The Loop

Fitness Friday: Zach Johnson simplifies your workout

November 03, 2011

*Editor's note: Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. He gives you a health and fitness tip or an exercise or stretch to get your body warmed up for the weekend. This week he shows how versatile the medicine ball can be, and why it's a great exercise tool for golfers, including Masters champion Zach Johnson. Look for Saturday Morning Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman

Roger Schiffman

Managing Editor

Golf Digest*

Here's Ron: When I was a kid, my father, Ed Kaspriske, was great for one-liners such as "no monkey shines" and "go pound salt," but my favorite was "don't make a production out of it." He's right. Too many people think working out involves getting dressed in the right fitness clothes, getting in their cars and heading to the gym, stretching, doing 30 minutes of cardio and another 30 on weight machines, stretching again, then driving home, showering, etc. With a bloated itinerary like that, it's no wonder people easily eliminate working out from their daily schedules.

My advice is to keep your session short, simple and intense. You can do an entire workout in 15 to 20 minutes, without weights, without gym clothes (although it's always a good idea to be wearing athletic shoes), and without leaving your home. One of my favorite workouts is to use a medicine ball for 10 different exercises in a 20-minute span (remember my 20-in-20 workout?) A 6- to 12-pound med ball is a very versatile tool, especially for golfers who want to train their cores in rotational and diagonal movements to mimic muscle function in a typical golf swing.

Randy Myers, one of the top fitness trainers on the PGA Tour and a longtime contributor to Golf Digest, puts his pro golfers throughout vigorous workouts in abbreviated time cycles using minimal equipment. If you don't have "time to get to the gym," I suggest you buy a med ball and design a workout program you can do at home.

For demonstrations of two great med-ball exercises, click on the video below and watch former Masters champion Zach Johnson in action. Special thanks to Randy for recording one of Zach's workouts, and special thanks to you for watching.

*Ron Kaspriske

Fitness Editor

Golf Digest*