Golf exercises at home

Golfers are finally catching on to the benefits of fitness for their golf game. However, with few trainers qualified or experienced in working with golfers, it can sometimes be hard to figure out exactly what exercises you should be doing to improve your game.

The good news is that you can do everything you need at home, with a minimum of equipment. Any golf workout programme should include the following:

• Stretching: Golf requires a good degree of flexibility, particularly through the shoulders, low back and legs. Keeping these areas flexible can improve your game, also reduce the risk of injuries, and alleviate the symptoms of minor injuries, particularly to the low back.
  
  
• Strength training: We're not talking about body building here - but developing increased functional strength can dramatically improve your performance.
  
  
• Cardiovascular training: Cardiovascular training, also known as aerobic workouts, will help in two ways. Firstly, it's likely to reduce your weight, which has benefits in many areas of your life. Secondly, it will improve your endurance, making it much more likely that you'll play the 18th as well as you played the first.
  
  

You'll only need a few pieces of equipment at home to perform these workouts:

• Weighted club
• Stability ball
• Exercise bands
• Dumbbells
• Medicine ball

None of these are expensive, and none takes up much room. For details on how to use them, and what exercises to do, look for our golf specific exercises on the following pages. Alternatively, you can consult with a personal trainer, or refer to any of the numerous web-sites, books or videos on golf and fitness.