Prolonged sitting is not only bad for your health, it’s also bad for your golf game. Golf Digest 50 Best Fitness Instructor Jennifer Fleischer says that sitting too long weakens the gluteal muscles and tears up the upper back, which are crucial to a good golf swing.
While he doesn’t recommend quitting your job to improve your golf game, Fleischer says incorporating two key exercises into your daily routine can help reduce, and even reverse, the effects that prolonged sitting has on your golf game.
The glutes are one of the most important muscles for the golf swing, as they are responsible for generating a lot of power. When you sit down, they’re off, and Fleischer says it makes it that much harder to build power and launch the clubface consistently without making trade-offs.
Fleischer’s “Double Band Monster Walks” will help you increase the strength of your glutes and regain some of your power.
First, place a mini band above your knees and another around your ankles. Then, get into an athletic position that creates tension on the risers. Take 10 slow, controlled steps forward, then take 10 steps back.
Make sure the bands stay stretched and your toes point forward throughout the exercise. The wider you keep between your feet and knees, the more difficult the exercise becomes. You can also remove the band above the kneecaps to decrease the degree of difficulty. Complete three to four sets of 10 steps forward and backward.
Staring at screens all day leads to rounded shoulders and a forward head posture. Not only does this ruin your upper back, but Fleischer explains that poor posture often results in decreased torso rotation.
“This makes it very difficult to stay in plane with your swing,” says Fleischer.
Fleischer’s “Band Split Reverse Lunge” can help increase your range of rotation and strengthen key muscles in your upper back.
Hold one band with both hands, about shoulder-width apart. Extend your arms out and, from an athletic stance, bring your right foot back into a lunge. Anchor your right hand in front of you and pull the band apart with your left hand, twisting toward your front leg.
Allow your gaze to follow your arm as you twist, which Fleischer says will increase your range of motion. Return your left hand to the starting position. With the right leg still behind you, he repeats the band pull to the opposite side, using the left hand as an anchor as you pivot on the back leg. As he rotates his upper body, Fleischer recommends keeping his lower body as stable as possible. Fill in six to eight on each side.
Do these exercises and all that time in your chair won’t be too hard on your golf game.
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