Imagine hitting your driver farther in your 40′s than when you were in your 20′s!

I imagine a few of you are saying, “No way!”

Read this article to be convinced otherwise. I received an e-mail from one of our BioForce Golf subscribers about the amazing change in his clubhead speed.

He wrote in about how excited he was that his clubhead speed had improved to a speed higher than when he was in his early twenties! He stated that currently his clubhead speed is between 105-107 mph, and in his twenties it was 95-100 mph. Go figure!

He related his increased driving distance and clubhead speed to a golf fitness program, a program with exercises specific to improving his golf swing. Not a traditional, pump-the-iron program, but one that promotes a more efficient and powerful golf swing.

He stated that since he implemented a golf fitness program, his flexibility, strength, and power have all increased.

As a result of this newfound “bottle of youth,” he is hitting the golf ball farther, lowering his scores, and enjoying the game of golf more.

The question to ask is, “How do improved flexibility, strength, and power relate to increased clubhead speed?”

First and foremost, we must understand a very important principle. The principle revolves around what actually swings the golf club.

Is it your body swinging the club or the club swinging your body?

Obviously, the answer is that your body swings the club. Keeping that statement in mind, we can safely say it is a combination of two entities that creates clubhead speed.

What two entities do you think I am talking about? They are your golf swing mechanics and your body.

Swing mechanics have an effect on clubhead speed. Optimal swing mechanics develop greater clubhead speed than poor swing mechanics. If you do not believe me, try this little experiment.

Go to the range and pull out your driver. On your first swing, swing smoothly and in control. On your second swing, swing as hard as you can! Which golf ball went farther? I am guessing the first one.

This little experiment just goes to show that the mechanics of your swing have an effect on clubhead speed and distance.

Bottom line on the swing mechanics side of the equation, the more efficient your golf swing mechanics are the greater amount of clubhead speed you will be able to generate.

Now, on to the second part of the equation, your body.

The body supports your golf swing mechanics. If your body does not have the flexibility, strength, or power to swing the golf club efficiently, the ability to generate clubhead speed will be compromised.

And if your body is inflexible, weak, and lacking the potential to generate power, clubhead speed will be a difficult entity to create.

Applying the idea of power to golf can be simply identified through clubhead speed. If the clubhead is moving faster at impact with the golf ball, what does this tell us about the golfer?

The golfer is more powerful, and the ball will probably travel farther.

How can a golf fitness program increase the power production in your swing?

Increasing your flexibility allows you to perform the mechanics of the golf swing more efficiently opening the door for improved clubhead speed.

Increasing your strength and power levels around the golf swing allows your body the potential to generate greater amounts of clubhead speed.

Put these entities together with your efficient golf swing mechanics and you will find increased clubhead speed in your golf game.

Now, aging presents a very interesting situation. As you age, the natural levels of flexibility, strength, and power decrease.

Yes, as you get older the body slows down. The slowing down has an effect on your golf swing.

You do not have the flexibility to perform the mechanics of the golf swing. The lowers levels of strength and power decrease the ability to generate clubhead speed.

In order to reverse the effects of aging and improve your clubhead speed, you need to implement a golf fitness program.

A golf fitness program can slow “the hands of time,” improve your flexibility, increase the strength within the body, and improve your power outputs. You essentially become an ageless golfer.

Bottom line, better flexibility, increased strength and power training will increase your clubhead speed, lower your scores, and you’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of the golf course.

Sean Cochran

The basics of a proper golf swing are universal. A proper golf swing actually consists of three separate segments that every golfer should work on in their efforts to develop and improve their golf swing.

A good golf fitness tip must be able to help a golfer achieve this objective.

The three segments of a golf swing are the backswing, the downswing and finally the impact and follow-through.

A useful golf fitness tip should be able to help as you carefully work on each of the three segments separately in an effort to get the right positions and movements. This is how golfers work on improving their golf swings.

Every proper golf swing starts at the legs and the hips and not the arms where many golfers place most of their attention and emphasis.

This is precisely the reason why proper exercising that is golf-specific usually has such a huge impact on most people in terms of dramatically improving their golf games. A good golf fitness tip can address any of the golf muscles involved in this particular part of the golf swing.

