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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!
MAY, 2001
Effects of Strength and
Flexibility Training on Golf Performance
A study
performed at the South Shore YMCA evaluated the
effect of an 8-week strength and flexibility
training program on physical fitness and golf
performance in adults.
The
Program:
Twenty-two golfers were involved in the study: 17
people went through the program and 5 were
control subjects. Nobody played golf during the
8-week period. To assess golf performance,
everyone was tested for club head speed before
and after the conditioning program. Other
assessment included body composition, muscle
strength, and joint flexibility.
The 17
participants performed 15 standard strength
exercises and 6 basic stretches three times a
week. One set of 8-12 reps of each of the
strength-training exercises was performed. It
took about 30 minutes to complete the strength
training and 10 minutes for the stretching.
Results:
The golfers who trained improved in all of
their fitness measurements:
56%
improvement in muscle strength
24%
increase in hip and shoulder flexibility
4.1-lb.
increase in lean weight
3.0-lb.
decrease in fat weight
5%
increase in club head speed
These golfers
confirmed the improvement in their driving power
during the following season with consistently
longer drives.
The group of
5 control subjects who were tested but did not
participate in the program recorded the same mean
club head speed before and after the 8-week
program.
Discussion:
(quote from Wayne Wescott)
"The
major outcome of this project was that a basic
program of strength and flexibility exercises not
only did not adversely affect the golfers'
performance but also improved their body
composition, muscle strength, joint flexibility,
and club head speed. These results stand in sharp
contrast to the golfers' earlier concerns that
strength training might reduce their flexibility
and hinder their driving ability.
Furthermore,
all participants reported that they felt
comfortable with the strengthening and stretching
exercises and were pleased with their
improvements in fitness and club head speed. Most
of them continued their exercise program after
the project ended, and all completed the golf
season without injury.
In summary,
the golfers enhanced both their physical fitness
and their driving performance by participating in
a basic program of strength and flexibility
exercises. It would appear that golf and strength
training are compatible, and that the time spent
in muscular conditioning is a productive
investment for golfers who want to look better,
feel better, and function better, both on and off
the golf course."
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.
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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
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