Blaine561's Sports and Travel Portal

There are so many “so-called” golf fitness books on the market; but when you open them up you see dozens of pictures of golf models sitting on exercise machines in the gym.

This is NOT a golf fitness book, this is a book pertaining to “general” fitness, but with the title revised to catch the golfers eye. In my mind, this is a little deceptive and can frustrate the consumer.

When I was doing research for my golf fitness book (manual) I was extremely disappointed. Having been a certified fitness professional for over 20 years and specifically working with golfers the last 10 years I was expecting some good body’s of knowledge on the subject.

I was extremely let down and even felt like I wasted my money getting them. This motivated me to put together my golf fitness book (manual) so that a golfer of any age or fitness level could apply it immediately.

What are the components of a complete golf fitness book?

The golf fitness book should cover strength specific to golf, flexibility, aerobic conditioning (endurance) and nutrition.

These components should be directed at a golfer, not a person looking to build or tone muscles or just improve their physical fitness.

It should also discuss starting points for golfers at every age and fitness level. Have a golf fitness evaluation right in the book to determine your ‘current’ fitness level and ultimately your starting point.

That way you are sure what you are doing is the ‘right’ thing that will help your game not hurt it.

I think that’s the biggest concern for any golfer is not knowing where to start and making sure whatever he or she does will be right for them.

Secondly the golf fitness book should be able to discuss the direct benefits of any exercise to their golf swing. It’s motivating to ready why you would do a certain exercise if you can see how it will benefit your game.

And lastly, a golf fitness book should have progressive golf fitness exercises and complete programs to take you to the ‘next level’. I’ve seen so many books that have “general” exercises (not golf-specific) that have no sense of format or progression. This would leave your frustrated and not knowing where to start or progress.

So next time you go to a bookstore or get online and do a search for golf fitness book, make sure to thoroughly review the explanation and chapters to reassure you are doing the right thing.

You can quickly transform your game with the right golf fitness book.

I’m sure by now you’ve heard most of the professional players; both men and women actively participate in golf workouts. It’s no secret. But why then do most amateur golfers ignore this? Is it because it seems like work? Or, does the thought of actually breaking a sweat get you tired already?

Either way…the proof is in the bag. The number one player in the world, Vijay Singh, does his golf workouts all the way through Sunday of each tournament. Does it look like it’s hurting his game? I don’t think so. Back in 1997, a young, very athletic golfer came on the professional scene and blew everyone away. I think you know who I’m talking about.

Tiger took golf to another level. A real eye-opener for the veteran players who were hitting the 19th hole after every round…and the last thought on their mind was “exercise”. What a wake-up call to be totally dominated by a player who was only 20 years old at the time.

How about the year Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 and totally dominated the LPGA? Do you know what she attributes it to? Golf workouts! She hired a trainer and got serious about her fitness. And look what happened? She hasn’t looked back since. She just recently came out with an instruction book and devoted a chapter to golf workouts.

To my recollection, that’s the first women’s instruction book to include golf workouts. Working out to playing better golf isn’t just for the guys; Annika has proved that. Now more LPGA players are working out to try and catch her, just like the guys did with Tiger.

How about the senior tour? Now players are realizing they can still make good money, even after they’ve turned 50 and can’t really compete with the young guys anymore. With the money at stake, they too are all working out. This group of players both amateur and pro is the biggest demographic that needs it the most.

With age comes a decline in both flexibility and strength. When the body declines, the swing goes right along with it. The result is a big loss in yardage, more mishits, and ballooning scores. The end result…frustration! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played with and received phone calls from older golfers who are just about ready to quit the game.

They are SO frustrated at this rapid decline, that golf’s not fun anymore. But there is hope. The answer? Get your body moving just a little better. How? By participating in golf workouts that focus on golf-specific strength AND flexibility. It’s amazing to see golfers in this age bracket dramatically improve their driving distance, accuracy and scores.

You don’t have to accept that with age, your body declines. No way! You’ve got to fight it all the way! I’m dead serious. The ones who do, are the ones who are enjoying the game again and taking all the money in their foursome.

What is a golf workout anyways? Is there such a thing? You bet there is. The golf swing is an awkward movement that puts a tremendous amount of stress on the body. To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible specific to the swing.

