I don't weight train specifically for golf, but the principles are the same. First, 'no pain, no gain' - I personally think this doesn't mean beat your body into oblivion but rather actually do some work while you're at the gym. Training with very light weights, well below your max for a given number of sets/reps, long rest times between sets, doing inefficient isolation movements, etc. all will not produce the results you're looking for. But at the outset we need to figure out just what are the results we're looking for. Are we looking for hypertrophy (size), pure strength, functional golf strength? Either way you're going to be doing some exercises that are going to stress your muscles (thus the 'pain') and put you in positions you're not used to being in.
To make gains you're going to have to overload your muscles - that is, push them harder than you have before. Doing a given exercise for the same sets/reps with the same weight for 10 weeks is not going to make you stronger. You're simply going to adapt to that training load and stay there. As far as injury goes, there are plenty of good training programs you can do that will avoid injury and overtraining. If you're a complete novice then obviously start with lower volume and learn correct exercise form and use a full range of motion! I cannot stress this enough. The vast majority of people I see in the gym are using terrible form, too much weight, or a combination of both. Most of the time it's the fact that they're using too much weight that leads to the poor form. It pains me because these people are not going to be making any gains and instead are probably heading down the road to injury.
Like I mentioned to Yoda in a PM, I have been lifting weights of late.
There is a principle in Physiology called the Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands or SAID for short.
Why should your body pack on more muscle if you do not demand of it?
How do you impose this demand?
By creating a state of emergency in your body.
To us, packing on muscles is for aesthetics rather than function, to the body, it is a chore.
Having more muscles means more work for the body. In a state of equilibrium, the body wants as little muscles to maintain as possible.
Therefore, to trick the body into building more cellular muscles we have to make it react in a life or death way.
We need to utilise enough intensity during weight training to trigger a response in the Central Nervous System so that the body is thinking, "If such a situation (workout) hits us again, we better be prepared for it", then the workout is useless for mass gain.
As with the golf swing, good form in weight training is important so that we actually hit the targeted muscles and not some auxiliary ones.
max weight, 8-10 sets of 1-2 exercises = bodybuilding.
60-70% of max weight, 3 sets of 8-10 exercises = strenght training.
20-30% of max weight, set of 100-120+ exercises = stamina training
Building muscle means working to failure, which is where the "no pain, no gain" thing should come from. Some recent studies indicate that you can get as much out of a one-set routine as a three- or four-set routine if you work to failure. You also must know your body well enough to know the difference between muscle failure and ripping tendons and ligimants.
An added benefit of adding muscle, I'm not talking Arnold here, is that it takes more calories to maintain, therefore it increases your metabolism and helps you lose extra fat. Exercise not only burns calories while you are doing it but also for a period afterward because it increases your metabolism.
It is not worthwhile to work to failure very often. "Maxing out" should only occur once in a great while due to the taxing it gives your central nervous system. Working near your maxes at every workout will wear you out in very little time and your gains will stall.
I personally subscribe to a "periodization" program of training where during a given week there's a heavy (Mon), light (Wed), and medium (Fri) day. It's more of a powerlifting strength-training type of workout and it'll wear you out fast if you're going full-bore during every workout. Mondays, for instance, I'm working very close to my maxes at the final sets of an exercise (let's say squats for example). Wednesdays are lighter, less overall volume, and working at maybe 70% of my max on squats. Friday I'm doing a bit more work at lighter weights then a couple sets at a near-max weight, then back down to a lighter weight.
The idea here is that fatigue is an 'accumulated' thing. 'Fitness' lasts longer than 'fatigue', but for that fitness to be apparent you can't be excessively fatigued. If you work at near-max weights during every workout, you will run yourself into the ground (I've made this mistake myself) and your fatigue doesn't have a chance to rebound. If you periodize, those light days and weekends off give your body some time to recover and be ready for a hard Monday workout. Then it eases through a bit (but there's still a good training load on Wed) until Friday where you're pushed hard again. Obviously different things work for different people (as much in weight training as in G.O.L.F.) so definitely experiment but don't be afraid to change programs if the results are not what you desire. And if you want big results...eat big!
It is not worthwhile to work to failure very often. "Maxing out" should only occur once in a great while due to the taxing it gives your central nervous system. Working near your maxes at every workout will wear you out in very little time and your gains will stall.