The golf fitness tip can also address golf conditioning. Golf conditioning exercises have the effect of preparing the individual muscles and parts of the body used in a golf swing, so that your movements and follow-through come almost effortlessly and as naturally as possible.

Without exercise, the proper golf swing movements only work to strain unprepared, weak and therefore tense muscles.

Although golf has always been viewed as a leisure sport, the truth of the matter is that the modern golf player has to condition his body and muscles in many parts of his body, not just arms.

Golf fitness tips can play a major role in improving the golf swing.

How you structure your golf fitness program is essential to your overall performance on and off the course. Here are some ways you can ensure you are getting the most out of training program while utilizing the strength of your core as a building block for success.

Specific to golf &’ Get rid of the traditional gym machines which focus on isolating specific muscle groups and require no stabilization work by additional muscle groups. Integrate some old and new fitness tools which allow you to move your body in a more functional setting. These include cable machines, fitness balls, medicine balls, balance disks, traditional dumbbells and don&’t forget about the power of using your own bodyweight.

Increase Core Stability &’ More efficient movement creates more efficient power. Golfers maintain an athletic posture over long periods of time and require both trunk and core stabilization and endurance. By increasing your strength and endurance in the core region of your body, you provide both a solid base of support for rotation in addition to the proper transfer of power throughout the body.

Vary your Planes of Motion – A golf fitness program will have varying planes of motion as part of your weekly strength routine. Planes of movement include front to back motions, left to right and rotational exercises. Some good examples include multi-directional lunges and medicine ball wood chops.

Integrate Multiple Elements into Each Exercise &’ Each weekly workout should address all of the important elements for golf including flexibility, core development, balance, strength and power. Integrated training techniques will develop your skills in each of these areas and produce a whole new level of play. Examples of integration include a 5 minute dynamic warm up, roughly 30 minute strength routine, followed by 10 to 15 minutes of stretches. Each workout can be broken down into strength development for several weeks, core stabilization for several weeks, and power development as you move into peak season.

Progress from Simple to Complex – Begin your exercise program by mastering the simplest forms of exercises first. Progress your golf training design to increase in complexity as your body grows and develops and as you learn proper stabilization of your core region. An example of progression for the legs may be to perform two leg ball squats prior to performing the one leg version.

Before any golfer, pro or otherwise, picks up a club, they look at the capability of their body versus the requirements of the swing. Utilize these 5 tips to create a golf specific program that brings out the best in you and the best in your golf game. Make this golf season your most productive yet!

With the senior golfer comes a rapid decline in physical ability. The golf swing is a physically abusive movement to the human body&’unless you take the time to prepare for it.

I have worked with thousands of senior golfers through my online golf fitness programs, and the results are dramatic. Just picture it. If you are in this demographic and your starting point is below average&’you have the biggest chance to see HUGE results.

How many times have you walked off the course or practice range with a twinge or two in your body? How about when you got home? Did it get worse?

What&’s that tell you?

I hope you realize how important fitness for golf is, not only helping you prevent injury, but utilize your true potential to it&’s fullest.

Doesn&’t it make sense as you get older, to improve your flexibility AND strength to hit longer drives that go straighter? Don&’t you want to slow down the &’aging process?&’

I have played with dozens of older golfers who are so frustrated at this rapid decline, but don&’t know what to do. They walk off the course in disgust.

I&’m here to tell you it doesn&’t have to be that way!

Don&’t look at it as &’work&’, &’sweating&’ or &’effort&’. Look at it as &’playing your best game ever!&’

It doesn&’t take a lot of work. You don&’t have to join a gym and put 3 hours in a day to see results. All it takes is 30 minutes 2-3 times a week. You can do that can&’t you?

Fitness for golf is the approach that will literally transform your game!

Golfers have heard it enough. The golf swing is a physically abusive movement to the human body&’unless you take the time to prepare for it.

I was watching the Golf Channel (I do that frequently) the other day, with Tiger on. He said it perfectly.

He said, &’it would be absurd to think a football player, basketball player or baseball player wouldn&’t physically work on his body to play better golf. Why wouldn&’t a golfer do the same thing?&’

I was sitting there saying, &’thank you Tiger&’&'fitness for golf is here to stay.

If it takes the Number One golfer in the world to convince you&’then I&’m all for it.

How many times have you walked off the course or practice range with a twinge or two in your body? How about when you got home? Did it get worse?

