How much do you think lifting could increase my distance?

[claycribbs]

I just entered a weight lifting course in school, and now I'm lifting everyday. I'm not the biggest guy, and I don't hit the ball that far. Around 230 yards or so. My question..... how many of you have lifted and how much do you think it helped your distance? How much do you think I could improve?

 

[Tadashi70]

CC lifting and stretching will
Increase your distance. Male sure you stretch, it is very important. Some say a stronger chest will aid in more distance. Your legs of course but more importantly your core. If that is strong then you will have increased distance. But stretch my friend after you lift, very important.


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[Ole Gray]

I think strength training is good if you are training the right muscles for golf. I have a friend my age (60) who knocks the ball a country mile. He works out all the time however his golf skills are much better than mine. I believe I could whup him or at least tie him in an arm wrestling match. With that said strength alone, would not give you any huge gains in distance. Proper technique with strength and boom baby :blob:!!!

 

[Snap Hook]

There's been a thread about this before, I'm sure Smallville is on it.

Strength AND flexibility are important. Many people have stated lifting helps but once you cross that line where you start to lose flexability then things get difficult.

 

[jefrazie]

I did this as well my last year in college. While I did increase my distance a little bit, I became much more inconsistent simply because....HULK SMASH!!!!

Keep your technique and tempo, the distance will come as strength increases.

 

[Thechosen1]

You just have to make sure your lifting the right muscles. I took it back in high school and loved it just have gotten a bit lazy since college. I think stretching would be better though I do it everyday.

 

[interlooper]

Yes; I echo what other people have said. Lifting to gain strength can and will increase distance. However, there will be diminishing returns if you start to confuse bulk with strength. If things start getting too big, they will impede the movement of your swing and likely cause both consistency and distance issues. Stretching is important, as well as focusing on the right muscles and right types of movements.

 

[kildaire]

It is not just lifting. I bench about 230 and chunkylover probably benches a 80lbs less and he outdrives me everytime. It is good mechanics. (and stretching)

 

[dhjkelly]

from training the last 6 months i have gained about 30 yards on my drives but have found the most improvement is in my mental game. not being tired has helped me so much

 

[Schweitzer_07]

I lift 6 days a week and absolutely love it. That being said, it does make a difference in how far you hit the ball, but flexibility and proper technique can do more for you. One of my best friends is about 6'3, 195 lbs. while I am 6'1, 220 lbs. and he out hits me easily. He is very flexible and though he is no slouch in the gym either, he has a lot more rotation than I do.

 

[JWLI]

I suppose lifting or strength training couldn't hurt.

On the other hand, I don't work out at all and I can still get my distances, even at 53 years of age.
I think it has more to do with golf skills than muscle tone.
In my opinion, working on your timing, release, weight shift, followthrough, etc. will do more for you in terms of gaining distance than bulking up will.
Lifting weights will probably help you in terms of endurance so that your arms won't get tired towards the end of a round, but other than that, I think working on your swing would be a better use of your time.

 

[pjcedog]

Lifting can help anyone be overall healthier but stretching, core strength, body weight exercises, martial arts training, plyometrics, more stretching, more balance training, all can help you to turn faster and stay under control doing so. Anything that allows you to turn faster with control will give you more distance.

 

[HighSide]

I recommend stretching over lifting. Lifting makes muscles bigger, stretching makes them more flexible. Good names to google are Fredericks and Pedersen.

 

[blugold]

Lifting the right will most definately help. Barbell curls won't do a darned thing. A Single arm dumbbell chest press on an excersice ball, will help a lot. Dumbbell corkscrews are a good lift. Just lift smart. Mens Health has Camillo's workout on their website. Otherwise, do as many single arm lifts while standing or on an excercise ball. Big lifts, bench press, barbell squats, or bicept curls should be avoided.

Also, hang cleans never hurt.

And as has been said already in this thread, stretch and stay flexible.

 

[krispeee]

i focus on core and chest the most. other days, i work on hip rotation and legs to balance my workouts. don't forget to add in a little cardio.

 

[AB_from_Oz]

I hope you don't mind me chiming in... My background is in sport's strength and conditioning and when competing in LD I designed my own program to increase my distance and swing speed.

As many astute guys have already said, lifting alone will not cause a distance increase or it will be a distance increase by default. Similarly flexibility will not cause a distance increase either, if this was the case females would significantly out hit their male counterparts... Hence my distaste for the X factor theory.

Yes the right muscles need to be trained, but they also need to be trained in the correct manner. A driver for instance weighs less than 400g and in motion will put out 50-100lbs of force. Do we need huge degrees of physcial strength to swing this type of resistance?

The golf swing is dynamic, therefore we need to train to increase our dynamics (aka speed of movement). It is your ability to contract muscles quickly that enables you to create dynamic motion and speed. Therefore the training protocol should be light-moderate weights moved rapidly.

