Are You Ready To Take These 5 Golf Fitness Advantages To The Golf Course And Thump Your Buddies?

You've heard the buzz. Golfers are turning to golf fitness to improve their game. You've heard the pro's talking about it as well as amateurs. So what exactly does a high quality golf fitness program do for you and what should you look for?

A golf fitness program is just what it implies. A fitness program designed specifically for golfers that addresses the actual muscles golfers use with exercises specific to those muscles. You might refer to it as designer fitness for golfers. Would it make sense to participate in football training for golf? Of course not, different sports, different muscles. So what should your golf fitness program include and what should it do for you? Let's look at what a golf fitness plan might do for your game.

Some of the benefits reported from users of golf fitness programs are added length (up to 40 yards) on drives, lower scores, better quality of play and elimination of existing nagging golf pain, like lower back pain which seems to plague many golfers.

The secret is finding the right golf fitness program to accomplish these things. Here are some tips on what your golf fitness plan should include for best results.

1. Want to out-drive your friends and leave them with their knees shaking in fear? Then your program must include core conditioning. Power is transferred through the core and when your core (stomach and trunk muscles) is strong, you will generate more power. However, it is also important to learn how to transfer power into speed. This is where plyometric training comes into play. Your program should include plyometric training, as it is specifically designed to train your body to convert strength into speed, and it's clubhead speed that launches the ball.

2. How's your balance? How long can you stand on one foot? Did you know the average pro can stand on one foot for over 30 seconds, the average amateur 10 seconds? Balance is a learned skill, and your golf fitness program should include balance training in order to teach you how to properly transfer your weight through the shot and stay in control of your swing. Think about, do you think ballerinas and balance beam gymnasts were born with their gift of balance? Of course not, they learned it with balance specific exercises. So can you.

3. Flexibility. Want to hit the ball further? Then you need to make a bigger turn. The more you can coil your body the more clubhead speed you can generate. To make a bigger turn you have to lengthen your muscles and this is done with a proper golf specific stretching program to target the actual muscle groups used for golf. It is also critically important to maintain proper form as well as hold the stretches as long as possible for best results. Increased flexibility and core conditioning make a wicked combo when you have a golf club in your hands.

4. Do you finish your round as strong as you started it? Golf is a grueling game played over 4-6 hours. Endurance is key to shooting low scores. When you tire, mistakes come easily in golf. Stray shots, mental errors and suddenly that round that looked so promising at the turn is a throw away. Your fitness program should include stamina exercises to build endurance. This is typically done by using light resistance and high reps to produce an aerobic type workout to build endurance. Make sure your golf fitness plan includes an endurance component.

5. Playing with soreness, or old golf injuries like a bad back, knee, shoulder or elbow? Pain can be eliminated with a proper golf fitness program that focuses on muscle imbalances and strengthening the key muscles used in the golf swing. When you are properly conditioned for golf, the pain will go away as your body will be using the correct muscles in the swing rather than the wrong muscles in your swing. When your "golfing" muscles are weak, your body compensates and uses other muscles to make the swing. This is how back injuries, shoulder injuries, etc. occur. When you force your body to compensate and use the wrong muscle the next thing you know, pop, there goes the back. Make sure your program addresses muscle imbalances as well as strengthening in order to eliminate nagging pain and reduce future injuries.

With a good golf fitness program you can be enjoying these benefits and more in as little as 8 short weeks. If you want to drive it further, shoot lower scores, eliminate pain and play more enjoyable golf, get on a good golf fitness plan now.