This article was co-written with Nick Buchan, owner of the excellent online resource Stronger Golf
If you are a working father, I’m willing to bet that over the years, golf and working out have slipped down the priority list a few spots. While commitments such as work, family, more work and kid’s taxi service have increased, so the time for working on your game and body has dwindled to almost nothing.
This has likely left you feeling a little disconnected from your former athletic prime, we know that sedentary lifestyles are strongly linked to decreased muscle mass, reduced strength and increased BMI. This will likely have a negative impact on club-head speed and fatigue levels during the round.
Worst still, all that time spent chained to the office desk has likely ingrained some poor postural habits and negatively affected your ability to turn in the golf swing. Fixed posture is thought to be a key contributor to neck and back pain, generally causes all manor of aches, niggles and discomfort, whilst placing a general ‘lock’ on your mobility.
Sitting at a desk all day (in fact staying in any one position for long periods of time) causes your body to adapt to make that position more efficient. For example, sitting all day may cause your hip flexors to become short and weak (due to lack of load on them), your glutes to shut off and your spine to flex forward, which in turn can result in anterior pelvic tilt, which leads to your hamstrings and low back feeling ‘tight.'
As you can see this postural pattern has pretty far reaching consequences, all of which contribute to those niggles you get from daily life and when you do get a chance to play, negatively affect your ability to execute the golf swing of old.
Further, the lack of systematic load on your musculature is causing a lack of tissue resiliency – i.e. those aches and pains you’ve been experiencing – as well as leading to reduced force output. This is an issue as force output is the vital ingredient for moving fast, the ultimate determinant of club-head speed, and even correlates to how long you will live!
If and when you do get the chance to practice or play, the postural inhibition, loss of strength and lack of golf movement pattern practice are likely to be major restrictive factors in the outcome.
The good news is (as you probably already know), a solid exercise routine can counteract the detrimental effects of your lifestyle that have manifested themselves in “Dad Bod Syndrome.”
The bad news is, you’ve tried that before and can never quite make it stick. You’ve likely been left disappointed about the falling standard of your game and frustrated at the lack of time available to fix the problems.
The Proposed Solution
Work out in way that is quick, easy, efficient, doesn’t require much equipment and targets the following priority areas for improvement:
- Lose some body fat
- Gain mobility in T-Spine, Shoulders and Hips
- Improve Posture
- Re-gain some basic strength
- Practice a quality golf movement pattern
This quick and easy, circuit style workout ticks the outlined points above. It doesn’t take forever (less than 45 minutes) and requires minimal gym equipment. Aim to complete it 2-4 times per week, depending on other commitments.
Format: Circuit
Total Time: 45 mins
Equipment: Med-ball, Kettlebell, 41 inch Power Band, GravityFit TPro
Rounds: 3 to 5
Rest between exercises: 10 secs
Rest between rounds: 90 secs
Exercise Guide Playlist (you can shuffle between videos)
Warm-Up
1 round, 30 secs each
Half-kneeling alternate reach
Windshield wiper
PNF diagonal pull-apart
T-Spine rotation with groin stretch
Quadruped rock backs
Bar hang
Cross connect march
Strength Circuit
Exercise 1 – Med-ball slam
Priority – power
Equip – med-ball
Reps – 10
Exercise 2 – Split Stance Turns
Priority – golf movement patterns
Equip – TPro
Reps – 10 each side
Exercise 3 – Kettlebell Swing
Priority – basic strength / conditioning
Equip – kettlebell
Reps – 20
Exercise 4 – Push Up with Band
Priority – basic strength
Equip – power band
Reps – 12
Exercise 5 – 1 Arm Row
Priority – basic strength
Equip – kettlebell
Reps – 10 each side
Exercise 6 – Pallof Press
Priority – basic strength
Equip – power band
Reps – 10 each side
Exercise 7 – Suitcase Carry
Priority – strength/ conditioning
Equip – kettlebell
Reps – 30 seconds each side
To progress simply aim to do more reps in the same time and/or increase the duration of each exercise and/or increase the number of rounds in each circuit and/or reduce the rest periods and/or increase the weight/load used.
This workout isn’t special or innovative or entertaining. But it is practical, and it is useful, and it will help to reduce and reverse the effects of “Dad Bod Syndrome.”
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