• 01-10-2006
    echoes77
    Question about core muscles during your swing
    When you reach the top of your backswing and your stomach muscles have tightened does anyone contract the muscles a little further before uncoiling on the downswing? Or do you allow the muscles to contract and tighten naturally as part of the backswing? I am obviously trying to increase clubhead swing and distance on my drives...thanks.
  • 01-10-2006
    Reyes463
    [QUOTE=echoes77]When you reach the top of your backswing and your stomach muscles have tightened does anyone contract the muscles a little further before uncoiling on the downswing? Or do you allow the muscles to contract and tighten naturally as part of the backswing? I am obviously trying to increase clubhead swing and distance on my drives...thanks.[/QUOTE]

    Ok, Here it goes, hope you all can follow...

    When you have reached the top of your backswing, the majority of your abdominal (core) muscles have not tightened, they are in a stretch position. It is your back muscles that have contracted to coil you for the swing. There are some obliques that have been contracted as well, but the majority of the core muscles are stretched. Also the right (for righties, left for lefties) Gluteous muscle (butt) has contracted somewhat to rotate the hips and bear the weight load back.

    Once you decide to fire or swing, then the abdominals kick in to rotate the torso. The right side of your back goes into a super stretch, while the left side helps the abdominals in rotation.

    If you want to increase clubhead speed, you should work on increasing the contractile speed of the abdominals in the downswing. A lot of rotational exercises with medicine balls. Practice simulating your golf swing with a medicine ball, you can also lay on your back while holding a ball with both arms straight in the air and rotate your arms from side to side and with your knees up, rotate the knees together in the opposite direction that your arms are going. You can start off slowly to get a good stretch, but them build up some speed once you feel comfortable.

    Let me know if this makes sense, I can elaborate further, or offer some other really cool exercises...but that will cost ya!
  • 01-10-2006
    fred3
    Man! What a mouthful. In my all too short 40 years of golfing I've never heard of anyone concentrating on tightening or loosening various muscles. Paralysis through analysis comes to mind. Also there used to be a funny ploy used against folks who tried to break the swing down to minutae and it went...do you inhale, or exhale on your backswing? Lol! I guess it never stops.
  • 01-10-2006
    chubdo
    [QUOTE=fred3]Man! What a mouthful. In my all too short 40 years of golfing I've never heard of anyone concentrating on tightening or loosening various muscles. Paralysis through analysis comes to mind. Also there used to be a funny ploy used against folks who tried to break the swing down to minutae and it went...do you inhale, or exhale on your backswing? Lol! I guess it never stops.[/QUOTE]

    but i think reyes is trying to help and specifically, he is addressing the question posed and he did a wonderful job. i am a sports medicine physician. i can verify that what he said is true.
  • 01-10-2006
    Reyes463
    [QUOTE=chubdo]but i think reyes is trying to help and specifically, he is addressing the question posed and he did a wonderful job. i am a sports medicine physician. i can verify that what he said is true.[/QUOTE]

    Well, at least I'm glad a physician thinks my explaination was true. I received my B.S. in Sports Med, I was pre-med for a while. But I haven't applied my education in a while, I was sidetracked, now I work for a pharmaceutical trying to get new drugs FDA approved.

    Merck's going down!
  • 01-10-2006
    philfrance
    sounds easy- in other words, if you work out a little bit, jog a little bit, you'll be more fit, in better shape. consequently, you'll be better fit for a more powerful and better swing.

    as for me, when i swing, i've got other things to think about - i put all this with all the things i should try not to think about ( the less i think the better i swing)
  • 01-10-2006
    chubdo
    i think everyone agrees that to stay fit
    for golf is always a good idea. but, as we see since the arrival of tiger woods, a proactive view on fitness in golf is revolutionizing the entire industry. will it matter to most people here if we can hit 5-10 yards longer in the overall scheme of things? probably not. will it matter to a top 200 pga player? very likely.

    annika does 700-1000 sit-ups a day. may be she likes pain, or may be she is fully aware of the importance of core muscles conditioning. with her schedule and intensity, any weak link in that area means that she can develop injury on the next swing which she cannot afford to. so she is doing her share of preventive health maintenance.

    for regular folks (sorry if you do not belong), we also have to stay fit to avoid injury. the awareness of this core concept helps us isolate m groups to pay attention to. it can be technical, but it does not have to be.

    regards.