Today is

By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

Authors: Jon Denoris and Gary Stebbing

Golf fitness

Next time you're in the clubhouse, take a look around at the golfers, Many will be nursing a bad back, unconsciously massaging a stiff shoulder, or agonising over a sore wrist or elbow. Amazingly, golf is still overwhelmingly thought of as a gentle sport. It's all about skill not fitness, right? After all, the major exertion consists of teeing off, then a stroll up the fairway.

If only, The reality is that the golf swing is a complex sporting manoeuvre, which puts almost three times as much pressure on the spine as jogging. Teeing off involves swinging at a ball at up to 100 miies an hour, then bringing the club back to zero - all in just over a second. The strain on knees, elbows, hips and shoulders is enormous, and for most players, all done without warming up,

Until the last 10 years or so even the procircuit paid little attention to fitness. Mr Woods changed all that by developing on the concept of the golf athlete pioneered earlier by Gary Player and others. So how do you know if you're fit enough for golf? Take a look at your scorecards. If you've been dropping shots on the later holes, perhaps a niggling ache has proved distracting or Fatigue has set in because the body was not ready for 18 gruelling holes.

As Tiger and the newer generation of golfers have shown us, the golfer-athlete is taking the game to new heights through enhanced fitness programmes, and thousands more are following suit. are you big enough to handle your Bertha? Don't let a lack of fitness be your handicap,

5 Simple Steps To Better Fitness

1 To begin with, focus on improving your general level of Arness. The broader and stronger your fitness base the greater subsequent level of development and progress. Use as much variety as you can (e.g, swimming, jogging, weights, circuits), aiming to train 2-4 times a week on a consistent basis, as with golf consistency is the key.

2. Sound strength and stability are very important. Resistance training using body-weight exercises or gym training with free weights are excellent for developing these abilities.

3. It is important to continue playing while you improve your fitness. This will allow you to take the physical training improvements you have made and integrate them with the specific technical skills and tactical abilities required for overall goofing success.

4. As often as you have heard it, make sure you get to the course and prepare yourself to play. Ideally perform some simple joint mobility movements followed by basic exercises to work major muscle groups, and then active stretches for the areas specific to the golf swing. Try to perform 10-15 mins of pre-play preparation before you hit any balls.

5, To get the maximum benefit from your golf conditioning efforts, seek out specialists to design your training. Having a qualified team assess your strenGths and weaknesses allows your conditioning regime to be fine tuned specifically to you for the best results.

Jon Denoris MSc is the Managing Director of Catalyst and has fitness studios in Canary Wharf, St James's and Harley Street. Contact Jon via: wow.catalystheaWh.com
Gary Stebbing is a performance conditioning expert working not only with tour professionals but with goners of all levels. Contact Gary via: www.garystebbing.com