I could spend dozens of pages describing what this entails, but for the sake of this concise article, let’s keep it simple.

The golf swing is a rotational movement, with your body in golf posture. Slight flex of the knees and a bending forward at the hips. Since the golf swing is primarily rotational, wouldn’t it make sense to focus on rotational strength and flexibility? That is improving your turning ability related to range of motion and speed.

So anything involving twisting with resistance such as a medicine ball, a dumbbell, or even a weighted club would work. You need to have a resistance to take your body beyond where it normally goes.

For instance, if you took a club and placed it behind your neck, got in your golf posture and rotated back and forth; do you think that by itself would improve your range of motion or power?

No, you need to add resistance to accomplish this. Take a weighted club and make golf swings. Now you’ll be making a bigger turn AND improving your power. Same thing with a medicine ball. Make turns back and through holding a 4 to 6 pound ball and you’ll see a BIG improvement.

In fact, most of your abdominal work should be rotational. Doing straight crunches won’t improve your driving distance. Doing rotational movements with added weight will. This is where I could go on and on, but I won’t overload you.

I hope I’ve convinced you to take a real serious look at what all the other successful professional players are doing to stay at the top of their game. Doing golf workouts can and will dramatically change your game forever. Now get out there and get it started. No procrastinating. Do it right now!

Most golfers are aware that by focusing on the golf swing fundamentals, one by one, they stand the best chance of dramatically improving their game. This is because the golf swing fundamentals make up the golf swing which is at the heart of the game of golf.

Golf swing fundamentals are to be found in the three segments of a proper golf swing which are the backswing, the downswing and thirdly the impact and follow through.

The backswing is one of the important golf swing fundamentals because every shot begins here. If the backswing falls short, so will the resulting hit. At this stage, focus should be placed equally on body rotation and club and arm extension.

Moving to the downswing as another golf swing fundamental, this movement actually starts in the legs and the hips, rather than the arm. There should be a clear transfer of body weight from back to front with the knees, thighs and hips all beginning to move forward. This should be the correct movement in every proper golf swing.

The impact and follow through are the golf swing fundamentals that complete the entire swing. At impact the body weight should be on the outside of the forward heel and the inside of the rear foot.

The entire awkward movement of the golf swing is unnatural to the body and this is why the body resists and it becomes very difficult to develop all the smooth movements that go into the proper golf swing fundamentals.

Even endless practice may not be as effective in developing your body muscles in such a way that the golf swing fundamentals come as natural as possible. This is where exercise comes in to play a key role. Many golfers have successfully used golf-specific exercises and conditioning to improve their golf swing fundamentals.

Improve your body to maximize your swing. This may sound like an oxymoron, but I can speak for over 10,000 golfers worldwide who have done it. Through my online golf performance membership site, dvds and books, I’ve heard back from over 10,000 golfers the past 6 years who have seen dramatic improvements in the their swing and game.

I have been preaching the theory of “improve your body, to improve your swing” for over 10 years now…and golfers from all over the world are finally believing it!

Turn on the television while a professional tournament is on and you’ll hear the commentator mentioned golf fitness within 5 minutes. All the pros are doing it, so why wouldn’t you?

Your body dictates your golfing ability! Period! Try to prove me wrong.

This may sound like a bold statement, but a physically limited body will have no chance at optimal swing mechanics that are repeatable for 18 holes. How many times have you been paired up with a senior golfer who couldn’t make a full backswing; or stay in his golf swing?

It’s a rampant problem!

As golfers get older, their body’s decline rapidly. With this decline in both strength and flexibility comes a huge loss of distance with all the clubs; and a game that gets more inconsistent the more you play it.

I can guarantee you 100% that if you improve your body, your swing will take care of itself. No more band aid swing fixes. No more gimmicky training aids. And not as many lessons are needed to see dramatic improvement in your swing.

Your power and consistency will be the most notable improvement by improving your body and your swing.

I’m not talking about hours a day in a sweaty gym!

I’m talking about 30-40 minutes 2-3 times a week in your home, with minimal equipment.

That’s it!

Nothing more, nothing less!

So don’t hesitate! Improve your body and your swing will be awesome!