Flexibility and stretching routines

[NevadaGolfGuy]

Hey guys, hoping the big brains on here can offer some assistance in tracking down a good stretching routine for general golf mobility. I played a ton of golf as a junior, competed in highschool, kept at through my early 20's and at one point managed to get into that coveted single digit handicap with 7 being my best back then. After that I got married, my lovely wife and I have had 2 kids, I managed to put on over 100 pounds and had basically quit golf altogether. Now that the kids are a little older and my career is actually a career I have begun trying to get back into the game. I know for a fact the weight has played a huge factor and that is being addressed, I'm down roughly 50 pounds but I cannot for the life of make my old full turn. I'm sure this would come as no surprise to some since obviously some time has past and a lot of weight has been gained but to put it into perspective I'm only 35 at the moment. This turn issue troubled me enough that I did go to some doctors and as it turns out I have degenerative disc disease and a couple discs are compressed. Given all of these factors it makes a ton of sense why I cant seem to get around anymore but I'm hopeful with a good solid stretching routine to at least make it work and maybe with continued weight loss get back to my normal swing. What is everyones go to routine? Any good youtube videos for visuals?

[KD1]

I'm also interested.

 

I came across this guy yesterday (I'm not vouching for him) https://www.instagram.com/golfersfitness/

 

edit: also, the guy looks just like Joe Dirt which is pretty awesome

Edited September 7, 2023 by KD1

[Warrior42111]

"You're gonna stand there, owning a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistling bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, husker dos, husker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick...or one single whistling kitty chaser?"

[NevadaGolfGuy]

Gotta love a Joe Dirt look alike!

[Trippels]

49 minutes ago, NevadaGolfGuy said:

Hey guys, hoping the big brains on here can offer some assistance in tracking down a good stretching routine for general golf mobility. I played a ton of golf as a junior, competed in highschool, kept at through my early 20's and at one point managed to get into that coveted single digit handicap with 7 being my best back then. After that I got married, my lovely wife and I have had 2 kids, I managed to put on over 100 pounds and had basically quit golf altogether. Now that the kids are a little older and my career is actually a career I have begun trying to get back into the game. I know for a fact the weight has played a huge factor and that is being addressed, I'm down roughly 50 pounds but I cannot for the life of make my old full turn. I'm sure this would come as no surprise to some since obviously some time has past and a lot of weight has been gained but to put it into perspective I'm only 35 at the moment. This turn issue troubled me enough that I did go to some doctors and as it turns out I have degenerative disc disease and a couple discs are compressed. Given all of these factors it makes a ton of sense why I cant seem to get around anymore but I'm hopeful with a good solid stretching routine to at least make it work and maybe with continued weight loss get back to my normal swing. What is everyones go to routine? Any good youtube videos for visuals?

https://fitforgolf.blog/

 

You can also message Mike on email, twitter, instagram etc. And ask for specific advice based on your condition. He'll probably get back to you

Edited September 7, 2023 by Trippels

[Tengu]

Always liked DeFranco "Agile 8" and "Sinister Six" back when I was Lifting, Kelly Starrett also had some useful advice

[NevadaGolfGuy]

Going to dig into all of these suggestions after work tonight and see what looks good! Keep em coming guys.

[betarhoalphadelta]

The one thing I'd say is that much like fitness, I think the rule for most people who aren't really mobile to start with is to try to regain general mobility rather than "golf-specific" workouts. Which makes things a lot easier. 

 

With just a YouTube search for "beginner full body stretch" you'll find tons of guided workouts that will cover all of the basics and help. That's a great way to start. You don't need anything special; you need general mobility. 

 

The big thing is to try to do it as often as you can. Daily, if possible. You may not notice anything for weeks and weeks, but if you stick with it, it'll get you there. 

 

[umamimami]

If you’ve got a desk job try and do glute activation and hip rotation hourly.

 

Glutes: laying on back with hands beneath you and cupping them cheeks. Get calm and aware of body. Then squeeze them cheeks. Check in to see if only your glutes are activating, you want to see if you can avoid activating muscles on front of legs or inside thigh. 
 

If this is going well then do a few bridges. Again you want to be mindful of what muscles you’re activating. You shouldn’t be using your quads or your interior thigh muscles. Abs are okay.

 

You can do this easily in bed! First thing in morning if you’re pressed for time in day. 

 

Hips: Stand just in front of an open doorframe. Balance on one foot with the other foot at 90 deg from hip and at knee your ankle/part  foot should be just in the door frame. You can *touch* the frame to balance you want to be able to support yourself on your other posted leg.

