I've been doing the excercises. I have 10lb dumbells, which feels really light to me. I plan to get some 5 pounders though. I must admit I never thought to work the rotators more. I've also been doing some stretching (actually more stretching, as I usually do a little stretching). It'll take me a while to get a solid routine worked in with job, golf, chorse and the rest. I also have a Scwinn AirDyne excercise bike (one I can work with the arms f I want to).
On the course today, I took some swings with the arms in front of me to the extreme, and got he right arm pain again. I'm in a bit of a flux on this. I plan to go to Atlanta and visit y'all in a few months.
I should add that I have remarkably little power (golfwise) for my size and strength (and my swing isn't really bad, probably not great!). I've been playing since I was a kid and play 200+ rounds per year.
Originally Posted by Vickie
Frostback, I am going to the range this weekend and will try to work this out. My suspicion is that you are not getting enough rotation of either arm (the top of the humerus) in the shoulder joint proper and I hate to repeat myself but this is a function of the rotator cuff muscles. I am not implying that they are defective but may still be disfunctional due to lack of flex, lack of strength or simply lack of a functional agreement due to other postural issues.
Have you been doing the exercises? It sounds like we need to advance to some deltoid training which can be accomplished with simple bands and isometrics.
Please let me know about your training and I'll get back with you after I experiment a little off the tee. I think I'll get it more clearly after I fatigue my swing.
I got some 1.5kg weights. Using them produces a totally different feeling than the 10 pounders, and I can certainly "feel" what I am missing here. The excercises really do require the lighter weights, as suggested. I also used the arms to run the Schwinn Airdyne, and that also seems to work parts of my upper body that are really weak.
I got some 1.5kg weights. Using them produces a totally different feeling than the 10 pounders, and I can certainly "feel" what I am missing here. The excercises really do require the lighter weights, as suggested. I also used the arms to run the Schwinn Airdyne, and that also seems to work parts of my upper body that are really weak.
This has really made a difference, and will become part of my life for a while anyways, afterwhich I will look for a more complete tone-up kinda routine. The forward, lateral and rear raises have really revealed how weak my deltoids have become. Even after just a week or so, I'm seeing a difference in my golf. I suspect I have been compensating for this weakness somehow, causing the biceps to ache. I certainly did notice that as my deltoids became fatigued yesterday, I lost control of my swing.
If I start hitting decent length drives as a result of this, it will be a testimonail to the value of an expert inn the area of body conditioning to golf. I know a lot of people don't think much of this, but so far, for me, it's making a noticeable difference.
Thanks for the feedback Frostback. I really want to try to talk in natural tones and not like a physical therapist. So the fact that you are getting it is very helpful. It is also a real trick not to make broad generalizations and risky to be too specific. So I am glad you lowered the weights. As you increase try to keep it slow. You will see which muscles are responding more quickly and which ones need to move forward more slowly. Lynn and I have talked and I cannot quite get a clear answer to your problem. I thing the more general work will correct it. We are working on some streaming media to show some more difficult exercises than I like to provide just in print. Exercises like lunges and stretches that require a lot of refined motion, especially in the shoulders, are risky without a picture to explain the details. So I am patient until we get this going. Keep me posted and feel free to PM as you go along to refine your progress. Vickie
This is really starting to work well. My deltoids have become a lot softer and a little bigger(?). I definately have more control, shooting a 36 the last 9 I have played, which was in a competition. My normal swing, unhurried, is producing longer shots than it did before, and I must admit that accuracy has always been a hallmark of my game. Length has always been lacking though, causing me to overswing. If I can get decent length without overswinging, as I have started to get (no big deal, if I can get a drive out there 220-240, it's all I really need), it will really lower my scores.
Originally Posted by Vickie
Thanks for the feedback Frostback. I really want to try to talk in natural tones and not like a physical therapist. So the fact that you are getting it is very helpful. It is also a real trick not to make broad generalizations and risky to be too specific. So I am glad you lowered the weights. As you increase try to keep it slow. You will see which muscles are responding more quickly and which ones need to move forward more slowly. Lynn and I have talked and I cannot quite get a clear answer to your problem. I thing the more general work will correct it. We are working on some streaming media to show some more difficult exercises than I like to provide just in print. Exercises like lunges and stretches that require a lot of refined motion, especially in the shoulders, are risky without a picture to explain the details. So I am patient until we get this going. Keep me posted and feel free to PM as you go along to refine your progress. Vickie
Yea! frostback. I laughed to imagine your surprise at your success. It really is the natural outcome of consistently addressing your physiology. Congratulations, you must be doing it all right. I am happy for you. I have some more exercises I would like to add to your program, specifically some intermediate shoulder exercises and I'd like to know what you are doing for hips, lats and legs. Tweeking the program will keep your progress in motion. People often call a change in workout tricking your body. It isn't a trick at all. Your body is adapting to information. If the information doesn't change it is not required to respond. So we just address the muscles differently and the body is called to action. Elementary my dear fitness golfer. I'll get these exercises in text by the weekend and post them for you.
I'm not doing anything with the hips and lats, but I do ride the Schwinn Airdyne bike every other day for the legs. My legs aren't what they should be stamina wise though.
With my game, I'm starting to overshoot greens on my approach shots, and have to redial a bit. Still can't get the driver out there though, but I figure it will come.
About time I answered this. I recommend you start walking post haste. The bike is a good cardio (heart health) exercise but it is limited in the usage of your glutes (buttocks). Since the glutes are your larges muscle and they are hugely participating if not driving the walking motion, you will limit your walking stamina if you don't train them. In the gym the eliptical training machines are the bomb. I have a treadmill ( loaned it out actually and do all of my walking/running outdoors in good weather) and eliptical trainer, a recumbent bike and a stepper (they were popular in 90's). I mix them up but use my eliptical much more than any of the others. The bike is my best bet on a day I just want to raise my heart rate but don't really want a big challenge. Now let me emphasise this is only because of the way I use the bike, it can be plenty challenging, but I find I need the glute work of a standing motion. There are ways to get more glutes on your bike by creating your motion out of your hip, you do that by intending too. Just try it, it will surprise you. Also think of trying to draw the pedal back up after you've pushed it down. Finally keep your feet flat and think of pushing thru the heel more than the toe.
Go to "increasing distance" on this forum and scroll down to Dave Clary's post. He has a link to a cycle site that could probably give you some more specific and useful suggestions for getting more out of your bike.
Just get those glutes working. Also remember that the lat is the primary stabilizer for your back so the more you use and understand it the more it can support your game.
Hope you're still seeing progress. It just may be time to tweek things. Vickie
Thanks! I will try some of the bike things (one thing I like to do on the bike is stand, it's hard on one of the parts on the pedals, but they are cheap!). I also need to start walking more. It's tough though when the cart comes with the club membership!
I got into a more armsy motion for a while thinking I was going to hit it out there with the big boys...and that just isn't happening, but upon settling down a little, my basic driver is noticeably longer than earlier, and my accuracy with short irons is substantially improved. I can do a lot more reps with the lat raises with a lot less pain too. It is an easy thing to do 2 X 20 with the 1.5 Kg dumbells every other morning for each of the 3 kinds of raises.
FWIW after all this, I no longer have the pain in the shoulder. Still do the deltoid excercises and some deltoid and other "big" torso muscle things. In the end though, doing the deltoid excercises got rid of the pain in the shoulder for me.
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