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Vickie: Distance building workout?
Vickie: I am going down the gym three times a week and want information on workout regimes designed to help increase clubhead speed. I am interested in your advice and any links to such workouts.
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Hi hue, The long and short of it is as I have stated in many of the posts. (Read the fast twitch muscle post, and any other, and you'll see a great deal of redundancy) While you can 'train for golf', the training is not a lot different than any protocol that establishes superior alignment and a balance of strength and flexibility in the whole body. There are some muscles that are typically weak in even a healthy population because of some 'standard behaviors' in our lifestyles. These are the lats, the glutes and the hamstrings but try to isolate these muscles out to the exclusion of training the other muscles is a mistake that will create bigger problems later on.
Put together a sound program that attends to all of the major muscles. Pay attention to improving the function of your rotator cuff muscles and be sure you have perfect posture. The better alignment you can bring to your golf technique the more effectively you will perform your intended stroke whether it's on the fairway or on the putting green. I have never found one workout formula or modality (weights, pilates, yoga, Arnold or otherwise) that is really perfect for every body. But if you are just starting you can afford to be more generic. You should take a really good look at your body (sans the clothes) and evaluate for yourself where you are weak and where you are strong and how straight you stand up. Then find a trainer (not a body builder) and start with the basics. I promise you, and all of my people increase their drive within three weeks, if you perfect your posture (i.e. your alignment) which means the strength of your muslces is balanced, you will see your distance improve. Yes make sure you stretch, increase your stamina with cardio/aerobics and make sure your nutrition supports you work and your play. For the fun of it here are the first exercises I would generically suggest Flat Bench Dumbbell Chest Press Bent Over or seated Row Leg Extension Butterfly / Pec Deck Lat Pulldown Hamstring Curl Shoulder Press (machine if possible) ____________________________ Bicep Curl Tricep Press ____________________________ Do these every week Abdominal Crunches after cardio 20-30 minutes of cardio 3-5 X per week (minimums) These are just the basics and I didn't tell you anything about weight or posture because everyone is different. The order is designed to allow you to have a circuit of training. That means that you would go thru the exercises one after another and then repeat if possible. I would do the exercises above the line to completion before adding the exercises below the line. You could do them once (one set), twice (two sets) or thrice (three sets). Build slowly and please make sure you 'know' the proper form. We keep promising pictures and promise I'll get on this. You have witnessed a beginning / circuit approach that should be performed with light to moderate weights and 8-15 repetitions. I am more advanced and train only one body part per workout but I do that because I am doing many more exercises with high weights and need more recovery. If you just have to have a model then buy a Men's health magazine. They usually have articles about abdominal exercises and look at various body parts with emphasis on technique. I personally would recommend you buy a comprehensive book on exercises and build your own program based on your evaluation of your body. It's your body - you can trust yourself. I wouldn't buy some generic that some trainer designed for the world. You will do a better job with a little support on technique I will be more specific if you tell me the results of your evaluation. Also Lynn and I are working on some exercises that are specific to impringing the form of the golfing machine that will help. Let me know how it's going. Vickie |
Vickie: I am just under six foot and was 10 1/2 stone my normal weight that never shifts (mainly ectomorph with a touch of mesomorph) . After two weeks of weights ( 3 times a week Arms ,chest,shoulder and lats one day . Torso ie lower back and abs another and pure leg day)and eating I am up to 11 stone which is the the most heavy I have ever been. I do all the excercises you recommended bar the bicep curl. I was under the impression that you should leave the biceps alone in golf and concentrate on the triceps. Looking at my body I would say my right arm and right upper body looks a bit bigger and stronger than the left (years of playing tennis). The most useful excercise that relates to golf that I have found is using a pulley system where I attach a rope and pull down as in the start of the downswing to about half way down. The machine is also set up so that there is a pulley close to floor level and I attach the rope there and pull from a little lower than half way down to the point in the swing where both arms are straight in the follow through. Both these are done with a golf swing set up and attitude. My plan is to weight train with heavy weights to get to 12 stone then speed up the training with lower weights and more reps for power when I get there. What do you think of that plan and as a trainer how to you recommend getting both sides of my upper body balanced ? I have been thinking of slipping in a pure left side only day to take the training days up to 4. I am getting a very heavy weighted 7 iron that I will hit balls with and will do a couple of Yoga sessions on the off days. I used to do yoga and am already quite flexible.
