Getting the perfect swing each time you grab a golf club is the holy grail of golf. And every golfer will try various things to ensure that their swing is flawless and to reduce their handicap. For most, it will entail buying the best set of clubs (include irons, hybrids, wedges, putter, driver and fairway woods) and paying for a professional coach. While the two are an excellent idea for improving your game, they are sometimes not enough.
Even with the best clubs and the services of a good coach, you might still not get the performance you desire, or it might a long time to get to that handicap that you want. And the reason for this in most instances is because your overall strength and flexibility are letting you down.
Doing exercises is the best way to improve your strength and flexibility so that you can take your swing a notch higher and shave a few strokes from your game. And so if you want to see some impressive results the next time you do a golf swing analysis, here are 4 of the best exercises for golfers that you should start doing.
#1 Lateral Lunges
Lateral lunges are one of those workouts that you must do if you are serious about improving your strength and flexibility as a golfer. And besides, from enhancing your muscles, the lateral lunges will also help you improve your range of motion and add power to your hips which is vital for a golf swing. For this exercises, you should start by maintaining perfect posture and take a massive step to the left side while also shifting your weight to the left. Bend your left leg when doing this but keep the right one extended to the right. Make sure that your toes remain pointing straight ahead and then alternate the legs before making at least eight repetitions on each leg. Do the set about three times with 30 seconds of rest in between.
#2 Supine Spinal Twists
Spinal twists are a great way of improving your core swing and also enhancing the mobility of your torso. And they are also not as hard to do as they might sound and this is more so once you get used to them. If you perform this exercise well, you will get a good stretch that you can feel throughout the body. The stretch will entail resting on your back and with the feet raised and bend at a 90-degree angle. Next extend the arms out wide while your palms face down and then lower the legs to the right side of the body slowly while keeping the legs together. However, a few inches above the ground for 30 seconds and switch sides before repeating the set at least thrice.
#3 Front/Side Planks
Front and side planks are a typical exercise that will benefit not only golfers but also most other athletes. The planks will help to activate your body’s core muscles and in turn promote stability and strength around the torso. When doing these planks, the first step is to lie face down and with your palms flat on the floor. Next tuck the toes under, roll the shoulders onto the back and push away from the ground. You should then keep your back flat and engage the abdominal muscles. Hold the position for about one minute before releasing and repeating the plan 3 to 5 times. The side planks are similar to this, but you should instead rest on your side with your legs stacked.
#4 Elevated Glute Bridge
If you already workout, the chances are that you know about the glute bridge as it is an everyday exercise. The elevated glute bridge is a more challenging version of it but also more beneficial. It aims at helping golfers strengthen the glutes. Strengthening the muscles is vital for every golfer because they will generate most of your swing power. And to do this exercise, you should start by lying on the back with the heel on a step or even a gym bench. The next step is to squeeze the glutes and raise the body from the ground up to the point where only the shoulders (the top part) and the head are lying on the ground. And the last step is to extend the arms while the palms remain down. Repeat the set at least four times and do the exercise several times in the day for maximum benefits.
Conclusion
It takes a lot of hard work and commitment to get your body to the right strength and flexibility levels for a golfer. But, with the willingness to do it and if you know the best exercises to do it is possible to get your body to a perfect shape for golf. And also remember that consistency is the key and so you need to keep working out. If you include the exercises above in your workout routine and combine them with a healthy diet and drinking lots of water, you should start seeing some improvement in your performance in just a few weeks.
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