The worst golf exercises can kill your game and beat your body
It’s no big secret: I’m not a big fan of conventional “gym-like” workouts for golfers. In fact, I think it’s pretty silly that the typical golfer is lifting weights and pumping on all the machines to try to improve his golf performance.
The main exercises to focus on are stretching and flexibility exercises (first and foremost), and then core conditioning exercises on top of that flexibility foundation.
Then you can add some cardio and balance training.
Most of what I just mentioned can be done very effectively with bodyweight exercises.
Add some good resistance bands, a good mat, a 22″ or 25″ Swiss/exercise ball, maybe a light medicine ball, and possibly even some light dumbbells (5, 8, and 10), and you’ve got everything you need to some serious exercises. golf performance enhancement, as well as a smart, comprehensive, well-balanced fitness program for all areas of your life, even in the bedroom (because that score counts too, you know?).
Having said all of that, I know there are still some golfers out there who will continue to ‘go to the gym’ and do what everyone else is doing… So if this sounds like you, here are some body and game destroyers. Exercises that I advise you to remove from your program:
* 1 – Lat Pulldowns behind the neck/head
* 2 – Shoulder press from behind the head/neck
* 3 – Stiff-legged deadlift
* 4 – Traditional bench presses
* 5 – Wide Dumbbell Flyes or Regular Cable Cross Flyes
Those are just a handful of potential games and body killers, and there are more, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. I just want you to understand that as a golfer you have to do something that takes into account your sport and how the body is used in that sport.
Unlike any other sport, golf requires a combination of “golf muscle” flexibility, power, and endurance that simply cannot be achieved in a typical strength training program.
Use total body flexibility as your foundation, core conditioning as your next level, and then golf endurance as the icing on the cake.
Combine each of these items consistently and your friends will want to know “what you’ve been up to.”