Several years ago, researchers at the Centenela Hospital Biomechanics Lab in California studied the golf swing and concluded the following:

1. Golf is played with both sides of the body.  You want to train the muscles in the right and left sides of the body equally.

2. The lower body initiates the downswing.  The faster your rotate your core through the shot, the more power you get.

3. Skilled players are more efficient in the swings.  The better your swing technique determines how well you swing and hit the ball.

While exercises that don’t specifically relate to the swing are helpful to the golfer (all exercise is good if it gets your heart rate going and tones muscles), they just won’t help a golfer as much as a functional exercise-exercise that relates to the golf swing.  The reason for this is that if we do activities that simulate the golf swing, we train muscles and joints to move in the same range of motion as the golf swing. When you perfect these moves, the muscles and joints move smoother and more efficiently in the golf swing.

While it is not bad to do non-functional exercises, they won’t help you improve your golf swing.   I developed Cardiogolf to help golfers “kill two birds with one stone”.  When you participate in Cardiogolf, you will get some well needed exercise while you improve your swing.

Since you know you have to exercise anyway for better health, then why not work on your golf game at the same time.  Here is a mini-core workout that takes 10 to 15 minutes that can help you develop golf-specific moves.

Mini-Core Workout

Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Intensity: Moderate to Intense

Frequency: 2 to 3 times a week

Do each exercise for 1o to 12 repetitions or for 30 seconds.

Advanced players repeat routine 2 to 3 times.

Warm up  for 5 minutes. Walk, jog or jump rope to warm muscles and joints.