Don't laugh, it's a question about golf

[rusty]

My usual summertime Saturday routine is a few games of racquetball in the gym, followed by some weight and balance exercises and then a round of golf. I walk most of my golf rounds and carry my clubs. My home course has some steep hills. For someone who thought golf was mostly entertainment, I get surprisingly tired after a round. But the comment about cycling working the hamstrings in the community thread got me thinking about what leg muscles golf actually works. When I finish a round, I usually feel an "all over" tired versus being sore in a specific spot. From my workouts in the gym, I have not noticed any growing imbalance between quads and hamstrings. I can measure my improving fitness through the summer by how quickly my heart rate recovers on the next tee after a long steep hike between holes. But I'm somewhat shocked to admit that I don't know the specific workout benefits of hiking steep terrain while carrying a heavy load (my fully loaded bag weighs 30 pounds).

Who's got the answer?

[Stacey]

Hi Rusty,
I have noticed that for myself, if I ride my road bike a lot in the summer, this really helps my legs to be ready for backcountry skiing. I like to skin up slopes on my skis and then ski down on my tele skis. The biking really seems to help me to strengthen the same muscles used for skining up and doing lunges :)(tele ski) down the hill.
Stacey

[rusty]

Yeah,

I know it helps me ski better. What I don't know is whether or not this exercise is working my quads and hammies equally or not.

[Chris]

"Power and agility are no good with out flexability and core stability." This comes from World class trainer Darcy Norman. Who happens to work in our building.

[Mark]

Any excersie, walking included, is better than nothing, however, for skiing I would think it is necessary to have power and explosiveness from a very solid foundation. You need to condition yourself to maintain strong positoin and movements repeatedly without tiring. The tiring part is usually where our form starts to break down. So while carry a golf bag around may help you not feel winded at the end of the ski run it may not be helping you strengthen the muscles necessary to maintain that efficient movement you are looking for, but as Chris stated, this question is best answered by Darcy.

[rusty]

Well, I suspect that I'm getting a pretty good lower body workout simply from the amount of sweat that I generate. I know for sure that when I'm carrying an extra 35-40 pounds up a steep hill that I'm working my quads. The feeling I get is very similar to a Stairmaster exercise. I suspect that going downhill under load is working my calf and hamstrings. I also suspect that my core muscles get some extra work from compensating for the load on my shoulders while I'm walking. I can certainly feel the difference between flat courses and my steep "home" course. Most non-golfers don't realize how much exercise is involved in "playing" golf (I didn't before I started playing) and that the added effort of walking and carrying clubs has a biathalon effect (i.e. the exercise part stresses the flebility/skill part). I know that golfers realize this because they tell me I'm crazy all the time when I'm walking my home course.

With respect to power and explosiveness, although there is some element of that in the golf swing, I rely on other activities (e.g. the gym, racquetball and rollerblading).

[Mark]

Again best answered by Darcy, however, what I have learned recently is that form is most important. So no matter how much or what you do if you are not moving in your joints properly you are just solidifying inefficient moves.

This why the functional movement test is so important. You must determine if you are moving efficiently first before you begin a training program. And you must fix these movements before strengthening yourself. This efficient movement becomes the platform for developing that strength and explosiveness I was referring to .

You should come out and attend the Certified Ski Movement Coach course Nov. 26-28.