Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
Instruction
|
||||
|
The majority of swing faults are likely to return if your body continues to have the physical limitations that caused them in the first place. Over the next five months, I’ll show you how to eliminate them through fitness. Let’s focus on two posture positions (S and C), since posture is the first step toward a more consistent and powerful swing. S-POSTURE This flaw is caused by too much arch in your lower back in the setup position, which puts stress on lower-back muscles and allows your abdominal muscles to relax. More mobility in your lower back and hip flexors, and strengthening your abdominal and glute muscles will help correct this problem. Here are some exercises that will help: Cats & Dogs: Start on all fours with your thighs and arms perpendicular to the floor. Without bending your elbows, lower your spine to create the dog position and then lift or arch your spine to create the cat position. Repeat this several times to find the neutral position. Hold the neutral position with an abdominal brace for two breaths and repeat for one minute. Reverse Crunches: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your arms at your side with your hands on the floor. Without moving your hands, bring your feet up in the air with your knees still bent. Repeat until you feel a good burn in your abdominal muscles. Bridges: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest and lift your pelvis off the ground. You should feel the contraction in your glutes, not your hamstring muscles. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times. C-POSTURE This flaw occurs when your shoulders are slumped too far forward at address, which makes it difficult to maintain proper posture in your backswing. Correcting muscle imbalances in the chest, upper back and neck regions will straighten things out. Here are some exercises that will help: Seated Rows: Sit on an exercise ball and hold the handles of a cable machine or exercise band. Pull the handles past your body by squeezing your shoulder blades together and sticking your chest out. Make sure your core and lower body are stabilized. Hold each contraction for two breaths and repeat 12 times. Standing Chest Stretch: Stand tall and interlock your fingers behind your head. Try to touch your elbows together in the front of your face, feeling a stretch in the upper back. Then spread your arms as far back as possible feeling a big stretch in the chest muscles. Repeat 20 times. Neck Tucks: Tuck your chin to your chest area and gently pull down on your head with both hands. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat three times. SG Mike Hansen can be reached at (949) 251-0533. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
