This exercise is great for anyone that can't touch their toes. Touching your toes is a basic forward bending pattern and gives you information regarding your hamstring flexibility, your hip mobility and posterior weight shifting ability. Problems with toe touching may not be all about hamstring tightness. That is why having a golf fitness professional screen your movement patterns can save you valuable time in finding what works for improving flexibility.
Some key points to remember when doing this exercise are:
- keep your feet together
- start with the arms extended high and return to the extended position
- crush the object between your knees
- if you can't keep the knees straight then let them bend because it will help re-train the motor pattern
Watch this video several times to make sure you have the correct technique. Also perform 10 reps in each foot position and do it every day. Good luck!
I have been busy working on and implementing a functional movement screen into my assessment of golfers. This functional movement screen was created by Gray Cook, a Physical Therapist and Strength Coach that has made a huge difference in athletes performance. More about this in the future.
What I want to do today is share the first of 3 exercises that I am using to help improve the flexibility and mobility of the hamstrings and hip. Gray has found much success with these as I have. Hamstring flexibility is important in all kinds of activities and often times can be difficult to improve. I pride myself in using various approaches in improving flexibility and mobility in my clients but really want to share these exercises.
The first one here should be utilized first and as your flexibility improves you can move on to the next ones I will be sharing. So here you go!
Core training for golfers is topic that is discussed quite frequently. I believe it is essential to have a good understanding of the core and how you should approach exercise selection and training. The core is the muscular area that makes up the pelvic and abdominal region of the body. There are essentially hundreds of different exercises that focus in on the core area. You can do anything from muscle specific training we taught back pain patients, to medicine ball training, to Pilates. The bottom line is, we all need a core that functions correctly and has strength, and endurance.
The importance of a correctly functioning core is, that we need it for all other movements our body goes through. It helps direct functional movement patterns by controlling and transferring forces through the body.
Now when it comes to the golf swing this is the key point. A golfer needs to have control of their core and the ability to stabilize in the correct sequence of the swing. What this does, is allow the energy develop in the backswing (coil) to be transferred through the body during the downswing and follow-through (uncoil). The golf swing is essentially the loading and unloading of energy to be imparted to the golf ball.
Here are 2 exercises that first must be mastered before you do more complex or dynamic core training. good luck!
I was talking with one of my golf clients a few days ago and she explained that her teaching professional asked if she was tight through her upper back. She told him no and explained that I found that she had good flexibility with her shoulder turn. So the teaching professional simply asked if she could turn a little farther while staying in a good position. She tried it and of course she could, because she has the flexibility/mobility. What then happened was she hit balls while turning more and they were going much farther. Simply put she was able to hit farther with that greater shoulder turn.
Now I know that many people lack this flexibility/mobility in the upper back, as well as the stability through the pelvis that is needed in the backswing. So here is an exercise that helps work on both mobility and stability specific to the backswing. Give it a try!
Here are a few more golf specific exercises to help improve the strength and stability in the hips. Improved stability will help correct the slide and sway many golfers have in their golf swing.
I have treated a lot of golfers with back pain and this can be very challenging. The thing about back pain is that the cause can come from many different problems. So it takes a systematic assessment to help guide the exercise program.
I have personal experience with back pain and can tell you the one thing that gives me the most relief when I have a flare up is an exercise called the static back. It's goal is to unload the spine and decrease pain and spasm. So anytime you have a flare of low back pain try this simple exercise. Good Luck!
Golfers Relief For Back Pain
The set up to the golf swing is one of the most fundamental aspects of the swing. If your set up posture is bad, your swing will be bad. A common set up fault is the C-posture, that is, the slumped over position we often see. Your head is forward and curved down and the upper back and shoulders are excessively curved forward. This hunched over position really limits your shoulder turn and your ability to make a good backswing.
Sometimes the cause of this C-Posture is just a poor understanding of the golf set up position, but for the majority of golfers it is caused by muscle imbalances and joint restrictions that developed over time. The muscles in the upper back become weak and or tight. It is common for the lats and shoulder rotators to become tight. The lats attach on the back of the pelvis and go up the back and come under to the front of the shoulders. This is why the pelvis can have a strong influence on the shoulders & our upper body posture.
There are several exercises which help in restoring correct posture and upper back mobility. Here are 2 good ones I use quite often. If you have a C-posture in your set up, try these.
Good Luck!
Exercises to correct the c-posture
Because of my background in sports medicine & rehabilitation I take a special interest in injury prevention and rehab in golfers. I deal with a lot clients that have a history of back pain or have back pain when playing golf. Part of my interest is due to the fact that I also suffer from back pain from time to time. However, I have minimal flare ups because of my exercise program.
The reason I mention this is because I am always interested in what back pain research is telling us regarding prevention and sports performance. One individual that has influenced the way I work with golfers with back pain is Dr. Stuart McGill. I have read his books and heard him speak at workshops. I subsequently implemented some of his ideas into my programs (including my own).
He has taken the concept of "bracing" (stabilizing through the core) a step further when he applies it to sports performance. We have trained athletes and patients in abdominal bracing for many years but I really like his explanation and application of what he calls "Super Stiffness".
Now, how does this apply to golf? Well, the stability training we do in golf is essential in transferring forces through the body and out into the club head at impact. What I am going to do is let you read an article he wrote regarding the principle of super stiffness. The importance of the article is to reinforce the importance in systematically training for sports performance. So go here to read about super stiffness.
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