Month: October 2018

Best Season To Train For Golf

Best Time For Golf Training | Buffalo | Leading Edge Performance
Best Time For Golf Training | Buffalo | Leading Edge Performance

When is the best season to train for golf?

The weather has turned colder over the last few weeks, and we have seen plenty of rain (with flurries in the forecast). I've heard many ask me "when is the best season to train for golf? Is it in the 'off' season?" The better questions is....should there be an off season from training?

He SAID, She SAID

Do the same thing you've always done and it will get you where you've always been. How many places is that applicable in life? Many. It applies to the body too. First, there's the SAID principle: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. Simply stated, it means the body adapts to the forces applied to it. Secondly, a rolling stone gathers no moss. Keep moving so you can keep eating grass, not growing it. Also, if we do the same exercises, the same training, the same cardio, your body will stay basically..the same. That's a good plan for maintenance, but what if you're looking to make gains? Strength, power, and increased swing speed allow for longer drives. The person who hits the ball the longest, wins... 80% of the time in the PGA (and hopefully on your home course too). Distance matters, and it's more fun to hit a long ball too!

Seasons of Training

There are times we can best use training sessions to focus on strength gains while still maintaining mobility and flexibility, and there are times we want to focus on speed training and body control. Fall, winter, and the beginning of spring in WNY is a great time to focus on raw strength in key areas, increase your shoulder turn, and improve your hip turn...all while picking up heavy weights. You're not done. Put them down, pick them up, and keep repeating. In the spring and summer months it's important to maintain body control with good core exercises, anti-rotation or resisted rotation exercises, nervous system training, and speed drills.

There may be an off season from golf if you aren't a snow bird, but there shouldn't be an off season from training if you want to keep moving well and enjoying life. Call Marie today to learn more about the best program for your body based on how you move during this season today!

"Better Body, Better Golf, Better Life"

Marie Hall | Golf Fitness Buffalo | Leading Edge Performance

Author: Marie L Hall

MS, ATC, TPI CGFI MP3, SFMA, FMSC
Golf Fitness Expert, Performance Coach, Functional Movement Specialist

How Can I Improve My Hip Turn?

How Can I Improve My Hip Turn? | Gold Fitness Buffalo | Leading Edge Performance
How Can I Improve My Hip Turn? | Gold Fitness Buffalo | Leading Edge Performance

How Can I Improve My Hip Turn

Hip, hip, hooray!!! There's always lots of talk about hips in the sports arena. The greatest athletes in the world are strong and move well from their hips to their shoulders. They have lots of motion and they have lots of great body control in these areas. So if hip movement is so important, how do we maintain it or improve it?

A Brief Anatomy Lesson

Let's talk about the muscles surrounding the joint. We have the hip flexors, quadriceps (front of thigh), hip internal and external rotators, adductors or groin muscles (moves your leg towards the midline of your body). We also have gluteus maximus (my favorite!!), which is the great hip extensor, and glute medius which is an abductor (moves the leg away from the midline of the body). Extensibility or flexibility of each of these muscles has an impact on total joint motion. Research studies have indicated groin or adductors are the first group of muscles to tighten, leading to the loss of motion in the hip turn.....meaning that's an area we should pay attention to! Quads and hip flexors are in a shortened state when seated, which most of the population does a whooollee lot of today mainly due to an occupational hazard: the desk job!

Flexibility Comes From Joints Too

Surrounding each joint in the body is a sheath of connective tissue that makes up the joint capsule. This capsule keeps all the synovial fluid inside the joint, which is our bodies own lube (the natural and organic kind of WD-40). Joint capsules can become tighter and thicker and sometimes need to be mobilized. You can think of this tissue similarly to a thin sheet of leather. It can be stretched out if you put the right pressure on it. Joint capsules can be stretched much like leather has the capability to.

Marie's Favorite Hip Stretches

Since adductors, hip flexors, quads, and glute medius are common areas of tightness, we should keep them stretched. Below, you'll see pictures of each. Remember, stretches should be dynamic during pre-participation warm-ups, but they can be held any other time.

For more information on a flexibility or fitness program, contact Marie.

Marie Hall | Golf Fitness Buffalo | Leading Edge Performance

Author: Marie L Hall

MS, ATC, TPI CGFI MP3, SFMA, FMSC
Golf Fitness Expert, Performance Coach, Functional Movement Specialist