Golf is a game played and enjoyed by millions. And millions of dollars are spent out of pocket on golf coaching, especially on perfecting the swing. There are many methods and practices for improving the golf swing, but if they miss a key point they will miss the mark completely.
Today, Datu Shishir Inocalla shows you a series of seven warm-up exercises that when done in sequence adds a new layer to the swing motion. You know Shishir as a mind-body coach and yogi but what you don’t know is that he was a golf pro at one of the leading golf centers in North America and his MBST (Mind Body Spirit Golf) program helped dozens of people excel in PGA and LPGA tournaments. So if you’re a golfer or know someone who is, have a look.
While the seven exercises on this video are very simple and easy to do, they are done in a sequence that helps balance body rotation, loosen the joints and turn the waist. The golf swing is more than just how you lower the club, it is also about the mobility in the joints from the wrist to the waist and how the stance supports it all.
These exercises require a prop, which can be a stick or even a broom handle. You don’t want to use a golf club that is too weighted on one end. There should be balance with weight evenly distributed. Just long enough so you can hold the ends and swing.
Exercise 1 – Wrist fanning
Hold the stick in the middle with one hand and turn your writs from side to side. This will create a fan-like action with the stick. This loosens the wrist, gets the synovial fluid in the joint moving, and brings blood into the forearm.
Exercise 2 – Turn the wheel
Hold the stick at both ends, loosely, and turn it from left to right, back and forth, like driving. This movement helps loosen the shoulder by bringing blood into the area and loosening the joints and muscles for freer movement.
Exercise 3 – Under and over
For this exercise you will hold the stick a bit more firmly, but allow a loosening in the top hand. Hold the stick in front at both ends and then lift one hand up and the other down while twisting forward then back. (Watch the video; it’s easier than it sounds). This exercise, when done with ease and steadiness, helps loosen the wrist and elbows and shoulders, opening a fuller range of motion than the previous warm-ups.
Exercise 4 – Front turning
Following the torque from above we relax and allow the muscles to settle with this next exercise. Simply hold the stick at the ends with both hands, raise it to shoulder level by bending the elbows. Do not raise your shoulders. From this natural position simply turn your body from side to side.
Exercise 5 – Above head twist
Now raise the stick above your head and twist from side to side. Keep your arms extended to help stretch the lats and shoulders.
Exercise 6 – Behind the neck twist
Now lower the stick to behind your neck and continue twisting from side to side. This helps stretch the shoulder and rhomboids in the back, as well as the waist.
Exercise 7 – Stick swing
Finally, after the full warm up, we come to the golf swing. For this you will continue to hold the stick at both ends (not at one end, like a golf club). Elevate your arms, in swing position and swing the stick like a club, yet because your hands are connected via the stick at opposite ends, the body motion is dynamically different. Yet, because of the symmetry the swing will improve.
Conclusion
The video moves along quickly so we’ve run it twice in sequence. After you get the sequence and method, do each for 20 – 30 seconds and see how this improves your swing as a sequential warm-up before play.
