Floor Exercises for Golf

It’s Golf Season, and let’s try to get that swing right. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with many men and women about the nuances of the golf set-up and swing. Most of them will elaborate the details of every step involved that is required to condition the golf techniques. But for some reasons, it becomes very difficult to get that right swing all the time. Learning golf techniques is very intellectual and most of the time golfers feel they can write a book on explaining the depth of the techniques. So if you don’t have proper foundation for strength and mobility, you will never be able to put yourself in the right position which is needed. For lack of a better analogy, it’s like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.

Exercises to Improve Golf Swing

If you look at most “Golf Conditioning'' programs they focus on strength and recommend weightlifting. There are programs that include exercises like Squats, Deadlifts, Woodchops and for some reason Bench Press. Just a quick side burn, I don’t know how chest exercises have made it to the golf conditioning program since the pecs and triceps have nothing to do with the swing. Focusing on Bench Press will take away the needed shoulder mobility for the swing as it will only tighten the shoulders and triceps and one needs mobility in those areas not stiff. In short bench pressing is a no-go for golfers. We will focus on better exercises to improve your golf swing.

Flexibility training

Flexibility training is very important for golf conditioning, but for most people doing yoga and pilates is the basic understanding to gain flexibility. What they don’t understand is gaining flexibility without strength building is not effective and we have to develop flexibility and strength together which will help us in getting a flawless swing. No matter how well we understand the swing if our muscles and joints are too tight or too weak to support the torque and power of the swing, the body will intuitively compensate and force you to slow down as a protective mechanism. If the spine or hips don’t feel strong the brain will not allow us to swing at full force and likely the risk of injury is higher.

Strength And Mobility

The best way to improve your golf game is by developing a strong foundation for mobility and strength. When we have developed strength and mobility our brain will trigger our body to be more relaxed, this will give us the ability to technicality involved in the game.

Let’s discuss a scenario, which will give us a better understanding of strength and mobility. One of the hardest things I used to do was to take “desk warrior” (anyone spending more than 6 hours a day seated at a desk) and try to teach him how to deadlift. I mean I would throw every cue I had at them and for some reason they still couldn't do it. Then I would move to a Sumo Deadlift, a wider stance supposedly helped because it’s a way to bypass lack of flexibility and still no avail and then a Kettlebell Deadlift and still no go. And, if for some reason they did manage to pull the form off, inevitably they would come back the next day and say that their back felt “a little off”. Which is the code word for, “I f’d up”.

The reason this was happening, was because I was trying to develop strength while that person lacked flexibility that was required in the hamstrings and hips to complete this movement. So instead of weight lifting our focus needs to be on mobility first. That is why I introduced mobility training first and a couple months into the training the deadlift significantly becomes less hurtful. Why? The answer is because the foundation was set and the techniques and cues made sense.

Don’t waste your money

Before spending another dollar on a pro-talk for breaking down the technique, take a look at these six moves as this will help you develop Strength, Mobility for that “Golf Swing.” A quick side note about the swing; when you run, every time you land the impact to the body is four times bodyweight. In the “golf swing” it’s twelve times bodyweight of torque being loaded onto the hip and spine. So even though golf seems like a leisurely walk in the park, there are some incredible forces that your body needs to be prepared for enjoying this game pain free and with no injuries.

This is a full workout program that will be discussed in 3 phases. Each phase will consist of 2 movements done as a superset, meaning they are done back to back. You will begin with 3 sets of each superset and work towards completing 5 sets of each superset over time.

Develop Hip and Shoulder Mobility

Superset 1: Horse Stand + Lat Tri Stretch

The first exercise is called the Horse Stance. Start with your feet together and turn the heels for three steps. If 3 is easy you can progress to a Five Step Horse Stance. Next lower into your squat. You're trying to get the thighs parallel with the floor. Hold at the bottom for 10 seconds and then come up and repeat five times. Every time you're working to get a little bit lower.

After you do that you're going to move over you to a bench or box. Use a plate or a dumbbell ranging from 10-15 pounds. Place elbows on the bench and you shoot your chest towards the floor, working to open up your armpits as much as you can. Once you have done this then brace your core and work to flatten the back so the curve is gone. Now lower the dumbbell towards the back, about 1 inch away from the shoulder and hold for 60 seconds.

Establish Shoulder Stability and Hip Mobility

Superset 2: Handstand + Side Split Stretch

We use the handstand to increase stability and mobility within the shoulders, hands, forearms and elbows. When most people train they think about the big muscles, like the pecs, biceps, quads, etc. But the missing link is within peoples connective tissue and stabilizers. These areas of the body are 10 times important and take 3 times longer to develop. Most injuries happen in the tendons, “golfer’s elbow is an inflation of a tendon in the forearm.” Since most people don’t spend time developing these neglected areas we will do in this program. Let’s discuss about 3 variations of Handstands.

Handstand on Knees

Handstand on Knees: The first basic entry would be doing it on your knees so you basically get a bench or box and you put your knees on the edge hands are on the floor and you push your chest through you're trying to open your armpits arms are completely straight and you hold this for 30 to 60 seconds.

Handstand on wall with Knees Bent

Handstand on wall with Knees Bent: Once you can get about three sets of 60 seconds then you can move on to the wall with your knees bent so the second entry to the handstand would be set up in a plank you put your feet up on the wall take one or two steps to the wall bend the knees and then the same thing you push open your armpits and push the best to the wall as this gets easier and you can do three sets of a minute.

Handstand on Wall with Legs Straight

Handstand on Wall with Legs Straight: Here you can go all the way to the wall and everything is off the wall except for the toes. Same thing here and you are holding it for 60 seconds.

Build Unstoppable Flexibility

Single Leg Good Morning

Superset 3: Single Leg Good Morning + QL Stretch

This is the money maker! At the end of the swing, all the power generated ends up on your one support leg. We have to strengthen this straight leg position to properly absorb the force of that torque. To do this, we are going to use the Single Leg Good Morning. This move uses a concept called Loaded Stretching to strengthen the hamstring through a stretch position because we need the hamstring to be both flexible and strong.

We should be able to stand on one leg with the opposite ball of the foot in-line with the ankle of the standing leg. Next thing forward working to bring the chest parallel with the floor. You will want to maintain the spines natural curve as your lower so do not let the lower back round. Once you have found your position pull your torso back to standing. Repeat 10 times.

Superset this move with the Seated QL Stretch. Begin with your legs in a straddle position. Straighten your left arm towards the ceiling. Next bend the torso towards the right foot but work to keep your left arm straight. Simultaneously, place the right hand on the floor and reach it towards the left thigh. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

These six moves will help in developing the foundation to your golf game.

Six Exercises to Improve Your Golf Swing