We are pleased to announce that Sean Cochran, a nationally renowned golf fitness instructor and the personal golf fitness trainer to 2005 PGA Champion Phil Mickelson, has joined PGA.com as a fitness advisor. Cochran, who also has served as strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres major league baseball teams, will write a weekly fitness blog that will appear exclusively on PGA.com. He'll update it a couple of times a week, telling you about how to achieve better fitness, life on the road -- and in the gym -- with Lefty, plus answer your questions about fitness and how it can help you play better golf. More of Cochran's articles and his acclaimed fitness aids are available at his web site, www.bioforcegolf.com.
Flexibility Exercises to Help with Those Tight Muscles
I am back on the road this week for the Memorial at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. I was actually fortunate enough to play this course a few years back. It was during the week of the World Golf Championship just up the road in Akron. I remember the course being very much a "second shot" course with some great holes. I am very much looking forward to getting out and walking the course.
The past few weeks we have discussed the "ins and outs" of flexibility training. We understand the importance of flexibility in relation to the golf swing and principles to assist in the development of our flexibility program for golf.
This week are going to introduce a type of flexibility exercise to stretch those tight muscles limiting your play on the course. Flexibility training can be separated into three different categories. Each one of these categories in the big picture falls under the title of flexibility training, but each category has a specific goal in mind. So remember, a comprehensive flexibility program is going to contain exercises that fall into each one of these categories.
The first category of exercises is what I refer to as responsive flexibility exercises. These type of flexibility exercises elongate (i.e. stretch) muscles that are in a shortened position (i.e. tight). This is the type of flexibility training which most of us are familiar with and what we did in our sixth-grade gym class.
Responsive flexibility exercises are a big part of a comprehensive flexibility program for golf, but remember we have two other categories within our programs.
Research indicates certain muscle groups become tight (i.e. shortened) from the golf swing. This is a result of the stressors placed upon them. Muscles that are under stress eventually become fatigued, and once muscles are fatigued they become tight.
The muscles commonly tight from the golf swing are the hamstrings, lower back and hips. This is a general statement and as individuals we may very well have different muscles other than these that are tight and require responsive flexibility training.
A great responsive flexibility exercise for tight lower backs from the golf swing is what I call "Cats Down and Up." This is a simple exercise to help stretch tight lower back muscles.
Begin the exercise by placing your hands on the floor directly under the shoulders and knees under the hips. Eyes should be looking down towards the floor and back flat. Begin by pressing your lower back upwards. Continue to press the lower back up until it is rounded. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds. Continue the exercise by pressing your lower back down towards the floor. Hold the position of your lower back arched for 20-30 seconds. Keep the arms straight throughout the exercise.
Now a few pointers about this exercise: first off, make sure you are in good health and cleared by your physician before performing this or any other golf fitness exercise. Secondly remember the principles we discussed last week, consistency and tissue tension point. Both of which are critical to success at loosening tight muscles. Finally, remember to hold each "stretch" for the suggested amount of time. This will give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Next week we will explore the second category of flexibility training. Remember, the U.S. Open is just a couple weeks away.
Previous blog entries:
05/23/06 Guidelines for Your Golf Flexibility Program
05/16/06 Assess Your Flexibility First
05/09/06 Better Golf Exercises to Improve Your Swing
05/02/06 Developing a Repeatable Golf Swing and Your Body
04/26/06 Increasing the Clubhead Speed in Your Golf Swing
04/18/06 How To Prepare for Your Round
04/17/06 Swing Faults are Not Really Swing Faults
03/27/06 You can improve balance in your swing
03/24/06 Improve Your Flexibility and See Results in Your Swing
03/20/06 Your Body is the Foundation of Improving Your Golf Swing
