How to Stay in Shape During Winter
You’d love to think you can just go out and “buy” a better game, but athletic trainers at the Golf Fitness Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) say you might be better off just pulling up a chair, literally, and just getti g yourself in better golf shape, with exercises requiring no fancy equipment.
After five years of laboratory testing of more than 6,000 golf swings from over 500 golfers of all types, from Greg Norman to us weekend hackers, Dr. Scott Lephart, the director of the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Golf Fitness Laboratory at Pinehurst, and associate director Dr. Joseph Myers, both certified athletic trainers, have come up with a list of 22 exercises that, in Myers’ words “Improve a golfer’s stability and mobility by incorporating exercises that are designed to improve balance, flexibility, strength and power.”
According to Myers, “Many individuals spend lots of money to improve their golf swing by purchasing new equipment and swing training devices, and taking lessons. Yet, if the golfers don’t have the physicality necessary to use the new equipment or perform the swing changes from the lessons or training equipment, improvement will be difficult. By upgrading one’s level of physical fitness, performance will improve, injuries will be fewer and enjoyment of the game will increase.”
PGA legend Greg Norman was instrumental in the inception of the lab at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex that opened in 2004. A second location has opened at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, where LPGA star Donna Andrews is on-staff.
For more information, log on to www.pitt.edu/~neurolab , www.nata.org , or http://golffitnesslab.upmc.com.
Wood Chop – encourages the correct sequence of motion
in the downswing.
Secure some resistance tubing or a stretchable band by looping one end around a sturdy object or sticking it in a doorjamb. Stand as if you were at the top of your swing and grasp the end of the tubing with both hands. Pull the tube down diagonally toward the floor as you rotate your torso to your golf impact position. Pose there for two to three seconds then slowly return the tube to the top. Do 10 reps and then switch sides. When you start to feel less resistance, move farther away from the door to add tension to the tube.
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