Welcome to Blue Collar Mondays.
Every Monday, Troy Anderson of The Blue Collar Golfer, will add his insight to the Better Golf with Fitness Blog. His articles have appeared on GolfFitnessProducts.net as well as magazines all over the Southwest, and he has been a part of all of The Virtual Roundtables. Troy has a different approach than most golf fitness experts, one he is very successful with training golfers in Arizona.
Quick Tip for Increasing Trunk Mobility
Since the drill I shared with you last week targeted lower body strength and flexibility, this week I thought we could go ahead and look at an upper body flexibility progression. More specifically, I will show you a drill that you can use to loosen up your trunk.
We all know that shoulder turn is a big deal for golfers; however, what is often overlooked is that that shoulder turn is just the end result. A good portion of the rotation comes from our ability to rotate the trunk/torso.
A couple of things that inhibit our shoulder turn are “tightness” in a) our upper back and b) in the muscles that provide the linkage between our upper and lower body.
The drill that I am going to show with help you dynamically stretch these areas; which if consistently practiced should help you be on your way to a better shoulder turn and better swing mechanics.
Check out this video:
Trunk Band Rotation Video
Tips for making the exercises more effective:
• Always maintain good posture, throughout the drill.
• Throughout the movement, maintain a straight line from your hand to your hips
• The movement should be performed at deliberate speed, to help insurance correct performance
• To begin the movement, concentrate more turning your chest, this will help to insure you are performing trunk rotation.
•
When performing this drill without using a drop step, you should feel
a stretch in the on the outside of you back that is on the low side.
•
When performing this drill using a drop step, you should feel a
stretch in the on the outside of you back that is on the high side and
continue down the front of the leg that you have drop stepped with.
•
On the leg that you drop step with be sure to “squeeze” your butt,
pushing your hip forward, other wise you will be drastically minimizing
the effects of the stretch
• When you have reached your full
stretch position, don’t bounce, just hold for 3-5 seconds and then
return to your start position.
Exercise Protocol: 1-2 sets of 10-20 repetitions as frequently as desired.
At first, the exercise progression may seem a little awkward and difficult and it could be the reason why you have trouble with your shoulder turn. Give it some consistent practice and I am sure that you will enjoy your new found mobility the next time you hit the course.
Until next week, keep it simple.
Troy M Anderson
troy@bluecollarathlete.com
bluecollargolfer.com
Troy Anderson is a golf conditioning expert, located in Tempe, AZ. To download your FREE copy of his special report "8 MUST-KNOW Tips for Starting a Successful Golf Conditioning Program”, go to www.bluecollargolfer.com
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