To an outsider golf might seem like a sedentary hobby – strolling gently between holes without any real physical exertion. To a golfer, however, the sport is anything but sedentary. It might not be fast-paced like football or ice hockey, but it does require physical co-ordination, stability and a certain amount of power. Four major muscles (or muscle groups) are involved in a perfect golf swing, and to improve your game it’s vital to pay them some TLC.
Gluteus Maximus
An amateur might see a golf swing as a movement beginning and ending with the torso and arms, but it is actually anchored in the hips and buttocks – otherwise known as gluteus maximus. A smooth hip rotation is vital to a good swing and the gluteus maximus is what sets that in motion.
A particularly effective move to strengthen your gluteus maximus is the glute bridge. Lying on your back, raise your hips and thighs off the ground with your feet placed on the floor directly below your knees. You can either hold that position or alternate between lowering your hips to the floor and thrusting them up, making sure to activate your glutes. This move also strengthens your core.
Pectoralis Major
This is a large muscle that makes up the bulk of the chest. They’re not the only muscle there, but they are the most powerful, and they are the driving force behind shoulder mobility – an essential part of the golf swing.
The humble push-up is an excellent exercise to build strength in this area. Just remember that there is more than one type of push-up, so you can easily target different muscle groups at the same time by performing variations such as the rotational push-up and Spiderman push-up, both of which bolster core strength.
Latissimus Dorsi
The latissimus dorsi is situated on either side of the back, running out from the spine to the side of your torso. Like the pecs, these muscles aid in shoulder movement, as well as rotation of the spine, and need to be kept flexible if you want to swing effectively.
Plank exercises are great for strengthening your lats, as long as you maintain proper form and concentrate on keeping the muscles in your core and back active. Stretching these muscles is quite easy: stand upright with arms stretched straight overhead – you might also bend gently to either side a few times.
Core
Core strength is the foundation of a good golf swing, just like a good betting site is the key to golf bets made easy. Your core provides stability from the pelvis to the shoulders to drive the power as you rotate. Your core is made up of many different muscles, including pelvic floor muscles, transverses abdominis, obliques, and erector spinae. Many exercises, such as the plank, push-up and glute bridge, can also strengthen the core. Variations of the plank exercise can be especially good, such as the side plank and long lever plank.
Strength And Stability
You don’t need to powerlift to be good at golf but strengthening these areas is important nonetheless. Even more important, though, is complementing that strength with stability and flexibility.