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hue, Let me first say that the pull down that simulates the swing is a great tool as long as you have your back adequately supported by your abdominals and you have proper hip and foot placement. On occassion I see people trying to do these type of sport specific exercises with more weight than they can do without creating compensatory body shifts that creep into their golf game and undermine the very goal they set out to accomplish. Don't worry about bicep work. If you don't keep a balance of tension around the elbow and shoulder you are creating an opportunity for elbow problems. Also it is the bicep that flexes your arm on approach so . . . Also realize that your bicep attaches to the top of your shoulder blade, so if you don't have strength and flexibility relative to the tricep which also attaches to the scapula.
The very fact that you have a repetative motion influence in both golf and tennis creates an impetis for muscular development in the much used and preferred muscular function. Don't give over you training to the left side. Instead, when you start a set begin on the left side, do the same number or reps on the right side and then return for a half set again on the left. In the process of bringing a muscular balance you don't want to create a new level of imbalance. Only do this every second or third workout and you'll be surprised that the balance will come in a few weeks with no problems. Be patient and let it work slowly as rehab always is. We may be off page here but I will tell you that your power comes from a balance of strength. Light weight/high reps increase your endurance which just means you can have more energy in to display your power as sufficiently at the end of your game as in the beginning. If you are talking about ballistic training that's another story. I like yoga and pilates and fedenkrais. You mentioned you also play tennis. The best way to keep balance during your play in both sports is to simulate your stroke to the left side as many times as you do in your game. Wheneever I change sides I put my tennis racket in my left hand and create tension in a poor replication of my traditional forehand and backhand. It feels strange at first but it keeps you back relaxed and your shoulders balanced. Ecto with a little meso is the best mixture but requires much more food to keep your weight up. Just eat more frequent, smaller meals to bring your calories up by 200-500 per day and I think you will see some added muscle after about four weeks. Again you want it to be slow because muscle adds weight but it's hard to see on a leaner frame. Sounds to me like you have a really good handle on your training. Keep me posted. Vik |
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Stick with compound exercises, lift heavy and explosively (with good technique) and stay within the 6-8 rep range. When I say 6-8, it means you shouldn't be able to do more than 8 reps, even when you try your very best. Excellent exercises are deadlifts, pull ups (if you can't do them, do pull downs), bench press, seated rows and upright rows. Add in few sets of barbell curls, reverse curls, tricep pull downs, and that's a pretty good program. Golf-specific exercise are overated and misunderstood. They claim to work your "golf muscles" (...your whole body?), but they don't overload your muscles enough. You shouldn't need more than 14 sets of exercises in any workout. Overload and intensity is the key. You achieve that by trying to lift more every workout. There is no alternative. How strong can you get by doing a few core stability exercises on a swiss ball? Hmmm... No need to spend more than 40 mins doing weights in gym every day. Remember, your goal is do get more powerful, and you do that by doing the above, not swinging with a weighted club or some other goofy exercise! IMO, most people have got their priorities wrong, doing all these isolated exercises in a very controlled manner. You and I don't have 5 hours a day devoted to physical training. Indeed, you don't need that much time to achieve peak golfing condition! One more piece of advice before I go: do not mix endurance training with weight training! This is such a very misunderstood area. The golf swing is an explosive motion....requires no endurance (the swing lasts about 2 seconds!). Doing 50 reps of pull downs doesn't build endurance, it's just a very very slow way to get stronger. So when you do weights, it's all about getting more powerful (i.e. stronger and quicker). For endurance, do cardio. I suggest reasonably high intesity (70% MHR+) cardio for 15-30 minutes for maximum efficiency (especially if you want to supercharge your matabolism) Don't get stuck in the middle. You get best of neither worlds! I feel this is going to be a very controversial post, and many people will have questions...you're welcome! |
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When I was seriously into bicycle racing, I followed a program that went in phases. It's been a few years so my memory is a little foggy, but as I recall it started with a few weeks of lighter weights and more reps. However, it progressed to the type of lifting you're suggesting--heavy with five or six reps. I've now grown an aversion to gyms. I just can't seem to stick to a program that involves lifting. So what I do now are mainly body weight exercises emphasizing core work. Some good info on it here: http://www.ronjones.org |
