N is for neural pathways, also known as muscle memory. A neural pathway is like a sequence of muscular movements or detailed list of movement commands stored in the central nervous system. When you want to make your golf swing, your brain says “Go” and your body does the rest.
It takes a lot of practice to create a new neural pathway (remember how strange it felt to make that first swing) and even more practice to alter or override a current one (breaking old habits). Resistance training, especially balance and stability training can really help with awareness of your body and create stronger neural links from your central nervous system to each muscle, which could help make creating neural pathways quicker.
O is for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a bone disease during which bones become less dense and have increased risk of a fracture. In a previous post, I discussed the pressure and forces your body puts itself through during a full golf swing. With these forces in mind, I’d like to think I’m doing all I can to protect my bones from harm. But how?
It’s not just the muscles that receive a workout with resistance training. Your bones do, too. Resistance training encourages increased bone density.
P is for posture. Posture is probably one of the first aspects of the golf setup you and your coach will have worked on. It’s a problem I can spot with a huge number of golfers I see. Two things are probably going to happen with poor posture: 1. Your shot isn’t going to turn out the way you want it to. 2. You will cause yourself some joint pain later down the line. Check out my previous post on back stability for some posture-correcting exercises.
Q is for quality. Quality over quantity every time as far as training is concerned! One good training session a week is better than three poor sessions. This doesn’t mean you have to smash all personal records every session and push yourself 110% every time. Just make sure you keep great posture and form when completing exercises.
R is for rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is the group of muscles that stabilise and facilitate rotation in your shoulders. Pretty much all shoulder-joint injuries will be as a result of weak rotator cuff muscles. Watch this space for exercises designed to strengthen the rotator cuffs.
S is for stamina. The final of the scratch match play at your club comes between two 4 handicappers, both having equally great seasons, all square on the 36th hole. One loves a chat, a brandy and a cigar after Sunday’s round. The other usually dashes off to go on a bike ride with the kids before walking the dogs. I know who my money’s on to still be running in top form!
T is for training. Training for golf is something that the majority of players don’t do. You want the competitive edge? Well, start training! Whilst your competitors struggle with inflexibility and lack of stamina, you could be moving up your club leader board.
U is for Ultraviolet. No training will protect you from the sun’s UV rays, only good old fashioned common sense – sunscreen, hat and polarised sunglasses!
V is for Viagra. Lets face it; all golfers wish they were longer and straighter! Sorry couldn’t help the cheesy joke (I have plenty more by the way). V is also for veins. Veins are the blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Since there is no direct pressure from the heart to pump the blood through the veins, they rely on surrounding muscles to squeeze blood through them. An ideal form of exercise to do this is…….see W.
W is for walking. Walking the course is a great way to get a cardiovascular workout, burn extra calories and get the blood flowing (see V). By walking the course rather than taking a cart, you could burn around 800+ calories. This will vary depending on your weight, if you carry clubs, how hilly the course is and how long the course is.
X is for X-factor. The term X-factor is one founded by Jim McLean. It refers to the X shape make by the line of the hips and line of the shoulders. The shoulders will out turn the hips creating a “coil up” effect. This is where a lot of the power in a golf swing is produced. The more flexible in the spine you are, the greater potential you have for creating power (one of the keys to Tiger’s and others’ stunning power).
Y is for you. The person you should be exercising for is you – to improve your golf game, to improve your health, to improve your figure!
Z is for the zone. The zone is referred to in many sports including golf. It is a state of unconscious competence, or doing well without thinking about how you’re doing it. For more about getting in your zone, try reading Tim Gallwey’s The Inner Game of Golf