The golf swing is also a one repetition exercise with a period of active recovery... In other words, we swing dynamically once and then walk (and wait) for a period of 1-3 minutes. Walk into a sport's specific training session and you see guys lifting for repetitions of 8-20, does this make sense given the sport we are training for?

You don't need to be strong, you don't need to be flexible, you need to be dynamic!

Think about the fastest athlete that has lived (in my opinion)... Bruce Lee... It was not his strength, nor was it his flexibility that made him fast, it was his ability to contract his muscles at a superior rate and force that made him powerful.

Refer to the Stretch Shortening Cycle and you will be close to the answer of how to create maximum power.

Hope that helps...

 

[VA. Vince]

Club speed and hands is the key. Look at all the short knockers on tour that bomb it. Yes strength has a part of it but I believe 14 years of baseball helped me more than anything.

 

[nickpergande]

Im not a expert on this but i could say core workouts would result in the best improvements for golf. It is based on strength and flexabiliy.

 

[MarcH]

Lifting the right will most definately help. Barbell curls won't do a darned thing. A Single arm dumbbell chest press on an excersice ball, will help a lot. Dumbbell corkscrews are a good lift. Just lift smart. Mens Health has Camillo's workout on their website. Otherwise, do as many single arm lifts while standing or on an excercise ball. Big lifts, bench press, barbell squats, or bicept curls should be avoided.

Also, hang cleans never hurt.

And as has been said already in this thread, stretch and stay flexible.

So you recommend hang cleans but not barbell squats? You also recommend Camillo's routine, which has barbell squats in it btw, although he does em with terrible form. Bicep curls are a big lift?

That's whats wrong with the internet. Just get strong, stay flexible and it will help. You won't get huge unless you eat like a horse and lift for a long time.

And sorry to blugold for being rude, but I hate seeing people spout off stuff they have no clue about that may affect someone poor kid trying to improve something.

 

[wcueb923]

A lot of good suggestions for you. I know it works for me. Good Luck.

 

[blugold]

So you recommend hang cleans but not barbell squats? You also recommend Camillo's routine, which has barbell squats in it btw, although he does em with terrible form.

That's whats wrong with the internet. Just get strong, stay flexible and it will help. You won't get huge unless you eat like a horse and lift for a long time.

Hang cleans yes, power cleans no. Hang cleans are great for fast twitch fibers.

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/featu...item=9718b00c413d8110VgnVCM20000012281eac____

- Nope, no barbell squats in there.

 

[MarcH]

Sorry, it was on PGA tour video that showed Camillo doing squats in his workout.

How can a hang clean be ok but a power clean not? You have to be faster to rack a power clean vs a regular clean much less a hang clean.

 

[blugold]

So you recommend hang cleans but not barbell squats? You also recommend Camillo's routine, which has barbell squats in it btw, although he does em with terrible form. Bicep curls are a big lift?

I did say "or" and it was meant to be an exclusive "or". And to me, big lifts are 1 rep max type lifts.

And sorry to blugold for being rude, but I hate seeing people spout off stuff they have no clue about that may affect someone poor kid trying to improve something.

So I have no clue? That's even more rude.

 

[blugold]

How can a hang clean be ok but a power clean not? You have to be faster to rack a power clean vs a regular clean much less a hang clean.

Hang clean has less of a rest period so it can double as a cardio workout with lighter loads, such as just the bar.

To me the hang clean and the power clean are two completely different lifts with different goals. I never thought of, or used, the hang clean as big muscle builder. I used it more as a fast twitch fiber builder with lighter weights.

 

[Oregon Golfer]

I hope you don't mind me chiming in... My background is in sport's strength and conditioning and when competing in LD I designed my own program to increase my distance and swing speed.

As many astute guys have already said, lifting alone will not cause a distance increase or it will be a distance increase by default. Similarly flexibility will not cause a distance increase either, if this was the case females would significantly out hit their male counterparts... Hence my distaste for the X factor theory.

Yes the right muscles need to be trained, but they also need to be trained in the correct manner. A driver for instance weighs less than 400g and in motion will put out 50-100lbs of force. Do we need huge degrees of physcial strength to swing this type of resistance?

The golf swing is dynamic, therefore we need to train to increase our dynamics (aka speed of movement). It is your ability to contract muscles quickly that enables you to create dynamic motion and speed. Therefore the training protocol should be light-moderate weights moved rapidly.

The golf swing is also a one repetition exercise with a period of active recovery... In other words, we swing dynamically once and then walk (and wait) for a period of 1-3 minutes. Walk into a sport's specific training session and you see guys lifting for repetitions of 8-20, does this make sense given the sport we are training for?

You don't need to be strong, you don't need to be flexible, you need to be dynamic!

Think about the fastest athlete that has lived (in my opinion)... Bruce Lee... It was not his strength, nor was it his flexibility that made him fast, it was his ability to contract his muscles at a superior rate and force that made him powerful.

Refer to the Stretch Shortening Cycle and you will be close to the answer of how to create maximum power.

Hope that helps...

^^^^ great post!