While tongzilla has some knowledge of the program he is presenting I have to say that the ballistic (explosive) training method and the concept of maxing out your weight so you can only do 6-8 reps is a recipe for disaster for the 'average' guy on the street. These workouts are effective and safe for a very narrow and well trained population. It's not about age so much as a well honed knowledge of training skill, recovery and nutrition. Can you imagine trying to recover from a workout like this? I can tell you it's brutal because I trained like that in my 20's before the fitness industry was as scientific as it has become. (At this time I weighed 120 and performed a free bar squat at 200 lbs)
I really don't want to get into a he said she said here but a more holistic approach will allow for safe and effective training for most golfers. Yes you have to mix up your workouts, yes you should keep the time to anhour or under and yes you have to keep challenging yourself. But in now way would I support lifting more weight everytime you go into the gym. Unless, that is , you're getting into bodybuilding as your sport. There are four ways to increase intensity in the gym. Increased weight, quantity of exercises performed in one workout, amount of recovery between exercises, and increasing repetitions with a sound quantity of weight. Mixing these protocols up within one workout and from workout to workout keeps you muscles adapting positively. Joint health is too important to compromise with an all or nothing routine unless you are competing in the sport of lifting and you think it's worth it. There are ways to use heavy lifting safely but I wouldn't think an open forum and maybe not a fitness referral for golf should proport such an extreme approach without individual coaching and supervision. Also the comment about the swiss / therapy ball indicate that tongzilla hasn't grasped the concept of core training. I personally do some pretty intense abdominal work and use the swiss ball in the formula. Core training is about balance of strength in the muscles that stabilize the spine and strengthening your postural endurance . Core training isn't about building a six pack even though you will if you are lean enough to see it. Also note that core training includes muscles in the neck and the legs. As the next post suggested, there are many ways to devise a workout for the same objective and everybody should approach it individually. The good news is that you do not have to max out in the gym everytime you go. Training can be a much more controlled and stimulating experience that moves you forward toward your objective and leaves you plenty of time and improved performance and energy for golfl. Vickie |
Yes, if you're fat, unfit, smoke, haven't exercised for the last 20 years, and the only sit-ups you've done in your life is by getting out of bed in the morning, then I would suggest a milder approach. E.g. start by walking more, do a few bodyweight exercises, stretch, etc. I assume most people are moderately fit, without any serious physical constraints.
Using more weight than you can handle will induce injury. That's obvious. Most people I see though, don't go heavy enough. I see them with these tiny 2.5kg dumbells doing 30 reps, hardly feeling any stress, pump or overload at the end! At best, they feel the "burn", which doesn't say anything about overload. Remember that the golf stroke is a one rep motion with about 5 minutes of rest between each rep! How much power do you have? I.e. what is the 'total effective force you can impinge on the ball' in a split second (approx time for downstroke)? Core stability is needed insofar as it prevents injuries giving you a solid foundation to make a golf stroke. Once you've built your core stability to a certain level, working on it more will not make you hit the ball further! Once again, research and empirical evidence has shown that the fastest way to gain strength is not by increasing number of reps, decreasing rest time between sets, increasing number of exercises, but by using a heavier load between the 6-8 rep parameter, and allowing for maximum recovery (usually 4-7 days) between each workout for that muscle group before stimulating it again. Ask yourself: 1) are you doing physical training just to stay reasonably fit, so you can execute the golf stroke properly without injuring yourself? 2) or do you train because you want to mash the ball further (given that you're already moderately fit with no injuries)? For me, it's the second. Which category you fit into will largely determine the way you exercise. |
As I stated in my first response email to tonzilla, I agree that the heavy/6-8 rep protocol is sound for a specific, special population. In my years of experience training golfers I have found that the most effective and applicable approach to strengthening the game is as I have stated . I think it's great to have a number of approaches represented and caution the reader to remember that a program should be personalized and workable in their life.
Vickie |
Vickie: Do the Power excercises build you up or just really power up what you have got ? After a month of building up training (Not Power training) I have gone up from 147 lbs to 157 lbs with a target of 168 lbs. After I have got there I am thinking of changing the training to power training. Is this the right way to go about things or do you suggest mixing the training before I get there. . I am much stronger and am hitting the ball longer and I have not started the power training yet although I have been working on my boxing power , training with Eric Teymour WBU Super Middle Weight Champion who is a real animal on the pads and in training. Training and being around him has had a big influence as my punching speed and power has gone right up and this has carried over to my golf game.
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