For most people, exercise is a four-letter word. Either they don't have the time, they are not in the mood or simply lack the motivation to get their bodies moving. Golf, however, will exercise your body with demanding exercise for fitness that is needed in order to stay fit during the long rounds of golf. Therefore, it pays off to exercise your body in order to reduce the risk of injury and become familiar with these demanding exercises for fitness.
The following list has been compiled by Golf Digest's Top 100 Teacher Brian Manzella after running thousands of golfers through his exercise-for-golf program at [Exercise Tee ] The focus here is on helping you understand how each exercise builds on another one until the foundation of fitness has been developed.
The exercise for fitness in each exercise description is ordered in terms of difficulty.
So, exercise 1 will be the easiest exercise to do, while exercise 15 will be the hardest one. You should start with exercise 1 and increase your reps or time after you can complete exercise 10 perfectly. No strain, no pain, no gain! (Fig 1)
Exercise 1
- Sideways walking lunges
Exercise 2
- Overhead dumbbell press
- 8 kg for women, 20 kg for men. Shoulder width grip with palms facing behind you (Fig 2)
Exercise 3
- Pushups on a medicine ball (exercise ball) (Fig 4)
Exercise 4
- Seated external shoulder rotations with exercise band (Fig 5)
Exercise 5- Chest press machine -
Resistance should be half of your maximum (Fig 6)
Exercise 6- Side-lying abduction exercise for fitness
*Assume a right angle at the hip and a 45-degree angle at the knee. Keep body straight and lift a leg to side up to 30 degrees from the floor. Lower leg slowly, repeat 10 times. Repeat exercise on the left side. (Fig 7)
Exercise 7- Standing cable internal rotation exercise for fitness
*Assume an athletic position with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Attach exercise band to cable pulley machine from high position. Grasp exercise band from a low position, palms facing together in front of the body, and take 1 large step away from the machine. Keep exercise band taut and arms parallel to floor. Pull the band across the body until hands meet directly in front of the chest, palms facing each other (Fig 8).
Exercise 8- Seated hamstring curls exercise for fitness
*Movement is performed on a seated hamstring curl machine. With an exercise band under both feet, keep exercise band slacks and attach the exercise band to a low position on a cable pulley machine. Grasp exercise band with palms turned up at sides and sit onto the leg pad so that your thighs are almost parallel to the floor (Fig 9)
Exercise 9- Standing side lunge exercise for fitness
*Assume a staggered stance with right foot forward and left foot back, keeping the rear knee straight over ankle and front knee over toes. Take a step to the right by pushing body weight onto the rear leg, keeping both knees slightly bent.
Exercise 10 - Kneeling cable crunch exercise for fitness
*Attach exercise band to a high position on cable pulley machine above the head. With an exercise band under both feet, kneel down in front of the low pulley station so that the exercise band is directly in line with the chest. Grasp exercise band at sides with palms turned up at sides. Lean back 45 degrees, bracing core muscles while keeping pelvis stationery (Fig 11).
Exercise 11 - Standing hamstring curl exercise for fitness
*Movement is performed on a seated hamstring curl machine. Keep exercise band taut and exercise band under both feet. Position exercise band so that exercise band is directly in line with the chest. Take a step away from the machine, keep the exercise band taut and exercise band over the back of thighs at all times (Fig 12).
Exercise 12 - Bent over dumbbell rear lateral raise
*Stand with dumbbells by sides, palms facing behind you. Bend over at hips about 45 degrees keeping low back flat, head up and knees slightly bent. Raise weights to the side until your upper arms are parallel to the floor (Fig 13)
Exercise 13- Standing cable crunch exercise for fitness
*Attach exercise band to a high position on cable pulley machine above the head. With an exercise band under both, kneel down in front of the low pulley station so the exercise band is directly in line with the chest. Grasp exercise band at sides with palms turned up or down. Lean back 45 degrees, bracing core muscles while keeping pelvis stationery (Fig 14).
Exercise 14 - Reverse crunch exercise for fitness
*Lie flat on your back with legs extended and arms crossed over chest or hands behind head. Bring your knees up to your chest by curling through the hips and abs as far as possible without moving your lower back from the floor. Slowly return to starting position, using the control at all times (Fig 15).
Exercise 15 - Incline dumbbell press exercise for fitness
*Adjust incline bench to 90- angle with hand grips rolled under the barbell. Press bar overhead, elbows slightly bent and palms turned to face each other. As you press the weight overhead, rotate your wrists so that your palms are now facing forward at the top of the exercise (Fig 16).
Exercise 16 - Bent over reverse fly exercise for fitness
*Grasp exercise band with exercise band attached underneath low pulleys. Raise the exercise band until upper arms are parallel to the floor, keeping tension on the cable throughout exercise movement (Fig 17).
Exercise 17 - Standing cable rear delt row exercise for fitness
*Attach exercise band to a high position on cable pulley machine above the head. With exercise band under both feet, take 1 large step away from machine keeping exercise band taut and arms straight at side holding exercise band with palms turned toward body. Lean forward 45 degrees keeping the exercise band taut at all times (Fig 18).
Exercise 18 - Incline cable fly exercise for fitness
*Adjust the incline bench to a 90-degree angle and exercise band underneath low pulleys. Grasp exercise band with exercise band attached underneath low pulleys. Bring exercise band together in a hugging motion, rotating wrists first so that palms are facing each other as you move arms inward towards chest (Fig 19)
Exercise 19 - Standing shoulder raises exercise for fitness
*Attach exercise band to a high position on cable pulley machine above the head. With an exercise band under both feet, kneel down in front of the low pulley station so that the exercise band is directly in line with the chest. Grasp exercise band at sides with palms turned up to face body (Fig 20).
Exercise 20 - Bent over cable upright row exercise for fitness
*Grasp exercise band attached underneath low pulleys and bring exercise band together in a hugging motion, rotating wrists first so that palms are facing each other as you move arms inward towards the chest. Lean forward 45 degrees keeping the exercise band taut at all times (Fig 21).
Exercise 21- Decline dumbbell triceps extensions exercise for fitness
*Adjust the decline bench to a 90-degree angle and grasp the exercise band securely under both feet. With upper arm by side standing tall, straighten arm until elbow is fully extended (Fig 22)
Exercise 22 - Seated low cable row exercise for fitness
*Sit on exercise bench holding exercise band securely underneath both feet and with arms extended and palms facing each other (Fig 23)
Exercise 23 - Standing dumbbell shrug exercise for fitness
Exercise 24 - Seated knee tuck exercise for fitness
*Lie down flat on your back with legs held together pointing straight up toward the ceiling. Cross arms over chest or place hand behind head depending upon individual preference. Lace toes together drawing ankles until your heels are pressed firmly into the floor (Fig 24)
Exercise 25 - Trunk twist exercise for fitness
*Lie flat on your back with legs extended and arms crossed over chest or hands behind head. Bring knees up to your chest by curling through the hips and abs as far as possible without moving your lower back from the floor. Slowly return to starting position, using the control at all times (Fig 25).
Conclusion:
Golf is considered an individual sport; however, it takes teamwork to become skilled at golf. Fitness is very important for every golfer to acquire excellence in this game of precision, power, and endurance.
If you want to improve your skills, then exercising together will help you maximize your potentials. Practice these exercises mentioned above regularly every day. It will give you the best results and increase your fitness level as well as performance.
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