I personally subscribe to a "periodization" program of training where during a given week there's a heavy (Mon), light (Wed), and medium (Fri) day. It's more of a powerlifting strength-training type of workout and it'll wear you out fast if you're going full-bore during every workout. Mondays, for instance, I'm working very close to my maxes at the final sets of an exercise (let's say squats for example). Wednesdays are lighter, less overall volume, and working at maybe 70% of my max on squats. Friday I'm doing a bit more work at lighter weights then a couple sets at a near-max weight, then back down to a lighter weight.
The idea here is that fatigue is an 'accumulated' thing. 'Fitness' lasts longer than 'fatigue', but for that fitness to be apparent you can't be excessively fatigued. If you work at near-max weights during every workout, you will run yourself into the ground (I've made this mistake myself) and your fatigue doesn't have a chance to rebound. If you periodize, those light days and weekends off give your body some time to recover and be ready for a hard Monday workout. Then it eases through a bit (but there's still a good training load on Wed) until Friday where you're pushed hard again. Obviously different things work for different people (as much in weight training as in G.O.L.F.) so definitely experiment but don't be afraid to change programs if the results are not what you desire. And if you want big results...eat big!
Listen up guys, Matt knows his stuff. This is Dual Factor Theory explained. I got a feeling a large number of people on this forum won't be able to train like us 'young guns'...well, not to begin with anyway.
Core stability is important, but no amount of Swiss Ball and Bosu Ball work will give you the strength gains you get from a solid free weight training program. I’m of the opinion that you can't have a weak core (or Traverse Abdominals or whatever you like to call it) and still squat 300lb or power clean 200lb with proper technique. Those guys on the long drive tour are undoubtedly very strong species. Of course, all this isn't mandatory if you just want to have a knock about and stay injury free.
I recently saw a man that gave me golf specific exercises. One of them is the ONE LEGGED SQUAT. This one is pretty difficult... especially since I have a problem with the right SI Joint. I was told that this would help me, however, along with some other exercises for hip, leg, and foot stability.
In their studies... something like 90% of golfers had some instability when moving laterally into the LEFT(lead)LEG.
Listen up guys, Matt knows his stuff. This is Dual Factor Theory explained. I got a feeling a large number of people on this forum won't be able to train like us 'young guns'...well, not to begin with anyway.
Core stability is important, but no amount of Swiss Ball and Bosu Ball work will give you the strength gains you get from a solid free weight training program. I’m of the opinion that you can't have a weak core (or Traverse Abdominals or whatever you like to call it) and still squat 300lb or power clean 200lb with proper technique. Those guys on the long drive tour are undoubtedly very strong species. Of course, all this isn't mandatory if you just want to have a knock about and stay injury free.
Thanks Leo. "Dual factor" meaning that you manage and plan around both 'fitness' and 'fatigue.' Versus "single factor" where you're only focused on the 'fitness' aspect and do not plan for overall lighter weeks where you drop weight across the board ('de-loading' in dual factor programs). If you're a beginning you really only need to worry about "single factor" because you'll see gains almost regardless of what you do.
As far as core work goes, all I really do are some assorted ab exercises. Like Leo mentioned, your core gets some very good stress from big compound exercises. You are forced to have core stability when you pulling 225 lbs. off the floor for a deadlift or squatting 250 lbs. This is why Leo has pretty much convinced me that wearing a lifting belt is more detrimental to progress rather than helpful because it lets you get away with having weaker abs (because it acts like strong abs by increasing inter-abdominal pressure and thus lower back support). It won't allow the same core development that lifting without a belt will.
Leo and I love this stuff so ask away with questions!
Working to failure and working your max are two different things. If I have to workout alone I can use an excercise as simple as pushups to get me to failure.
I very seldom attempt my single rep max because that's not really a goal of mine anymore. When I was 22, it was. Now I'm 37, and it's not. There are different ways to get to failure, like I think Matt pointed out. You can do heavy weight, few reps; lighter weight, more reps. Workouts vary as to the goal and should always include some regeneration time. I prefer short workouts so I do a lot of compound exercises as well.
EDIT: Wow. This Dual Factor Theory stuff sounds cool. I'm going to re-evaluate my workouts and see if this can help me out. I work at a school that specializes in treating obese teens and we have two personal trainers on staff. I'm going to see if they can put together a new routine for me. What I was doing sounds like it was a good pre-routine, routine. I started excercising again about 6 months ago and changed my diet as well. I've lost 35 pounds, four pant sizes and two belts. I carry my clubs for 18 and have no problem and the next day all feels good. Now maybe I can start going in a different direction. I left my original posts to show that I'm always open for learning and willing to admit that being Old Skool is sometimes foolish. Thanks, Matt.
Hybrid Mode