What&’s that tell you?

I hope you realize how important fitness for golf is, in not only helping your prevent injury, but utilize your true potential to it&’s fullest.

Doesn&’t it make sense to improve your flexibility AND strength to hit longer drives that go straighter? Doesn&’t it also make sense to improve your fitness for golf as you get older&’to slow down the aging process?

Don&’t look at it as &’work&’, &’sweating&’ or &’effort&’. Look at it as &’playing your best game ever!&’

You will continue to hear about fitness for golf, when it comes to performing better golf.

The problem is that there are so many different golf fitness equipment in the market these days that it is difficult to identify the really effective ones and the duds or inappropriate ones.

The situation is hardly helped by the fact that clever marketing is usually put to use in promoting a vast majority of golf fitness equipment. The result is that many disappointed golfers have ended up with loads of the stuff in their garages that has hardly improved their game.

In fact you would find some who would confidently tell you that their game has gotten worse rather than better.

Golf fitness equipment that I have found to be very effective is the weighted club. This is a very golf-specific piece of equipment because one ends up going through the exact same motions you do with an ordinary club but with more weight.

This greatly helps in strengthening and conditioning all the relevant muscles used in the golf swing.

The inside approach is another great golf fitness equipmentto help improve any golf swing. This particular device is extremely useful for slicers and helps deal with this problem fairly quickly.

As golf fitness equipment,exercise tubing is very affordable and yet very effective. The strength of this device is in its&’ ability to break down the golf swing into as many different phases as you would like to focus on for the sake of improvements. It offers specific resistance training for each phase.

Golf exercise balls are the sort of golf fitness equipment that any golfer with a bad back should have. There are almost countless different stretch exercises that you can with it.

And what makes this golf training aid even more attractive is the fact that you can do your exercises in the office or at home when you have a moment.

Simple dumbbells can also be very useful golf fitness equipment to have around.

The reason being is the belief that your &’physical limitations&’ are keeping you from optimal swing mechanics, power, distance and accuracy.

For the aging golfer this is most prevalent.

Without a golf-specific exercise program, it is virtually impossible to maintain and/or improve swing mechanics. The human body declines rapidly without stress being put on it.

What I mean&’is muscles and bones need stress and pressure on them to remain strong, stable and injury-free. Without this stress&’the body weakens and breaks down quickly&’resulting in a rapid decline in strength and flexibility.

This is death to your golf swing!

The old adage &’ &’use it or lose it&’ is very true. Haven&’t you experienced a time when you were too busy with family obligations, work commitments and other stress-related issues and you felt you didn&’t have the time to devote to your health and fitness?

What happened shortly after that?

Did you energy level go down? Did you start getting aches and pains and even newfound stiffnesses? How about your golf game? Did you feel like you didn&’t have the same amount of umph on the ball?

This is that declining strength and flexibility I&’m talking about. And the ONLY way to stop this from happening is maintaining some sort for fitness for golf program if it pertains to your golf game.

There are also two forms of fitness. &’General fitness&’ and &’sport-specific&’ or fitness for golf in regards to you as a golfer.

There is a major difference between these two forms of fitness.

One that is very common is going into a gym, plopping down on the machines and isolating one muscle group at a time in a controlled environment. Picture for instance an abdominal machine. You lie down in it, grap fixed handles that guide you through a set range of motion.

That would be considered &’general fitness&’.

On the other hand, picture standing (just like you do in golf) holding a single hand weight (dumbbell) straight out in front of you, and rotating (turning) back and through just like your golf swing. That is an exercise that would be consider fitness for golf. It directly benefits your rotational strength AND flexibility&’enabling you to make a bigger turn with more power.

This area rapidly declines with the older golfer. Abdominal strength and flexibility if not tested often, will decrease, and the ability to make a full backswing with stored energy will be less and less&’resulting in a massive reduction in power output, therefore distance.

So the next time you&’re on the course and you get frustrated about you lack of distance off the tee&’ask yourself &’what was the last time you worked on your BODY?&’

Your answer will dictate your performance on a daily basis.

I have just barely scratched the surface of the importance of fitness for golf&’but I hope I&’ve got you thinking about how important Fitness for golf is if you want to play your best golf.

But the first thing you need to consider when looking into hiring a golf fitness coach or program is the trainers experience in golf.

