Top 10 Training Tips for Golf Off-Season: Part 2
Part 2
Welcome back! Let’s breakdown the last 5 training tips you should take into consideration as we approach the off-season.
6.) Consistency and Intensity
These are two very different things, but we need both of them this off-season.
Looking at the off-season from a holistic viewpoint, we need to be consistent across the entirety of the off-season if we want to reap the rewards of training. This needs to be a priority for our training programs.
I would MUCH RATHER have an athlete train twice a week for 30 minutes each session the entire off-season, than train for an hour everyday for one week, once a month.
Get on a consistent schedule, and stick with it!
Secondly, if we look at our training on a micro level, meaning, the viewpoint of each individual training session, we need intensity.
In order to tap into physical adaptations, we need to bring an element of intensity into our training sessions.
NOW, this doesn’t mean squatting massive weights or working out until we are about to pass out.
Far from it.
It simply means that we need to continually progress our training over the course of the off-season.
If the first week we are goblet squatting a 50 lb dumbbell, the next week we should push a little harder and go for the 60.
If we are jumping, we should be jumping with maximal intent, not just going through the motions.
7.) Don’t build your golf swing in the weight room
The goal of the training setting (in this case referring to the weight room and the various components of training within it) is not to improve your golf swing from a technical standpoint.
Are you slicer?
I am too some days… We shouldn’t be working to fix that within the weight room. We shouldn’t be completing drills and exercises with the target of “fix my swing," because guess what?
It's not possible.
No, I am not saying your swing is helpless, although after re-reading that previous sentence, that is certainly what it sounds like I am saying.
What I am saying is that you can’t fix your swing within the confines of the weight room. Get a swing coach, head to the range, or go play actual golf. Don’t try to mimic your swing with a rubber band in the weight room.
Spend your time in the weight room developing the underlying physical outputs your swing needs to be successful.
Get stronger. Get more powerful. Gain mobility. Gain stability. And everything in between. This is where the most value can be found within the weight room setting.
8.) Lock in Your Health Habits
Health underlies everything that we do as athletes.
Yes, if you golf, you are an athlete, so I’m talking about you!
There’s no better time than now to lock in your underlying health habits, especially if you have big goals for this off-season!
I could go on and on about the importance of nutrition, sleep, hydration, recovery, stress management, etc.
But, I think most people understand what it means to eat well, hydrate properly, and recover appropriately. If you don’t, reach out and let’s chat!
The important part isn’t understanding what it means to develop these underlying health habits, or why we want them... it’s actually doing it!
As a takeaway, here's what I recommend if you are somebody who needs help tapping into some better health habits.
Every week for the next four weeks, I want you to pick one of the following health habits and really lock it in. Prioritize it!
Nutrition
Hydration
Sleep
Activity Levels
Then, after four weeks (you will have gone through every habit once), I want you to pick two of those habits each week for the next four weeks, prioritizing two separate health habits at the same time.
Then, after four more weeks, I want you to pick three habits each week for four weeks… You see where this is progressing to?
Eventually they’ll naturally become habitual parts of your life.
Health underlies everything that we do as athletes. Playing golf and training hard can be tough on our body from a physical standpoint, so make sure you are doing everything you can from a health perspective to maximize recovery and performance.
9.) Don’t listen to Social Media Influencers
I suppose this one is a little hypocritical, because you are reading this and many may consider me to be some form of an "influencer."
The amount of garbage I see in the “golf fitness” world on social media is ridiculous.
Coaches trying to get clicks by showing off some complex exercise with no real application, relevance or adaptation being created… barf.
Coaches demonstrating a clam shell and other glute “activation” exercises… barf x2.
Coaches trying to mimic the golf swing by just adding rotation to every exercise... barf x3
Coaches attempting to bring CrossFit into the golf training space… barf x4
Coaches saying the flexibility is the most important aspect of a golfers training... barf x5
I could go on all day.
Of course, there are plenty out there doing social media super well, and producing quality content. But, it’s often hard to dissociate the good from the bad, so what should you do?
Get a quality coach.
Be it virtual or in-person. This needs to be somebody you trust and who offers quality training, information, and helps you discover the results you are seeking!
And that leads me to the final TRAINING TIP.
*** Insert drum roll ***
10.) Cheeky Plug… Join the SCRATCH Golf Training Community
For the final training tip, I would be remissed if I didn't plug the golf training platform, SCRATCH Golf Training.
We provide golfers of ALL AGES and ABILITIES with everything they need to maximize their training.
We help golfers achieve greater PERFORMANCE and LONGEVITY.
We train golfers like athletes - because they are athletes.
You included.
Go check it out for yourself, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions!
Let’s have a great, productive off-season!
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Carter Schmitz
Founder and Head Coach - SCRATCHGolfTraining.com
CSCS, TPI
Carter is a strength and conditioning coach out of the Milwaukee area working with athletes, in-person and virtually. Having helped hundreds of athletes, ranging from the middle school to the professional level and beyond, Carter brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to every athlete he works with. He launched SCRATCHGolfTraining.com in the summer of 2021 to help empower golfers to greater performance and longevity.
Carter believes ALL golfers are athletes, and they should be training accordingly.
Become a SCRATCH Athlete today, and start training like the ATHLETE you are!
