GETTING IN SHAPE Before you get out on the course, take the time to strengthen your lower body and the muscles of your core, meaning your abdomen, back and sides, including the deep muscles in those areas. Strength in these areas is critical to a good golf game. “Power is generated from the legs, and you transfer that power from the lower body through the core,” Brooks says. “That’s what carries into the swing.” “Many people believe that your game gets its power from the upper body and arms. But it has nothing to do with that,” Marck- Sherk says. “Power comes from the rotational movement from the core and power from the legs.” “That can be where we start to see shoulder injuries,” Brooks adds. “When people try to kill the ball with the upper body.” To avoid injury and improve your game, try these moves. • Russian twist: Sit on the floor,
RUSSIAN TWIST
STANDING TWIST
Matthew Brooks, NCH Whitaker Wellness Cen- ter Program Coordinator, demonstrates three moves to deploy before getting out on the golf course.
holding your feet off the ground. You can hold a weighted ball or a small dumbbell in your hands, or if that additional weight is too much, start with nothing. Rotate the weight or your empty hands to either side of your body, keeping your feet off the ground. Start with 10movements, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat twice. As you get stronger, add more repetitions. • Standing twist: Use a cable machine at the gym or a resis- tance band. Position the machine cable or wrap the band around a pole at shoulder height. With your side toward the machine or pole, pull the cable or band straight across, in line with your shoulder. You will be twisting and strengthen- ing your core and your shoulders. Try 10 on each side. • Palloff press: Again, you can use a cable machine or resis- tance band and pole. The cable or band should be around sternum height, and your feet should be about hip distance apart. Stand with your side toward the machine or pole. With the cable in your hand, press out, then press back in. The point is to use your core muscles to stop yourself from rotating toward the cable. “This stabilizes the shoulders and the core all at once, which is really good for golf,” Marck- Sherk says. Start with 10 reps on each side. • Squats: Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips. Bend your knees and push your butt back as though you’re sitting in a chair. Keep your knees over your toes and your
PALLOFF PRESS
back straight. Squat down until your hip joint is lower than your knees. Start with two sets of 12 squats. • Standing leg curls: You can do leg curls on a designated machine at the gym, but you can also do the exercise without a machine. Stand with your legs hip-width apart. Bend one knee so the foot is behind you, but keep the knees together. Hands can be on hips, on a chair, or above the head for extra balance training. Flex your foot and lift that leg toward your butt, then return the leg parallel to the floor. Start with two
29 APRIL - JUNE 2019 NAPLES HEALTH
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