Yes&’that is high on the list of requirements. Does he/she know golf? Do they know the biomechanics of the golf swing?

How about muscle function during the golf swing?

An easy test is during the initial interview or if you&’re researching it online is to either ask very golf specific swing technique questions; or take a look at the information on the website. You&’ll find out real quick if this person or program can help your golf swing, game and health.

A golf fitness coach or program should incorporate strength, flexibility, endurance, body awareness, balance, stability and even a nutrition component.

It&’s easy for a trainer to have a strength component&’but is it specific to golf? A quick test. Take a look at some of the exercises. Are any of them on seated machines for instance? If they are&’run! This is NOT a golf fitness coach and/or program. This is considered &’general fitness&’.

Now stretching. There are dozens of stretches for all people. But take a look at some of them. Do they even remotely look like they will benefit your golf swing?

Stretches involving trunk flexibility; lower back; hamstring; and even shoulders specific to the mechanics of the swing are what you want. General stretches are better than nothing, but will delay your results. You want specific stretches.

Body awareness. Does any of the exercises resemble golf positions or phases of the swing? Do they look like you would be on your feet and in your golf posture? As stated above, if they are seated on machines, your body will learn nothing in regards to your golf swing.

Training your body specific to golf incorporates positions almost identical to what your body would be in during any part of the golf swing.

Stability. Training your body to improve stability in your swing can get a little complex if you really want to see results. The swing happens at between 80-100 miles an hour. One of the biggest flaws of amateur golfers is moving in their golf swing.

Moving either laterally (sliding), vertically (up and done) or both. This is death to your golf swing. To improve your stability involves specific strength drills most trainers don&’t even know about.

I could go on-and-on about the requirements of a golf fitness coach or program. It is critical you make the right decision. I have heard horror stories of golfers working with &’so-called&’ golf fitness experts and their game getting worse. With the proper research this won&’t happen to you. So definitely consider a golf fitness coach.

Still many golfers are yet to fully appreciate the potential of a golf fitness exercise program and many are not aware of the fact that they usually have a huge impact on a golfer&’s game.

A golf fitness exercise program will tend to concentrate on the muscles and parts of the body used when playing golf and especially during the golf swing. A useful golf fitness exercise program will be able to help any golf attain more flexibility as well as strength on the course. It is important to remember that most of the body is used for a golf swing.

Right from the feet to the knees, hamstring and hip, the lower part of the body is critical to the golf swing. Then there are the more obvious participants in the body like the arms and upper body and neck.

A golf fitness exercise program does a significant job of ensuring that most of these muscles are ready for the strain that golf usually exerts on them.

Usually a golf fitness exercise program combines dynamic strength and flexibility exercises, as well as stabilization and core strength. Most of these exercises can be done with simple handweights (dumbbells) and exercise tubing.

No gym required!

Too many golfers go to the gym, plop down on a machine and hope their game will get better. It usually doesn&’t. You&’ve always got to keep the golf swing mechanics in mind when doing a golf fitness exercise program.

The game of golf has changed tremendously in recent times. No longer is it viewed as the leisure sport of old. Golf is now recognized as an athletic sport where performance depends a lot on your fitness level. Thus the wide introductions of golf fitness stretch trainers and training.

Stretch training plays an important role in improving the flexibility of a golfer and therefore the quality of the swing both in terms of controlled direction and much more power and distance.

A golf stretch training program from a qualified golf fitness stretch trainer will also help in increasing strength in the golf-specific muscles of the golfer.

A golf fitness stretch trainer also helps a professional golfer to recognize the correct warm-up exercises to carry out before any session on the course. This not only improves performance greatly, but it also reduces on the risk of injury.

Golf related injuries can be quite frustrating to a golfer especially when that golfer continues to ignore the possible benefits in quick and permanent recovery that are possible with the help of a golf fitness stretch trainer.

There is one compelling factor about golf that makes the work of a golf fitness stretch trainer so important. In other sports, it is possible to increase fitness level and muscle strength by simply playing the game itself as much as possible. Sadly this is not the case with golf. One of the reasons is that the most common and strenuous activity in the game, the golf swing, usually lasts barely a second.

This means that the only way to improve golf fitness and the strength of muscles is by exercising away from the course and generally making use of the services of a golf fitness stretch trainer.