeat this stretch twice daily

Strengthen those weakened abdominal muscles with the toe touch crunch and tighten those abs:

1. Lying on your back bring your knees up until they reach a 90 degree angle in line with your hips
2. Then keeping your lower back pressed to the floor throughout crunch your upper body toward your knees and touch your feet without bringing them closer to you (no cheating)
3. Do 15 repetitions and repeat 4 times
4. This exercise is not to be done whilst expecting

 

Tip of the week:

Instead of slouching in that chair, invest in a Swiss ball and try sitting on it instead. It will naturally promote better posture as you will have to engage your core muscles to stabilise.
So there you have it, a few exercises that can be done anywhere to improve your posture and set you on course for better golf. Good golfing

My weekly golf fitness articles can be found on our website, and we at LWOS want to remind our readers to always consult a healthcare professional before doing any new physical activity or exercises.

 

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Main Photo: via Lilrizz , Wiki Commons, CC