Ladies Fitness
It is my observation that there are three specific areas that must be addressed on 95% of the ladies I train – see what they are.
One of the hardest things to do in fitness is generalize your workouts. In other words, each of us is so different form the next that it makes group fitness classes very difficult to design. How do you target the specific needs of each individual in the class and not make the session three hours long. For this reason, I always recommend a detailed evaluation of your specific limitations before designing any program, to see if it addresses all of your needs. And when ever possible, take one-on-one training so that the workout is customized towards meeting your specific needs and not the person next to you.
With that said, if I had to bite the bullet and create a workout to address the needs of one specific group, I think ladies would be the easiest to design. I say that because in my experience, women tend to have three specific areas that must be addressed on 95% of the ladies I train. Unfortunately, the reasons some of these areas need to be addressed is genetics.
First of all, upper body strength has got to be the foundation of any ladies golf fitness program. Women in general have only 40% of the muscle fibers in their upper bodies compared to us guys. That’s a raw deal, but facts are facts. Therefore, we have to maximize what you’ve got. Exercises must focus on building a base of strength and target the key muscles in the upper body: Chest, lats, triceps, rhomboids (mid-scap), shoulders, forearms, and even grip strength. Make sure you are using weights heavy enough to promote muscular development and not just endurance. Use approximately 60-75% of your 1 repetition maximum and perform 4-6 repetitions with a minimum of two sets per exercise. This type of training will create some soreness for the first few weeks so plan your workouts appropriately.
Next, women fortunately have adequate numbers of muscle fibers in their lower bodies and therefore should try to develop as much speed and power possible out of those muscles. These muscles include the glutes (butt), quadriceps (thighs), and the hamstrings. Before you begin any power program you must have a good platform of strength. So add these muscles into your general strengthening program before you progress to the speed and power development drills. Exercises to develop speed and power include: Step ups, lunges, squats, jumps, and bounding.
Lastly, if I was a magic genie and I told all of my women golfers that I could grant them all one wish, I think the majority of them would say lose weight. What does this have to do with golf you ask? A lot! You see, strength is such a big factor with most women, so I would love to eliminate as much fat as possible and replace that with lean muscle. Remember, lean muscle can weigh more than fat so a tape measure is the best test of improvement in this area. Not only will this make you feel better about yourself, it will build confidence, improve swing speed, and eliminate any fatigue on the course. For the quickest results here, I recommend high intensity, short duration cardio workouts mixed in with your regular strength training routine. That means start your workout with 3-5 minutes of a slow paced cardio workout, and then try to perform four to six 30 second high speed blasts throughout your workout. These high intensity blasts can be on a bike, elliptical, treadmill, or even jumping jacks. I like to spread them out over a 30-40 minute workout and make sure you get your heart rate up as high as comfortable.
