If you are an over-40-year-old youngster wondering what the best golf workout routine is, keep reading. I have been playing golf for over 20 years, and since I’ve been working out regularly for the last couple of years, I have noticed a decent improvement in my swing.
Playing golf is one of my greatest hobbies. My family and friends often ask me how I combine my passion for the gym and my passion for golf. I included a unique golf workout in my training session years ago.
Common questions are: – If working out in the gym doesn’t interfere with the flexibility of my golf swing, and where do I find the time to combine these two time-consuming hobbies of mine?
I will answer all these questions and more in this article.
What is the Best Golf Workout Routine?
The best golf workout routine will depend on the individual’s body type, physical fitness level, and specific golf goals. Generally speaking, golfers should focus on exercises that improve flexibility, core strength, and power. These exercises could include stretching, bodyweight exercises,
What are the benefits of our golf workout routine?
1- Strength Improvement
I have noticed that since I work out on a regular base, my body has changed. I lost some weight, gained muscle mass, became more flexible, and gained body strength.
This translates to hitting the golf ball 10% further on average than I used to without any extra effort. Even more, I hit the ball with less effort due to the extra strength and flexibility in my swing.
It’s like I’m more balanced and swing “through” the ball more easily. Anyone who has dedicated time to playing golf knows that’s very important. In one of my first golf lessons, I remember my golf coach telling me: Don’t swing at the ball: swing through the ball.
That sounds easy, but it took me many years to master.
2- Avoiding Injuries
As I have been dealing with a shoulder injury for quite some years, I realize the importance of this one. Strangely my shoulder injury never interfered with my golf swing.
I couldn’t throw a ball or even do a chest crawl while swimming, but I can produce an acceptably powerful golf swing without having shoulder pain issues. Lucky me.
Read this if you want to know how I managed to work out painlessly with my shoulder injury.
https://gymtrends365.com/working-out-with-a-shoulder-injury/
It’s a serious matter, and we sometimes do underestimate the strain a golf swing can put on your body. Just look at the great ones like Tiger Woods. He has had his share of golf injuries.
It doesn’t seem that way, and many people who don’t practice golf are unaware of it, but golf can be physically demanding.
A golf swing puts considerable pressure on the back, hips, and wrists. A good golf workout will prepare your body for those ‘impacts’ on your joints and muscles during the swing.
Remember, a golf swing is a repetitive movement, so we must try to perform it in the best and most healthy form. Strengthening your body, including, for example, one golf workout per week and becoming more flexible, is a good start to accomplish that.
3- Health Benefits
This might be obvious, but I will say it anyway. Working out has countless benefits for your health. It’s healthy! It doesn’t matter if you are getting stronger to improve your golf game or just for the aesthetics.
On what improvements do we want to focus?
Let’s discuss the specific muscles we need to work on to improve our golf swing.
1- Strengthening all the muscles in the posterior chain
We want to strengthen all the muscles in the back of our body. Those are the muscles that the golf swing rotates around. Making those muscles stronger will improve our posture during our swing and prevent back and knee injuries.
It’s also that part of our body that we sometimes ignore in the gym. I remember the days I hit the gym and only concentrated on my biceps and chest because those were the “cool’ muscles.
Now I know better. It’s crucial and aesthetically better to train all the muscles in your body. Maybe pay a bit more attention to your weaker parts. For the golf swing, though, it’s important to focus on strengthening the posterior chain.
2- Strengthening the core
In golf, core strength is fundamental. The core gives power to the rotation of the swing. That way, we achieve more clubhead speed, which means that we can hit the ball further. Core strengthening has to be a part of your golf workout routine.
I worked hard to improve my core strength. As a result, I swing the golf club a lot smoother while hitting the ball further.
I don’t want to dive too deep into this technical matter, but since I concentrate on starting my backswing with my core and keeping my core ‘strong’ throughout my swing, I am now more consistent in hitting the ball straighter, cleaner, and further. Of course, we have to think of a lot more technical things during a golf swing, but this simple thought helped me a lot.
3- Being more flexible
Stretching should be a part of your golf workout routine.
Flexibility makes swinging the golf club much easier on your body and has the great advantage of being able to swing the club in a full range of motion. This will result in hitting the ball further.
I always advise you to warm up the muscles and stretch before your golf workout routine, and I urge you to do the same before playing a round of golf. This will also improve your flexibility and allow you to play your best game with confidence from the first tee.
4- Strengthen the leg muscles
I just said that starting the takeaway of my swing with my core has helped me improve a lot.
I developed a key thought and sense to simplify things, but the base of your swing starts with your legs. They are responsible for your stance, stability, 
and power behind your swing.
Training your legs should be in your golf workout routine from now.
More power in the legs will also improve your hip stability, which is essential for better rotation.
5- Strengthen the arm muscles
Maybe you didn’t expect this, but I assure you that including arm exercises in your golf workout routine will benefit your swing.
This one is tricky because we don’t use our arm muscles much in our golf swing. As I said, we swing the golf club; we don’t hit with it. We don’t hit at the ball; we swing through it.
For example, a baseball player needs more arm strength because he’s hitting the ball. In golf, we swing through the ball.
However, working out is still important to improve our overall arm strength. For example, stronger arms can prevent wrist injuries and golfer’s elbows.
Just include some arm training in your golf workout routine. You won’t regret it.
Conclusion
I think we covered a lot about how to combine the game of golf and fitness. I hope you also learned how and why to include a golf workout in your training routine.
I love writing/talking about fitness and golf.
I realize that this article might not be everybody’s cup of tea. Still, because many of my friends and family find the combination of my two hobbies a little peculiar, I took the opportunity to write an article about it.
When I’m working out in the gym, and people see me perform my golf workout routine, they look at me strangely sometimes. I understand that a golf workout can contain some “different” kinds of exercises than the usual ones.
Fitness in golf is gaining importance. Top golfers like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, John Rahm, and even the all-time great Tiger Woods are bulking up. NO coincidence that these guys are the long hitters in the game.
There are more golf workout exercises we can do. Maybe we save them for a future article. However, I will add this video where you can see the great Rory McIlroy having a golf workout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWbAFJitqS4
Fitness and golf are my biggest hobbies, and I’m happy I can spend time on both. It’s all a matter of managing your time well. I must be honest; working from home and being my boss is a significant advantage.
I have a busy life with my blog and my family, but I can always squeeze in one or two rounds of golf per week. Sometimes that means waking up at 6 am. For me, it’s worth it.
If I am short on time, I will hit a couple of balls on the driving range, followed by a super-set workout session in the gym.
As this article somewhat differs from the others in my blog, I’m extra curious about your thoughts on this subject. If you want me to share more articles about golf and fitness with you guys, just let me know.
And if you have any more questions about this article, please don’t hesitate to comment below. I will be more than happy to answer you guys.j
Stay Healthy and Strong!
