Off season golf workout
It's off season, but that doesn't mean you should stop training! Golfers know the importance of having a strong base to prepare for the upcoming season.
The Nordic Trainer can help with this by helping golfers keep their swing in shape while strengthening muscles and joints.
In this blog post will talk about why it is important to train during the off season, we will cover exercises on the Nordic Trainer that will improve your game, how it helps strengthen muscles and joints, and what other benefits there are to using one.
The importance of having an off season golf workout
The first question to answer: Why is is important for golfers to train in the off season?
It's important because it doesn't matter how good you are; if you don't train during off season, it is going to affect your game. Your muscles and joints need a break from the daily grind of hitting golf balls in order for them to be at their best when it is most important: during competition!
All top pro golfers train during offseason, it's not a coincidence. They train because they know it will help them play better when the time comes to compete. After reminding you of some of the classic golfer mistakes, we will help you on how to get started with your off season training.
Essentially, you can start your off season practice right upon reading this article and start preparing yourself for the next season!
Classic golfer mistake
The classic golfer mistake: Starting a season upon no practice all winter, thinking you can go out and play round after round with low scores.
After the second round, your back feels a little stiff and your wrists are hurting after topping too many balls.
Lastly, you are exhausted from walking 2 times 18 holes after a winter of relaxation and too much wine.
You keep playing more and more and after one month, your physical therapist officially tells you to slow down or you will injure your body.
Does it sound familiar to you? Even if this exact scenario hasn't happened to you, the moral of story remains that it is important to train during the offseason.This blog is meant to help you avoid these classic mistakes and it will serve as a good reminder of why we trained so hard before!
How can you nurture your golf game off the course?
You may sit and think, how can I nurture my golf game, when I am not on the actual golf course? We totally understand your wondering. With golf specific workouts off the course, you can actually improve your golf swing and golf game significantly on the course.
Outcome of golf training
With golf specific fitness training, you can learn to control your shots better, hit longer drives, get more speed in your swing, improve your body rotation and of course, have more energy for walking those long hours.
Focus of workout
There are various important parts to focus on when training for golf. Besides general strength training and cardio workouts, it is important for golfers to do mobility, stability and balance training. These are key to getting a better swing and golf game.
Why the Nordic Trainer?
Doing golf specific training can be done in many ways, either by using free weights or fitness equipment. We will focus on the Nordic Trainer as you can do a complete golf workout with just that one piece of equipment. This means you are able to train your power, balance, strength and stability through exercises on the Nordic Trainer.
One of the most important things for fitness training is ease of use and accessibility. With the Nordic Trainer, it doesn't get much easier and that's why we have create a complete golf program for the Nordic Trainer.
Getting started
Getting started with a golf fitness routine can be a difficult phase if you are not used to it. The best way to get started is by small full body workouts with the Nordic Trainer for 30 minutes at a time, 3 times a week.
Exercise diary
Keep an exercise diary, where you keep track of all your workouts and rest days! Choose a different focus for each workout, e.g. stability, endurance, balance etc.
If you are not in shape at all, it might be better to work up in intensity over time. Add exercises week after week and try adding some resistance when possible. It's important that your muscles can still feel what they need to do for your swing and not feel too tired.
By choosing a specific focus per week, you can slowly work on perfecting these parts of your golf game by using the Nordic Trainer with exercises to help improve it!
Workout schedule
Why do we love workout schedules so much? Beacuse they help you stay on track and make sure you don't fall off the wagon.
Weekly workout schedule
Make a weekly schedule for your workouts, it's always good to have something up ahead that keeps you motivated! Once again, we recommend starting with 30 minutes of physical activity per day at first and slowly building over time as fitness improves. You can keep adding exercises week after week!
Free Workout Plans for the Nordic Trainer!
A good way to build up with intensity over time is by adding resistance, either via using heavier weights or doing harder exercises on the Nordic Trainer. Always make sure you can still feel your muscles and don't hurt yourself!
With a workout schedule, it is easy to keep track of whether or not you are getting stronger week after week. This means that your workouts will become more challenging over time as well which is what we want with golf specific training - progressions for an improved swing!
The Nordic Trainer
It is now time for a Nordic Trainer training program. We will go through 4 exercises on the Nordic Trainer that will give you power, a stronger core, better balance and more mobility.
1 Double Poling
Start position: Keep your back straight and bend slightly in your knees.
Step 1: Tighten up your abdominal muscles and head into a squat as you pull your arms down besides you.
Step 2: Bring your arms and poles back until your arms are fully stretched.
Step 3: Bring your arms, back and legs back to your starting position.
Power and endurance
Double poling is a great exercise to build power and endurance. You will activate muscles in your legs, core, shoulders, back and arms. It is the exercise that will give you the ability to walk those 18 holes without getting tired.
2 One Leg Double Poling
Start position: Keep your back straight and stand on one foot with a slight bend in your knee. Keep the other leg up in the air behind you.
Step 1: Tighten up your abdominal muscles and head into a small squat as you pull your arms down beside you.
Step 2: Bring your arms and poles back until your arms are fully stretched.
Step 3: Bring your arms, back and legs back to your starting position.
Switch legs after 10 reps.
Balance
One leg double poling is the ultimate balance exercise. It will activate your core and legs like no other exercise. This is what you need to get good balance in the golf swing!
Keep an eye on that back foot - if it starts wobbling, take a break or switch legs before continuing with more reps.
3 Side crunch
Start: Stand with your side to the front of the trainer, with your one arm stretched out to the side on top of the pole.
Step 1: Push the pole down as you are making a small side crunch on the side facing the front.
Step 2: Bring the pole back to the start position and repeat the movement 10 times.
Strong core and shoulders
The side crunch is a great exercise to strengthen the core and shoulder muscles. This will help you with your golf swing as well by having stronger shoulders that can take over at impact.
Remember, if something hurts - stop! It's just exercise after all :). You don't want an injury because of trying too hard... it doesn't go all the way around.
4 Side rotation
Start position: Stand with feet shoulder's width a part, with your side facing the back of the trainer, holder the one pole out in front of you.
Step 1: Pull the pole around you with straight arms, turning only your torso towards the back.
Step 2: Bring the pole back to the start position and repeat the movement 10 times.
Mobility and flexibility
The side rotation exercise is one of the best golf exercises that will improve your flexibility and mobility. This will help you get into a good swing position without having any restrictions.
Building flexibility in the upper body after a long offseason with no play, is very important. We want to keep the muscles and joints loose without overdoing it. This exercise will help you with that.
Rounding off
These are the four exercises that you should start with to get into a good swing shape. Take a look at the training program above or check out one of our golf training videos for more inspiration.
And get started with your offseason training now. I would love to hear how it goes!
Please feel free to leave comments or send an email at contact@nordicstrong.com if you have any questions or doubts!