Get Fit for Golf Season: Don't Neglect These Tips

It will be golf season very soon, and you've got to prepare now if you want to improve on last season's performance. No, I am not referring to cleaning your golf balls and favorite tees. These tips are designed to help you get your body ready for the new season.

If you figure that playing a round of golf is enough fitness for one week, then you are not alone. And it is true to some degree, but the far more important thing I want to discuss is how to get your body ready in advance of the new season after you've been out of shape all winter.

Of course the fitness benefits can be almost non-existent for those who don't walk but rather ride the course in a cart, and then stop for burgers and beers after the round. Unless you are disabled, I encourage you to walk your golf rounds this season, and save the money and global-warming contributions from golf cart usage.

However, well before the season begins, you can do a bunch of things to prepare your body for what lies ahead. The key is to get yourself prepared to tackle the long bouts of walking and standing around waiting on the course, and to slowly build strength in muscles that are used repetitively by golfers.

Aerobic and stamina-building exercises are the key to beating the long walks in the heat of summer. And flexibility and muscle training will help you achieve longer drives, better swing consistency, and overall mid-torso strength. You won't need to become a heavy lifting body builder at all! No, the goal is to tackle the repetitive, asymmetrical movements of golf by gently strengthening your muscles in advance.

Lower back muscles, rotational flexibility, shoulder strength, and hip flexibility all contribute to the golfer's unique swing. You also want to avoid spasms in leg or back muscles after walking a long distance. This is especially true for those of us who are stuck in office chairs all winter long.

This is not a huge time commitment. You can take 20 minutes from your lunch break, or work in front of the TV at night, and you most likely won't need a shower after each session either. The muscle groups that help build torso rotational power include the buttocks, hips, abdomen, lower back, and thighs. Begin with stretching those areas out, gently, and then move to weight and resistance training to strengthen them. Continue to concentrate on the power zone or core strength.

The core area is all the bones, muscles, and ligaments between your chest and your knees. Hundreds of exercises and variations can help you work your core, including abdominal crunches, gentle trunk rotations, gentle torso twists, lower back stretches such as "cat" arches and hunches, hamstring stretches, and side rotations using resistance.

Be sure to start slowly if you have led a sedentary existence during the winter months. The risk is that you may injure a core muscle, and your golf season would be pushed back by several weeks. Take a few minutes to warm up before each strength building session, using whatever aerobic method you prefer such as a treadmill, elliptical trainer, or stair climber.

The most important factor is to start early! I will lay out some specific exercises in an upcoming article, but don't wait to start the process until a week before your first round. Take a few minutes each day starting now, and your torso strength and stamina will improve tremendously before the first game of the season. Your enjoyment and perhaps your score will both improve, too.

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About the author. Morgan Fobbs loves helping people improve their golf game and is an expert teacher. For more great advice and to get a genuinely free copy of a shocking golf secret, click the link today.
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