Add Some Distance to Your Golf Game
The golf swing is a great example of something called spinal rotation. Literally you are rotating your spine when you swing a golf club. Let’s look at a few exercises that mimic the golf swing that could possibly add some distance to your game, and could prevent injuries.
Seated torso rotation- Sit on the ground with your knees bent and heels on the ground. Lean back slightly, and interlock your fingers. Next, bring your elbows out wide until there’s a straight line from elbow to elbow. From there, rotate your body and let your eyes and head follow your hands. To make it more challenging, hold either a medicine ball or dumbbell.
Woodchopper- Stand up tall with your feet roughly hip width to shoulder width apart, and hold either a medicine ball, or a dumbell in your hands. Next, bring the weight to the outside of your knee, then bring the weight up over the opposite shoulder while keeping your arms straight (elbows shouldn’t be locked out however). I like to imagine a string tied from my belly button to the weight as I’m rotating. Once again, eyes and head follow your hands. If you need more of a challenge, stand on a bosu trainer to work more balance.
Standing torso rotation using a resistance band. Tie a resistance band to a steady surface. Next, stand hip width to shoulder width apart while holding the resistance band in front of your chest with your arms straight. Keeping the band tight throughout the entire movement, rotate your torso. If the band ever gets loose, scoot your feet away from the spot where the resistance band is tied to. Once you finish one side, turn around and do the other. You can do this on a bosu trainer as well if you need more of a challenge.
I recommend doing these exercises at least 2-3 times a week, 2-3 sets through at 10–20 repetitions per set. Take roughly 30 seconds rest between each set.