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.
How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part IV
The past few weeks we have discussed the lower back in relation to your golf swing. A review will inform us the golf swing places large amounts of stress on the lower back. Over time as a result of the repetitive action of the golf swing. The muscles of the lower back become fatigued. Once fatigued these muscles can cause you to create compensations in your golf swing as well as increase the possibility of injury.
To prevent such situations from occurring I recommend you take preventative steps on the "physical side" of the equation in the form of golf fitness training. This type of fitness training will assist in the prevention of lower back fatigue, injury and compensations in the golf swing.
The first step in your golf fitness program in relation to the lower back injuries was discussed last week. We looked at a series of flexibility exercises to help you "stretch" muscles that become "tight" from the golf swing. Once you have your flexibility program in place it is time to proceed to the next step.
That next step is the addition of golf-specific lower back strengthening exercises. These exercises counteract the fatigue in the lower back caused by your golf swing. This allows you to perform the golf swing more efficiently, effectively and for a greater amount of time before your muscles become tired.
I would also like to point out how your muscles are used in the golf swing can be different than in other activities, as a result some ordinary lower back strengthening exercises may not be properly suited for the golfer. For this reason it is vitally important to utilize golf-specific strengthening exercises, developing the muscles of your body in the positions and movement patterns of the golf swing.
The lower back strengthening exercises I have found to be specific to the golf swing develop musculature strength in a rotational pattern. The golf swing is basically a rotational movement thus the exercise patterns to strengthen the lower back should be predominately rotational based.
Two lower back strengthening exercises I utilize which are rotational based are Seated Russian Twists and Bent Knee Side-to-Side's, both of which we have discussed in previous articles. These two golf-specific exercises train the entire core and strengthen the lower back rotationally.
Previous blog entries:
10/18/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part III
10/11/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part II
10/04/06 How to Physically Prevent Lower Back Injuries Part I
09/28/06 Speed in Your Power Golf Exercises
08/15/06 Develop Strength the "Right Way" for Your Golf Swing
08/08/06 Want to Maintain the Angles in Your Golf Swing?
08/01/06 Utilize Strength Training to Maintain Your Spine Angle
07/24/06 Strength in Your Core to Drive the Golf Ball Farther
07/11/06 Use Progression to Keep Improving Your Golf Swing
07/04/06 Dynamic Balance Exercises
06/27/06 Two Types of Balance are Key to Your Golf Swing
06/20/06 Balance in Your Golf Swing Leads to More Power
06/13/06 Getting Yourself Ready for a Round of Golf
06/06/06 Joint Range of Motion and a Fluid Golf Swing
05/29/06 Flexibility Exercises to Help with Those Tight Muscles
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
