Koepka Is Sending Us All To The Gym

Today will be my first quad and glutes day and it's all Brooks Koepka's fault. (But it deserves a tip of the cap to Gary Player. He tried to tell us decades ago that the keys for his success were diet, fitness, and nutrition).

No longer do old school bodies like Kevin Kisner's (and mine) have an equal chance in this game.

"Someday there will be a player who hits it 400 yards and he will look like Tarzan and eat a clean diet." ~ Gary Player said long ago.

That day is here. Koepka may be just shy of 400 yards of the tee but Cameron Champ has just been elevated to the PGA Tour and he averaged 400 in his last web DOT com event.

Today will be quad and glutes.

Tomorrow will be arms and back.

And right now I'm on my way to pick up some kale.

It's all your fault, Brooksie.

I know many in these forums have been gym rats for a long time. I just wonder how many will become new fitness converts based on the way pro level golf has evolved.

Well I would .... but I do generally that over the winter

Plus, I sanded and stained the vaulted ceiling over the weekend in my outdoor sitting area ... my old fat body is broken all over !!!!

Do not skip leg day - the first thing to "go" out the during a round is the leg drive. No leg drive = snap hook

Do not forget your back. Too many people want to have the pecs and arms because they look good. Your back and trunk are really where it's at, especially if you need to hit it out of rough a lot. <ahem>

Good luck!

This is also a huge one, and its a word men just do not want to hear.

STRETCH!!!!!

When I was wrasslin' at USAW training camp there was a guy who said that if you spent 1.5 hours lifting, you need to spend 1.5 hours stretching. While I never got super duper flexible, he was 100% correct.

Tied year in the majors between bellies and biceps, 2-2 (although Molinari has lost some weight and is known to spend some time in the gym).

Thanks makes me feel just peachy about the McD's fish fillet sandy I just gobbled down without tasting.

Not me.

Weights have always been bad for all of my joints, and it has gotten worse when I got older. Pilates, Yoga and a regular stretching routine do it for me.

If your regimen involves workouts like "quads" and "arms", and your idea of a good diet is eating kale... Well, you will lose some weight and be really sore.

I would recommend learning the basic barbell lifts, combine that with some TPI-style functional exercises, and just clean up your diet (reduce sugar). This plan is much more likely to have some actual carry over to your golf game.

Do not skip leg day - the first thing to "go" out the during a round is the leg drive. No leg drive = snap hook

 

Do not forget your back. Too many people want to have the pecs and arms because they look good. Your back and trunk are really where it's at, especially if you need to hit it out of rough a lot. <ahem>

 

Good luck!

Ya, back has become my favorite over past couple years. Think it's the 2nd biggest muscle group. Painful and exhausting to hit hard but rewarding. And it hits your rear delts good.

Walk around like you carrying luggage, yo!

Thanks makes me feel just peachy about the McD's fish fillet sandy I just gobbled down without tasting.

I think they are on the pick 2 for $5 menu right now!

I will not hit the gym.

Golfers come in many shapes and sizes and I am a shape and a size who golfs.

In the early 80s my Dad had Gary Player's book 'Positive Golf.' The weight training chapters inspired me to become a competitive bodybuilder. If I ever meet Gary, I want to thank him. I won 10 pretty big titles.

Today I'm in my early 50s and still train with weights. I have to, to repair the damage from when I trained with weights.

A great golf related exercise is behind the back barbell shrugs followed by light Hungarian deadlifts. This will strengthen the muscles surrounding the spine. It will mitigate many problems and injuries related to the golf swing. Another one is Zottman curls. It really helps with tendonitis in the elbows, builds a strong grip, and your forearms will look like Indian clubs !

I do not believe the gorilla look will catch on. It will never be the Long Drive boys playing 18. Brooks and a few others are the exception.

Cameron Champ has just been elevated to the PGA Tour and he averaged 400 in his last web DOT com event.

And lost by 13 strokes

I'm not totally sold on the heavy weight lifting. There may be very good short term gains but long term is still questionable. I do believe in lighter weight strength training to a point where you still are able to maintain flexibility, however, whenever you do heavy lifting and bulk up, your flexibility tends to get worse and the stress on joints is greater. They may peak higher with distance but have shorter careers.

2 words...

Shake Weight

In the early 80s my Dad had Gary Player's book 'Positive Golf.' The weight training chapters inspired me to become a competitive bodybuilder. If I ever meet Gary, I want to thank him. I won 10 pretty big titles.

Today I'm in my early 50s and still train with weights. I have to, to repair the damage from when I trained with weights.

A great golf related exercise is behind the back barbell shrugs followed by light Hungarian deadlifts. This will strengthen the muscles surrounding the spine. It will mitigate many problems and injuries related to the golf swing. Another one is Zottman curls. It really helps with tendonitis in the elbows, builds a strong grip, and your forearms will look like Indian clubs !

Never seen Zottman curls, adding those in for the winter, need to wipe out the golfers elbow. I do normal curls and hammer curls but Zottman looks perfect for golf. THANKS

I would be interested in a study on how weight lifting actually improves improves golf performance and in what ways.

I know it's an anecdote but young skinny tiger still still smokes these guys in distance. Averaging 330 at the 97 masters with a steel driver and balata ball is still the most stupifying thing I've seen.

