Continued from blog entry – “Stretch ‘em Out for Golf and Life”

Roll the Head

Loosen the neck and shoulder muscles by rotating or rolling the head several times in each direction (see photo on the left). Just to save some time, as well as to make sure the muscles are warm, you can do this one in the shower every morning.

Stretch Upper Back

Holding a club and raise the arms, pulling them forward, toward your head, as far as you can (see photo on the right). Hold for a minute, then relax and repeat. This exercise opens up the upper back and shoulder region.

Develop Muscles for External Rotation

The upper body area – the shoulders, neck, upper back and chest – obviously is involved in the golf swing and needs to be developed and stretched just as much as the lower body.

These muscles deal with external rotation, the forearms swinging to the outside. They are critical to your ability to invert your forearm on the downswing so you can get the club on a shallower plane, coming from the inside. One big reason that golfers come over the top on their down­swing is that their lack of external rotation prevents the club from shallowing out and coming from the inside on the way down. Essentially, they don’t have enough motion in their shoulders.

To do this drill, hold the club in the palm of your right hand and the grip end in your left, the shaft running under your arm as shown (see photo “1.” on the left). Then pull back with your right hand. Chances are you won’t be able to get the hand back much beyond the shoulder. Hold the pull for as long as you can, then relax and repeat. This stretches the rotator cuff area and the pectoral or chest area. Eventually you’ll develop enough freedom in the area to swing the club the way you want.

Exercise the Rotator Cuff

Swing a club in a vertical circle a dozen times or so (see photos “2. and 3.” below). Switch to the other arm, then repeat. This exercise benefits the rotator cuff area. Once you have developed the muscles to some extent, try the same exercise swinging two clubs.

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