Playing golf is an excellent form of exercise, but don’t stop training in the gym just because it’s peak golf season.
Sadly, every year I hear from golfers who make the mistake of forgoing their gym routine during the summer months. I get it, life gets busy, golf itself is time-consuming, and that’s not to mention practice plus all the other things that go along with planning a round of golf. If your goal is to play your best and remain pain-free, you have to stay committed to your workouts.
If you have been following a well-balanced and progressive program like my Lift Heavy, Swing Fast, you will hold on to most of your gains for 4-6 weeks. After that, you can expect to see your performance start to fade.
- Club Head Speed Declines
- Strength Drops
- Mobility and Flexibility Regress
You don’t want that to happen.
How Do We Fix This?
Keep training a priority and hold yourself accountable to the commitment you made to yourself! I’m here to tell you that I don’t work out as much in the summer—golf is a workout. In peak off-season training, I was in the gym 5 days a week and doing active recovery, sometimes going in for my active recovery walk or stairs if the weather was bad.
Now I am getting 2-3 workouts in a week. That’s all you truly need to still make progress. I’ve trained many people who only workout twice a week and have seen great results. With my program being full body training every day, you could technically get away with just one workout a week (though I recommend two).
What If I Can Only Work Out Before a Round?
Many workout programs will make you sore because that’s honestly their goal. Some coaches correlate soreness with a good workout, which isn’t true. A little soreness is to be expected, but being so sore that you are limited in movement will not translate to a successful round of golf.
If you do a full-body workout, like my Lift Heavy, Swing Fast, and you follow the instructions of not taking your exercises to failure, you will not get too sore. In fact, after the workout, you should feel even better than when you started.
Can I Play on the Same Day as a Workout?
Many athletes I work with work out before or after a round, including myself. I have found that doing my normal workout—not a special pre-round golf specific workout—allows me to be primed up to play my best.
If you haven’t done this before, I suggest trying this out on a practice round, not testing it before a big round. It may take some getting used to, and some people may experience a negative impact and opt to workout after or the day before. The only way to know is through trial and error.
This year, I challenge you to stay committed to your training. If you do so, you will have the best season of your life.
