Introduction
This week we look at a study performed by some researcher’s I have worked with in the past from New South Wales who recently undertook a study with 43 moderate to high level student golfers (handicap range of 1 to 16). All subjects performed 1 workout per week for 7 weeks, usually involving 3 sets of 8 – 12 reps of bodyweight lunges, bodyweight lunges with twist, weighted lunges with twist, hockey jumps, bodyweight push ups on knees, bodyweight push ups, dumbbell push ups, prone hold, seated Russian twist, barbell wood-chop, prone 1-arm dumbbell rows, renegade rows, and resisted band sprints. The golfers were then tested with a range of physical and golf performance tests. The results were very interesting as they only improved modestly on a small number of the tests. Let’s look at why?
Article Title
The effect of a seven-week exercise program on golf swing performance and musculoskeletal measures, Olivier, Horan, Evans & Keogh, in International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching (2016)
Background
Although golf involves a range of skills, including the ability to perform accurate shots under high pressure, one of the main ways in which expert golfers are able to differentiate themselves from less-expert golfers is in the distance that they are able to hit the ball from the tee. The golf swing is a striking motion. Therefore, like other striking and throwing sports it involves a proximal-to-distal sequence of motions with body segments closer to the torso reaching peak angular velocities before body segments further from the torso. In addition, the swing is initiated by the production of ground reaction forces, which enable the torso to begin its movements. Consequently, a high level of performance in the golf swing requires a level of strength in the lower body, hips, torso, and upper body. In addition, since the golf swing requires a large degree of torso rotation, a substantial degree of flexibility is necessary, especially at the thoracic spine.
Conclusion
Trunk muscle endurance (side bridge and front plank) did not improve. Out of the flexibility measures, only thoracic extension distance and thoracic rotation range of motion increased. Two out of the three movement quality screens improved on at least one side (singleleg bridge and single-leg squat). Finally, none of the golf performance measures improved.
The researchers concluded that a low volume program of (mainly) bodyweight exercises with trunk rotations was able to improve some measures of flexibility, but was not successful in increasing any golf swing performance measures in student golfers.
Compared to the various other studies that have been published in this areas this one was novel because it is the only one to look a very low dose of training. As it turns out, training at least 2 or 3 times per week is required to receive the impressive gains in almost all measurements including golf performance that have reported in the other studies. More effective and targeted exercises may also be available than were used in this study. So the take home message is – if you want to hit the ball harder you need to hit the gym harder too!