Breaking "Golf Fitness" Narratives.
Welcome in!
THIS IS THE 100TH ARTICLE on SCRATCHGolfTraining.com.
I wanted to make it a big one.
An important one.
One that represents who I am and who we are within the SCRATCH Community.
Before we dive in, I need to say THANK YOU.
These first 100 articles have been a blast.
I use writing as an outlet.
As a way to present my thoughts in an organized (yet, sometimes chaotic) manner.
I greatly appreciate all of you that have liked, shared, commented, and interacted along the way.
Cheers to the next 100!
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There are stereotypes and narratives that exist within the golf fitness world that, I believe, NEED TO CHANGE.
Golfers are Athletes
The first narrative that needs to change is the "I'm not an athlete, I just golf."
Bulls**t.
Hey, you there reading this article... do you golf?
Of course you do because it's the best sport in the world.
You're an athlete.
It's that simple.
Maybe you don't look exactly like DJ at impact, but you're probably not far off.
The golf swing is amongst the most physically demanding skills in all of sport.
It requires massive levels of mobility, large rotational power output, and precise attentional focus.
Quantitative metrics such as power output, joint angular velocity, and force production are comparable to skills such as a soccer player kicking a ball, a football QB throwing a pass, or a baseball player taking a hack.
I don't think anybody would disagree with my statement that soccer, football, and baseball players are athletes... so why don't you consider yourself one?
You should.
Here's a few other articles where I wrote more on this idea:
ARTICLE: We Are ATHLETES!
ARTICLE: What it Means to Train like an Athlete
ARTICLE: Less Robots, More Athletes
Golf "Fitness"
Narrative number two that needs to be changed is the golf "fitness" verbiage.
I hate the phrase "golf fitness."
I use it all the time because I know that's the norm and people connect to it... but I hate it.
There is a reason we are called SCRATCH Golf Training.
It's what we do.
We train.
To become the best athlete we can become.
To level up the human that we are.
The term "golf fitness" has too many derogatory ideas and negative visuals associated with it for my liking.
Obviously context matters, and exercises posted on social media are taken out of context, I am aware and acknowledge that.
I am not attacking any specific trainer here, I'm sure they produce great programs and help a ton of golfers... but I am attacking the "golf fitness" narrative.
In general, here's 5 Reasons that "Golf Fitness" exercises like these aren't benefitting you...
[1.] All of these exercises are the same in that they aren't growing any physical adaptations.
They aren't actually helping the athlete, become a better athlete.
[2.] Many of them are WAY too specific. Golf training is NOT about trying to replicate the swing in the weight room... and that's exactly what many of these are trying to do.
[3.] Over half of them are rotational in nature, which isn't bad in and of itself, but when an exercise has an unnecessary rotational component, that's when we should start being skeptical.
[4.] "Golf fitness" exercises like these treat golfers like fragile beings that need protection (more on that below).
{5.] Or they use stupid tools like:
Light flimsy bands (bands themselves aren't bad, I love bands, learn why HERE. It's the size of the band being used and how it's used... might as well just do it bodyweight)
Bosu balls (we don't touch 'em, you shouldn't either, read more here),
Golf clubs... they should almost never be used in the weight room.
No more "Golf Fitness"... At least, not if we are defining it as the exercises shown above.
We are athletes, we train.
Golf TRAINING looks like the videos below...
IG POST 1: Golf TRAINING, Not Golf Fitness
IG POST 2: Progressive Overload
IG POST 3: Bigger, Faster, Stronger Isn't the Goal
Fragility
Tagging along with that last narrative... let's talk about fragility.
When carrying something that is fragile we tense up.
We use extra caution.
We wrap it in bubble wrap.
We protect it.
The human body isn't fragile.
Quite the opposite actually.
It's antifragile.
This means it's adaptable.
A glass vase will break if you stress it.
A human body will become more resilient if you stress it.
This is the central mechanism of training.
It's why the weight room is a thing. We adapt to the stressors that we place on our body within the confines of training.
If we don't apply enough stress to the body, we will fail to create any adaptations.
Exhibit A... the exercises shown above.
Be antifragile. Apply stress. Adapt.
Golf Fitness "Experts"
There are many very prominent "golf fitness experts" on social media.
Some do a great job.
Some (many?) do not.
It's important to remember that just because a PGA or LPGA tour athlete is doing something in the weight room, doesn't mean you should be doing it.
They have reached the pinnacle of their sport.
Their physical outputs are already massive and their skill is unmatched.
The exercises they're doing aren't what got them to that point.
If a coach is doing some fancy bosu ball reverse lunge with a tour pro, it more than likely is because the athlete doesn't want to grow physical adaptations and is confident where they're at.
They want a workout that "feels good" is a little challenging and they leave feeling accomplished.
This isn't bad. They've found what works for them.
It just isn't what YOU need in your physical training program.
I always like talking about Tiger Woods training protocol back when he was ridiculously dominant.
What I am saying here is this...
Tiger didn't become Tiger because of his physical development program. He even admits that it was far from ideal!
JT isn't JT because of his physical development program.
Nelly Korda isn't Nelly Korda because of the workouts she posts on social media.
Rory isn't Rory because of his... (but actually he does a really great job, whoever is coaching him is on top of their game, in my opinion - Rory IG Post)
Again, the point is this, tour pros are at the pinnacle of the sport. They have these underlying physical outputs already. They have the necessary mobility, strength, and rotational power to dominate... you do not.
Therefore your training should not look like there's.
WHAT SHOULD YOUR TRAINING LOOK LIKE?
DISCLAIMER: There isn't one "correct" way to train the human body. My training methods aren't perfect and are continuously evolving. But, here's the way we are approaching athletic development at SCRATCH...
At SCRATCH, we train to become better athletes.
We jump, lift, and move our bodies in progressively novel ways.
We stress our bodies, allowing them to create adaptation... remember, antifragile.
We squat. We lunge. We pull. We push. We crawl. We carry.
And then we do it again with more weight.
And then we change up the pattern slightly.
And then we increase the range of motion.
Slowly but surely building a human body that is not only capable of thriving on the golf course, but one that is resilient enough to take on all that our life demands.
If you are interested in joining a community of like minded golfers that are taking on this mission... hit the button below.
THANK YOU
To anybody that has liked, shared, commented, or interacted in any way with these first 100 articles I can't thank you enough!
I greatly appreciate your support.
Let's keep this thing rolling... like a 10 foot putt for birdie.
Cheers to the next 100.
And, as always, let's go low.
Carter Schmitz
Founder: SCRATCHGolfTraining.com
