4 ISOMETRIC EXERCISES FOR GOLFERS

Isometric exercises can be a GRIND.

I'm sure many SCRATCH Athletes look at their training session for the day, see a long duration isometric and groan.

However, I want to take the opportunity this article to explain WHY we use ISOMETRICS within our golf performance training.

WHAT IS ISOMETRIC?

There are three central types of muscular contractions.

First, is a concentric contraction which is when the muscle is shortening... think the raising of a bicep curl.

Second, is an eccentric contraction which is when the muscle is elongating under load... think the lowering portion of a bicep curl.

In both of these examples the bicep muscle is still the primary driver of movement. It's either working hard to raise the weight and bend the elbow, or it's working hard to slow down the lowering of the weight.

Lastly, an ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION is when the muscle is relatively NOT MOVING. The joint is staying in one place. Instead of the weight moving up or down in the bicep curl, the weight is now staying in one place and you are holding your elbow in that singular position.

WHY WE USE LONG DURATION ISOMETRICS.

Often in SCRATCH training programs we make use of long duration isometrics, which simply means that you are holding a singular position for ~1 minute or more.

There are several reasons we use these...