I'd recommend reading Fix Your Body, Fix Your Swing. It's written by Joey D (BKs trainer), and is a good (cheap, especially if you do the Kindle version) intro to golf fitness. It discusses the muscles used in the golf swing, a way to screen yourself to determine mobility issues, exercises to remedy such issues, and a set of exercises all golfers should do.

Personally, In the off season I do olympic lifts at moderate weight, lots of heavy bag work (boxing), and lots of stretching.

I don't think actual body building helps at all with golf.

I would have to imagine that most of what Brooks does is compound lifting or exercises that work on his muscles working together and improving his balance.

His physique as it appears to us on TV is probably more a product of genetics and tight fitting shirts

I'm not totally sold on the heavy weight lifting. There may be very good short term gains but long term is still questionable. I do believe in lighter weight strength training to a point where you still are able to maintain flexibility, however, whenever you do heavy lifting and bulk up, your flexibility tends to get worse and the stress on joints is greater. They may peak higher with distance but have shorter careers.

I can't speak for everyone but, like many, I went from playing 2-3 sports in high school and being in top shape, to working out fairly regularly in college, to having periods of time working out on and off, to basically not working out at all into my my late 30s. I never got fat and looked ok but, to me, I looked like $hit.

In my early 40s, one day I noticed that, other than not looking so great, I had trouble reaching things/raising my right arm high. I also couldn't raise my right arm behind my back anywhere near as much as my left. Then, I was in the park and went to throw a rock and a pain tore through my shoulder and upper arm. It subsided, I didn't tear anything but I got really mad.

I didn't go to a doctor, I just started looking into shoulder impingement exercises and started with that. It helped.

Then, I said f-this and joined the gym. Took me a month to get my bearings, went light on everything but got back into weights and cardio.

Once I felt ready, I started pounding the weights with sets in the 4-12 range with as much weight as you can do. Probably what Brooks and most guys who "lift" do.

After about 4 years, besides being happy with the state of my health and appearance, my right shoulder is back to 100% of flexibility and strength.

I'm not an expert but my understanding is that if you lift correctly, it is one of the absolute BEST things you can do for your joints/ligaments etc.

Personally, In the off season I do olympic lifts at moderate weight, lots of heavy bag work (boxing), and lots of stretching.

 

I don't think actual body building helps at all with golf.

 

I would have to imagine that most of what Brooks does is compound lifting or exercises that work on his muscles working together and improving his balance.

 

His physique as it appears to us on TV is probably more a product of genetics and tight fitting shirts

Yes, he's got great genes... His brother is bigger than he is

You Tube Vince Gironda, Zottsman curls. The video is very dated and only 2 minutes long. Good luck with your exercises ! Vince owned a gym in Hollywood and trained lots of movie stars. I'd recommend light dumbbells and High Reps. 15 - 25. Don't do the exercise too strictly because it defeats the purpose. Perform it rhythmically. Sway.

You need to build muscle to match your body. Too much muscle leads to injury.

Examples of Tiger and Rory. Got too big, ligaments will not handle too much muscle.

I'd recommend reading Fix Your Body, Fix Your Swing. It's written by Joey D (BKs trainer), and is a good (cheap, especially if you do the Kindle version) intro to golf fitness. It discusses the muscles used in the golf swing, a way to screen yourself to determine mobility issues, exercises to remedy such issues, and a set of exercises all golfers should do.

Going to look this up. This is exactly what I am looking for. But as soon as I start looking like Popeye I’m stopping.

Koepka I think is blessed with very good levels of muscle and all the goodness coming from it...remember though this guy was sidelined for months with wrist injury.

Follow Kolbywayne on Instagram, he got a good stable.

I'll be back on weight regime in the winter.

Swole is the goal

Size is the prize

You forgot to mention that working out makes you sweat a lot and may lead to heat intolerance.

I'd recommend reading Fix Your Body, Fix Your Swing. It's written by Joey D (BKs trainer), and is a good (cheap, especially if you do the Kindle version) intro to golf fitness. It discusses the muscles used in the golf swing, a way to screen yourself to determine mobility issues, exercises to remedy such issues, and a set of exercises all golfers should do.

 

 

Going to look this up. This is exactly what I am looking for. But as soon as I start looking like Popeye I’m stopping.

I doubt that book will get you looking like Popeye. I'd consider it an intro book, but it can be pretty humbling when you screen yourself. I would bet that guys like John Daly, Craig Stadler, and Tim Herron would have done a helluva lot better on the screen in their prime than most people would think...

It definitely makes you realize that stuff that BK, DJ, etc does is more than just pounding weights.

I would be interested in a study on how weight lifting actually improves improves golf performance and in what ways.

 

I know it's an anecdote but young skinny tiger still still smokes these guys in distance. Averaging 330 at the 97 masters with a steel driver and balata ball is still the most stupifying thing I've seen.

I saw his first tee shot as a pro in Milwaukee in 1996. 333 yards smack in the middle with a little Taylormade or Cobra steel driver (size of a 5-wood today) and a steel shaft. Baggy cotton trousers and a baggy Nike shirt competed the look. The first par 5 he ever faced as a pro; 2 iron off the tee into the thick rough, 212 yard 6 iron to 12 feet, eagle. He weighed maybe 160 pounds after a huge breakfast . . and his spikes on. :)