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Mike Pedersen
helps to educate golfers of all ages and all
walks of life. Author of the four GolfTrainer
on-line books and has designed all the customized
golf-specific strength training, flexibility
training, and cardiovascular exercise programs.
He has trained and educated people in exercise
and nutrition for more than 17 years.
Mike will be here every
month exclusively for you - providing golf
fitness recommendations, over 90 exercise
instructions and video demonstrations, customized
programs, golf fit tips, golf fitness profile and
assessment, and much more!
JUNE, 2001
Fitness becoming more important
in golf training
Injuries have
always been part of golf, but only recently have
health and fitness professionals have addressed
treatment and prevention issues specifically for
golf.
Three experts
in those areas opened the proceedings Saturday at
"Dome Day" during the PGA Teaching and
Coaching Summit on the floor of the Louisiana
Superdome. Dr. William Bryan, an orthopedic
surgeon, talked about treatment and procedures
for shoulder injuries and ailments common to
golfers.
Physical
therapist Russ Paine discussed the rehabilitation
of common golf injuries. And personal trainer
Alison Thietje demonstrated some exercises that
prevent injuries and help players ingrain the
movements of their golf swings.
The good news
in the field, said Bryan, who practices at the
Baylor Sports Medicine Clinic in Houston, is that
many surgical procedures have become much less
invasive and rehabilitation time has become much
shorter. But, he added, "We still feel
there's a lot of research that needs to be done
in this area."
Bryan, the
team physician for the Houston Astros the past 17
years, also talked about some of the advances and
treatment options available for shoulder injuries
ranging from arthritis to rotator cuff tears and
tendinitis. He covered treatment options from
cortisone shots to surgery.
As many as 62
percent of golfers suffer some kind of injury
during a given year, said Paine, the sports
medicine director for HealthSouth in Houston. The
most common injuries involve the back, left wrist
and left elbow (for right-handers).
The biggest
culprit is poor swing mechanics, perhaps coupled
with too much practice without proper
instruction, he added. Better mechanics, which he
leaves to PGA Professionals, can go a long way in
preventing these injuries, he added.
Still, Paine
finds himself working with golfers who have
suffered these injuries, such as tour players
Steve Elkington, Greg Norman and Jesper Parnevik,
who recently underwent a new hip procedure to
correct damage. Paine, who also serves as a
consultant for NASA, the Houston Rockets and
Houston Astros, said the partnership with golf
professionals is proving to be a good one.
Thietje,
whose clients include tour stars Tom Watson, Phil
Mickelson, Brad Faxon and Justin Leonard, began
her presentation by asking the early-morning
audience 1,000 golf professionals to stand up and
stretch, then demonstrated three golf-specific
exercises.
Lateral
lunges can help provide stability, balance and
strength to the hip area, she explained.
Golf-specific rowing exercises are beneficial for
posture, she added, and torso rotation exercises
strengthen and train the basic golf movement.
"It
could be an added service for the golf
professional," said Paine, "to have a
trainer,physical therapist or orthopedic surgeon
who has in interest in golf."
Wanna get in better shape
for golf? Ask Mike, your Golf Fitness Expert.
Submit your questions below & he will try his
best to help you.
Return to Golf Fitness MAIN MENU
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Mike's
athletic career spans more than 30 years and
culminated in Track and Field where he was
regionally (Pac 10) and nationally ranked in the
javelin from 1982 to 1987; Mike made All Pac 10
in 1983. After graduating from Oregon
State University with a Bachelor
of Science in Exercise Physiology,
he moved on to decathlon competition and was a
nationally-ranked decathlete for Canada from 1987
to 1989. Mike has been certified by the American
Council on Exercise since 1986. He worked as
fitness director of a major health club chain and
has had his own private fitness business for 13
years.
When his
track-and-field career wound down, Mike picked up
golf recreationally, then became obsessed with
the game. "I bought every video, took every
lesson I could, and read books to understand the
golf swing." Mike's passion for the sport,
plus his ongoing interest in fitness, brought him
to his career as a Golf Fitness Professional.
At first,
Mike began studying the golf swing just to
improve his own game (he plays to a single-digit
handicap and can consistently drive the ball over
300 yards!). Then he began applying his knowledge
of anatomy and biomechanics of the swing to the
individual golfers he works with. He has run the
Golf Fitness program at Desert Mountain Golf
Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, one of the
premier private golf clubs in the United States
with five golf courses and a sixth in the works
as well as a state-of-the-art fitness facility.
Golf
Fitness Author, Teacher, and Coach
Mike has
given many seminars on Fitness for Golf to
golfers at all levels and of all ages as well as
to teaching golf pros. He has written extensively
on this subject, and published articles include
"Get Fit To Play Better Golf" (Sun
Golf Magazine) "Golf Fitness: The
Missing Link" (Arizona Golf Association
Magazine) "Play Consistently for 18
Holes" (Sun Golf Magazine), and
"Hit It Longer And Straighter" (Arizona
Golfer).
"My
goal is to educate golfers of all levels,
including teaching pros, about the benefits of
having a more flexible, fit body for playing
optimal golf through golf-specific strength and
flexibility training. Spending hundreds of
dollars on equipment and lessons will provide
minimal improvement unless the physical
limitations of the golfer are addressed."
E-Mail
Mike Pedersen
Visit
Golf-Trainer.com
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