"Golf fitness" - a mix of endurance, flexibility, coordination, strength and speed.
In order to improve your fitness, you should ideally train all sub-areas of physical performance. This includes cardiovascular endurance, mobility and coordination as well as strength and speed.
In golf in particular, it has been shown that mobility is increasingly becoming a key factor. Mobility in the torso area is extremely important for golfers. Coordination and power development during the golf swing can only be optimally implemented through improved mobility. Stretch muscles = more rotational range = more length.
Of course, the improved fitness and mobility also have a preventive effect on injuries. However, a prerequisite for good mobility is sufficient muscle and tissue elasticity. For this very reason, stretching should be a central part of golf practice.
Neglected Agility
The older we get, the more our physical mobility decreases. We can only slow down this natural process by stretching regularly. Stretching keeps us and our joints flexible and our soft tissues flexible. Most golfers train intensively for endurance and strength, but often neglect their flexibility.
And this is where the misery begins, because if you don't stretch your muscles and joints constantly and forever, you will have less success in the long run. Just a few minutes a day are enough to achieve optimal results. That's why it makes sense for everyone to put together their own program with ROTATIX exercises and incorporate the stretching exercises into their everyday lives as often as possible. According to experts, a short daily program is just as effective as a single one-hour program per week.
Unfortunately, just stretching just before playing golf isn't enough.
Randy Myers of Titleist Performance Institute:
“Proper stretching quickly yields positive results, including a more fluid swing. The best golfers in the world stretch with a coach before and after each round.”
Ernie Els has been among the absolute world class since the mid-1990s:
"The mobility is without a doubt the key factor in my swing."
We distinguish two types of muscle stretching
A mobility restriction is usually caused by muscle shortening or poor flexibility of the muscles. It is only much later that the joints lose their freedom of movement. That's why you try to stretch your muscles in the first place.
There are basically two different muscle stretching techniques:
– dynamic stretching and static stretching.
During dynamic stretching, you try to achieve the greatest possible range of motion by gently swinging, rocking or bouncing. Dynamic stretching is particularly suitable as a warm-up exercise.
In the case of static stretching, on the other hand, the muscle group is continuously stretched after the actual "final stretching position" has been reached. The muscle resistance increases and you should therefore only continue stretching until you feel a slight and comfortable pull in the muscle. In no case should stretching cause pain. It takes time for everyone to find their own limit.
Correct stretching:
Before each stretch, first warm up and circulate the muscles. 5-10 minutes of jogging, jumping rope, or gymnastic exercises (jumping jacks, etc.).
Stretch each muscle group (both sides) for at least 20-30 seconds; Pre-stretch slowly and carefully, then intensify the stretch. The longer you stretch, the better.
Stretch until you feel comfortable, no pain. Avoid seesaws.
Stretching exercises daily: ideally with at least three/four repetitions.
Click here for ROTATIX - Ideal for stretching the most important muscle groups for the golf swing: