BODY / FITNESS B
I love golf, and I hate working out. Which is unfortunate, because working out is good for your game. Getting stronger and more flexible can make your swing better and improve your health off the course, too. It's been hard for me to square these two things – my desires to be a better golfer and healthier person without working out. But I've stumbled upon one thing that has helped. Rowing. I'm not rowing on water but rather committed to workouts on a Hydrow row- ing machine I set up in my garage. I've found them strangely enjoyable, for a few reasons: I like not having to row for ages to get in a heart-racing workout. I can go faster or slower, and after each workout I feel it in some crucial golf muscles, from my legs to my shoulders. And all of that aside, there's something about the act of rowing that feels, for lack of a better word, golf-y. Curious about all this, I called a couple of rowing coaches, Nick Karwoski and Laine Maher, who are also avid recreational golfers. The perfect people to help me unpack all this. Could it be that rowing is a top tier exercise for golfers? They certainly think so. Here's why. ROWING IS AN AWESOME EXERCISE FOR GOLFERS Two experts explain why By Luke Kerr-Dineen
IT HITS SOME KEY GOLF MUSCLES
Golf swings are difficult to do well because they require many different muscles. If there's a weakness or inflexibility in one area of your body, it can disrupt
the entire chain of your swing. The same is true with rowing, a motion which, by most estimates, hits up to 86 percent of your muscles – including some impor- tant ones for golfers. "The biggest areas (in rowing) are the glutes in your legs, because essentially you're doing a horizontal squat with ev- ery stroke, loosening your hip flexors," says Karwoski. "The rowing motion starts using the significantly bigger, stronger muscles in your legs, then you transfer through your core and finish with those biceps, triceps, shoulders and lats." All those muscles play an equally ac- tive role in swinging the club. Rowing can help strengthen, loosen, and acti- vate all those areas. But that's not where the similarities end.
26 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
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