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Strength Training Aids
Performance
By Wayne L. Westcott |
Quincy
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As seniors, most of us have long abandoned contact sports
such as football and basketball. However, many of us still
enjoy athletic activities such as golf and tennis, as well
as fitness activities like walking, hiking, cycling,
swimming, jogging, canoeing, etc.
While fitness activities provide their own exercise
benefits, it is important to perform an appropriate physical
conditioning program prior to participating in competitive
sports such as golf and tennis. Because golf and tennis
performance have different physical requirements the
pre-season training programs emphasize slightly different
conditioning activities.
Golf is not a rigorous, huffing and puffing sport, and
therefore does not require a high level of cardiovascular
fitness. Of course, you should do regular aerobic activity
for health purposes, but it will not have much benefit with
respect to better golf scores.
Putting is a pretty passive physical action, but such is not
the case for driving. Driving a golf ball down the fairway
is an explosive event produced by powerful muscular
contractions and complex movement actions. The ballistic
nature of the golf swing can lead to a variety of soft
tissue injuries, particularly to the hips, lower back,
shoulders, elbows and neck. It is therefore advisable to
precondition your major muscle groups through a sensible
program of strength training. Doing so will both reduce your
risk of injury and improve your driving performance. Our
research with senior golfers has revealed a six percent
increase in driving power (club head speed) after just eight
weeks of brief strength training sessions. In addition, none
of the golfers who performed strength exercise experienced a
golf-related injury during the following playing session.
Training Recommendations
First, perform these strength exercises for your leg
muscles, as they are responsible for power production and
have the greatest force generating capacity.
1. Leg extension for the front thigh muscles
2. Leg curl for the rear thigh muscles
3. Hip adduction for the inner thigh muscles
4. Hip abduction for the outer thigh muscles
5. Leg press for the front thigh, rear thigh and butt
muscles Second, perform the following resistance exercises
for your midsection muscles, as they are essential for
transferring forces generated by the large leg muscles to
the muscles of the upper body and arms.
6. Low back extension for the lower back muscles
7. Abdominal curl for the front midsection muscles
8. Rotary torso turns (both clockwise and counter clockwise)
for the side midsection muscles Third, perform these
combination strength exercises that concurrently address the
muscles of the upper body and arms. These muscles work
together to produce the club swinging actions.
9. Chest press for the chest and rear arm muscles
10. Seated row for the upper back and front arm muscles
11. Shoulder press for the shoulders and rear arm muscles
(or the lateral raise for the shoulders alone if the
shoulder press movement causes discomfort)
If you perform one set of each exercise with a weightload
that you can lift between 8 and 12 repetitions, the entire
strength training session should be completed in just over
20 minutes. I recommend two weight workouts a week, spaced
as evenly as possible (e.g., Mondays and Thursdays). Perform
each repetition in a controlled manner (about 2 seconds for
lifting actions and about 4 seconds for lowering actions),
and through a full range of joint movement. Whenever you
complete 12 repetitions with correct technique, raise the
resistance by approximately 5 percent.
Tennis Conditioning Exercises
The power muscles for serve, forehand and backhand are
the same as for the golf swing. I, therefore, strongly
suggest tennis players also precondition major muscle groups
with the same program.
However, unlike golf, singles tennis play demands locomotor
movements, uses a lot of energy and requires at least a
moderate level of cardiovascular fitness. Consequently,
tennis players need to add some aerobic conditioning
activities to their pre-season training program. While it
is tempting to offer a standard program of jogging cycling
or stair-stepping, I prefer an interval training approach
that more closely simulates the stop and go pattern of
tennis play. Consider the following interval training
program designed for a treadmill workout.
Component Duration Speed
Warm Up (Walk) 5 Minutes 3 mph
Slower Interval (Jog) 3 Minutes 5 mph
Faster Interval (Run) 1 Minute 7 mph
Slower Interval (Jog) 3 Minutes 5 mph
Faster Interval (Run) 1 Minute 7 mph
Slower Interval (Jog) 3 Minutes 5 mph
Faster Interval (Run) 1 Minute 7 mph
Slower Interval (Jog) Minutes 5 mph
Cool Down (Walk) 5 Minutes 3 mph
This 25 minute aerobic
activity session alternates three minute exercise segments
at lower training intensity with one-minute exercise
segments at higher training intensity for more tennis
specific conditioning. Two interval training sessions a week
should be sufficient, especially if you do other aerobic
activities. Remember that it is much better (and safer) to
get into shape for playing sports rather than to get
into shape by playing sports. Have a great sports
season.
You can hear Wayne speak in person on May 15th at the South
Shore Elder Services Seminar, “Aging is Everyone’s Future,
Let’s Get There in Great Shape.” This entertaining and
lively seminar will be held at Lombardo’s in Randolph. To
reserve your spot, please call (781) 848-3910 ext. 351. |
About The Author
Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., is fitness research
director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, and author of 20
books on strength training.
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