Next, rotate your femur internally so that your foot taps one side of the frame, keep rotating and drag the foot up the frame until you reach your end of range. Then slide it back down, centrate, then externally rotate so that the foot taps and then slides up the other side of the door frame.

 

Again, mindful of your body. The goal is to do this movement while maintaining your posture and balance and not having to contort your spine or angle your pelvis to accomplish the motion. If you can only go so far, that’s all you get on the rep. Quality over quantity.

 

Getting some resistance bands is great too. Look up scapular mobility/ stability exercises such as band pull aparts.

 

Lastly, if you’re doing a daily routine I suggest ground up. Start with the legs and move up your body, it’s much easier and more beneficial to get your support structure online and functioning before working on your upper extremities.

[KD1]

27 minutes ago, umamimami said:

cupping them cheeks

My friend wants to know how one cups their booty

 

Edit: I explained to my silly little idiot friend that you were taking about grabbing them cheeks with your hands... Please excuse him.

Edited September 8, 2023 by KD1

[st1800e]

Lots of “good stuff” here and in the internet….however,  

 

you have spine problems.  Between your sports Dr, physio and a qualified trainer, you can get what you need. Some routines would be good for you and some could make it worse.  You won’t find the best answer here or on the internet.  
 

An MSK specialist is what you need too.  
 

Congrats on the weight loss. Keep it up.  
 

All this will not only help your golf but your life.  I’m early 70’s and I can no longer pick up my grandkids over the age of two.  you’ve got a lot of years ahead of you, make the best of them you can. 
 

Best wishes.  

 

 

[Shushwap]

8 hours ago, Trippels said:

https://fitforgolf.blog/

 

You can also message Mike on email, twitter, instagram etc. And ask for specific advice based on your condition. He'll probably get back to you

This right here... it's the best thing I have done for my back and mobility 

I used to take the long way home from the gym as the one road had the merge at a 45 degree angle 

We all know those as u have to get cranked around to see the traffic before u can pull out 

Anyhow I had been working the program for a month or so at the gym 

I decided to take the shorter way with the 45 degree merge 

I pull up and get ready to try and get rotated around to the left to see the traffic 

Low and behold I'm all the sudden looking in the back seat.. I couldn't believe how much more I could turn 

This program is worth the time and investment.. remember though u need to put in the work to get the results 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Shushwap

[NevadaGolfGuy]

Great feedback all! I really appreciate it.

 

Small update, my doctor referred me to some chiropractor who is familiar with working on people with similar conditions. I managed to sneak in an initial visit with her this afternoon and holy smokes did she work some sort of wizardry on me. Beyond what I've already listed I played football for a number of years, been in a few car accidents, had a couple fairly serious bike accidents etc and I've never been to anyone like this before. No joke from one session I'm almost an inch taller and went from like 30% of my normal turn to probably 70%. I am beyond sore in places I didnt even knew existed but both doctors are confident they will be able to get me back to nearly 100% in fairly short order. Of course my spine will keep deteriorating so it will regress but apparently I shouldn't notice a difference in mobility for many years, just a general increase in pain sadly. Also, when I mentioned golf to the chiropractic wizard she immediately tossed out the fitforgolf program as apparently she has a number of clients and her husband who have had tremendous results through it. So for what its worth, it seems legit.

[PhillipG78]

Any yoga for golf routine will be good 

[bluedot]

At the risk of heading down a rabbit hole, I think it’s really important to distinguish between flexibility and mobility.  You have to be reasonably flexible to have enough mobility to make a good golf swing, BUT there are lots of people who are plenty flexible, but lack sufficient mobility to make their best swing.  This becomes more true as we age, especially in our hips.
 

For many, if not most, 65 yr old golfers, the real issue isn’t flexibility, and stretching programs, including yoga, won’t help their golf swing.  That does NOT mean that there isn’t great value in yoga, but it may not carry over to a golf swing.

 

The golf swing is a fast, dynamic, rotational motion, and mobility means moving FAST through the entire range of motion; that is just not going to improve very much through stretching alone.  Most people can slowly rotate their hips to 45*, or their shoulders 90*, and hold there.  But the issue is whether or not you can do that FAST as opposed to a static pose.

[Moss Hopper]

You are starting to experience compounding success!  Weight loss, stretch, strength training, chiro, massage, etc... Congrats on the weight loss.  Leverage that motivation to engrain habits with eating, exercise and stretching.  Take the long view and avoid new or aggravating previous injuries which can be very discouraging and we just do not bounce back like we used to brother.  Find that swing that will take you to age 70 and make it automatic.  Think Ernie Els not Rory.

 

Keep it up. I am in the same boat and looking forward to an off season with lessons at GolfTec from Oct-Mar with continued weight loss, strength training and maybe joing a club next season.