– PHOENIX, AZ
A good pre-round warmup routine can be the difference between a pain-free round and a round where you need to stop early. But not many golfers have the luxury of a full workout space and a full 30 minutes prior to the round to get their warm-up in. I I want to clear up a few misconceptions about the pre-round warm-up, and give you a more effective plan.
What Does A Warm-Up Even Do?
Warm-ups are something that was literally used to heat up the body before a sporting event. Runners, football players, and other athletes would jog or do light calisthenics to increase their heat rate and warm the body. It was believed that this would help to prevent injuries and make the player more athletic immediately upon starting the game or race.
Thankfully we have more research now into which warm-ups are important, and which aren’t absolutely necessary. Now we encourage athletes to perform light muscle activation work such as bodyweight lunges, heel raises and light hopping. We also want them to move the body in all necessary ranges of motion for their sport, so the neuromuscular control is “woken up” and ready to perform.
For golfers, we may not need them to get the blood pumping as much as a soccer or basketball player. The golf swing, however, is still on of the faster movements the human body does. Every golfer from professional to duffer needs to warm up if they want to play their best and prevent injury.
Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That!
I get it. You have a 8am tee time. Got the kids to school on time but now you need to drive 20 minutes, drop your bag, check in, and make it out to the first hole on time. If you’re lucky you may have 10-15 minutes left over, and man do I need to get my driver swing thoughts down if I don’t want to embarrass myself. No time for a warm-up, and even if I did, I’m not laying down on the grass to stretch.
It’s a tale played out at every golf course in the world. The problem is, your shoulder is still stiff from the night before. Maybe since you last played your hips haven’t rotated more than 50% of the needed range in a golf swing. Getting out on the range and swinging for the netting may not be the best warm up in that situation.
So What Do I Do?
The first step is prevention. If you follow my YouTube page, you will find a bunch of great stretches and lifts that if you incorporate into your weekly fitness routine. That way you won’t need more than a few light stretches on the first tee box.
If you haven’t been doing that, then I can give you a few tips:
- Stretch/warm up at home – Yes there is a car-ride in between home and the golf course. Trust me the benefits of stretching and warming up will stick with you. Think of a soccer player. They go through a big pre-match warm up, but the subs are sitting on the bench for an hour before the coach calls them up. A few jogging stretches down the sideline and they are in the game. Just because you don’t do it immediately before doesn’t mean you won’t get the benefits.
- Car routines are effective – Open the trunk of your car and use the frame as a place to hold onto for stretches. You can do some light bodyweight exercises for your legs, and finish with some car pushups.
- Standing warm-ups at the tee box as a last resort – Contrary to popular believe, your really just need to move your joints in all major planes a maybe 10-15 times to cause neuromuscular adaptation in the form or relaxation. Hip CARs and Shoulder CARs offer great bang for the buck, and can be done on the first tee. I’d also throw in an air-squat or 5 before you get to the range or over your first tee shot.
A Pre-Round Routine Is Necessary For Peak Power And Injury Prevention
I hope this article has dispelled some myths about the pre-round warm up, and made it more approachable. You don’t need a gym and 30 minutes to properly warm-up, so don’t use it as an excuse to do nothing. Use these tips to hit the ball farther, and play longer!
