Inside Golf - September 2010

58
September 2010

www.insidegolf.com.au HEALTH&FITNESS ...........................................................................................................................................................................................

Sit-ups and
dumbbells

RichardNizielski

RECENTLY I was at the driving range with a college mate and we got into a conversation with a fellow golfer about functional exercises for golf. The topic turned to chest muscle exercises — in particular push-ups — and their place in developing a golf-ready body.

His address position was typical of what I see with many of my clients, rounded upper back and shoulders forward, which in this case indicated tight, short chest muscles and some stiffness in the upper-back area, both of which were hindering his ability to perform a full backswing and follow through. I asked what he did for a living and what he did for improving his golf fitness? The answer was a common response I get from many of my clients: A predominantly desk-bound career and “I do some cardio training as well as some push-ups and some abs training”.

Without getting into a full on training session with him, I suggested incorporating some stretching for his chest and upper back area and dropping the push-ups.

Now please don’t misunderstand, push-ups are a great exercise perhaps even a classic when it comes to general fitness training, but are they for everyone? Well, like most things there is not a yes/no answer to this question.

Push-ups as I mentioned are a great exercise, they practically incorporate the whole body; strengthening the muscles of the chest and the front of the shoulders, the anterior deltoid muscles and can be modified for a variety of ability levels. However, for some players they are just not the right exercise to do when it comes to improving their golf swing.

Generally, many of the players I work with don’t need more chest strength to improve their golf swing. More often, it is mobility and stability that is needed. In fact, very little chest strength is required when swinging the golf club.

A great exercise for encouraging more mobility and stability in the chest and anterior shoulder muscles as well as improve functional strength is the Dumb-bell Chest Fly exercise. This exercise provides not only a strengthening element, but a functional stretch component as well.

Lie on a flat or incline bench with the dumb bells above the chest. Due to the nature of the movement the dumb bells do not have to be too heavy. Engage the shoulder blades down and slightly back holding them “flat” to the bench, stabilising the shoulders.

With your arms slightly bent at the elbows, lower them out to the side, keeping your elbows slightly bent as you do. Go to your full range of motion and, as you do this, you will more than

likely begin to feel a stretch in the muscles of the chest and front of the shoulders.

At the bottom of the movement, hold for a moment and begin to return to the start position by ‘squeezing’ the chest muscles together while keeping the shoulder blades flat on the bench.

Note: When you have completed the exercise repetitions, lower the weights to your body and sit up before placing the weights on the floor; it’s a safer way to get the weights back to floor and to save your shoulders from any excessive strain.

A couple of other points: Start with a
relatively light weight and work on increasing
your range of motion, if that is your area of
need, and work slowly to avoid injury.

Happy Golfing.;

Richard Nizielski is a Brisbane-based golf fitness expert and the Director of Golf Fit Solutions. A three-time Olympian and medallist in the sport of short track speed skating, Richard is a qualified sports and personal trainer designing individual fitness and nutrition programs for both professional and amateur golfers here in Australia and overseas.

Richard Nizielski from Golf Fit Solutions can be reached on 0438 027 768 or richard@ golffitsolutions.com. Visit his webiste at www.golffitsolutions.com

Craigieburn Golf Course

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