Golf Training and Performance Enhancement
Are there benefits to combining specific and nonspecific resistance training?
Thanks to the pandemic trend of training outdoors, golf seems to be experiencing a moment in the sun. That may be a good profit center option for personal trainers who are interested in offering golf training to attract new clients.
According to the July 2021 KemperSports Golfer Insights Survey, the pandemic reshaped golf—27% of new golfers are between the ages of 18 and 34, compared with only 16% pre-pandemic. Thirty-three percent of new golfers are women, compared with the industry average of 24% (golf conditioning for women may also be a successful new program idea).
A recent research review shows that the most effective training method to improve golf clubhead speed and hitting distance is a combination of nonspecific and specific resistance training. Eight-week programs that include golf-specific movements at high velocities for three to four sets of five to 15 reps are most effective in increasing club head speed and hitting distance.
To learn more, read the open-source review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2021; 35 [9], 2651–60).
See also: Preventing Golf Injuries
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
