fitness
Thinking about starting to workout for golf? Start here
It's that time of year when many people start to think about getting in better shape. This is especially true of golfers in cold-weather climates who now have extra hours to spend on their bodies while they wait for warmer days. With that said, Golf Digest Certified Fitness Trainer Ryan Faust has some simple advice and a handful of exercises to get you going if you're new to the gym (or haven't been in quite some time).
Before he gives you a short-and-sweet workout, Faust wants to cover some general points about working out. This is stuff he shares with his clients at FaustyGolf Performance Center in Encinitas, Calif.
1. Start light and easy. Don’t go too hard too soon, as this could lead to injuries or soreness that would prevent you from wanting to continue.
2. Body-weight exercises are a great start before moving on to free weights or machines. There are plenty of very good exercises that require no equipment.
3. Find a Golf Digest Certified Fitness Trainer. These certified trainers will start with a screening to understand your fitness level and will be able to create a program specifically for you and your goals. This is especially true if you have recently had an injury or have been injury prone in the past.
4. If you can’t get to a professional or want to build your own program, make sure to include lower-body strength, upper-body push and pull exercises and rotational movements. Here’s an example using body weight and resistance bands. Perform exercises in this order of sets: 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, then 4-5-6, 4-5-6, 4-5-6.
WORKOUT
1. Body Weight (BW) Standard Squats x10 reps
2. BW Reverse Lunge x10 reps per leg
3. BW Side Planks up to 30 secs per side x3 reps each side
4. Push Ups x10
5. Resistance Band Low Anchor Single Arm Row x10 each side
6. Resistance Band Mid Anchor Rotations x10 each side
