Protect your back while you perfect your swing.
There’s no doubt that good posture in golf helps you see the ball and gain a hearty swing, but how exactly do you achieve that flexibility and avoid injury?
Golf pros recommend stretching your back as a warm up before you play, but here are a few exercises you can do throughout your days off the course:
Spine Stretch
1. Stretch your back over an exercise ball. Sit up on the ball with your lower back at the top and then lean back without leading your neck hang over too far. Hold for 20 – 30 seconds and repeat. This quick set stretches does wonders for both your upper and lower back.
Seated Twist – Yes, you can exercise your lower back while sitting at your desk!
- Sit up straight in your chair.
- Reach behind the chair with your left arm and rotate your upper body.
- Leverage your right arm against your left leg, giving you some resistance.
- Hold for 10 seconds and repeat.
- Switch arms and stretch the other way, hold and repeat.
Cats Up, Cats Down – No equipment required for this easy stretch.
- Start by placing both hands on the floor directly under the shoulders. Position both of your knees directly under the hips, eyes looking down and back flat.
- Then begin extending your lower back up like a cat arching its back. This is “Cats Up.”
- Keep arching the lower back up until it is rounded. Your arms need to be straight throughout the exercise. Hold this position for 30 seconds.
- Now bring your back down from this arch and lift your head so that eventually your back is rounded the opposite way and you are facing forward. Hold for 30 seconds.
- Two or three sets will give you a great lower back stretch!
Lower back injuries are common among golfers, but with a little warm up and exercise you can minimize pain and injury.