Feb 9, 2022

Golf Fitness with Bands!

BANDS, BANDS, BANDS!

Bands are an awesome tool.

They're portable.

They're effective.

They're inexpensive.

If you don't have any... go buy some > resistancebandtraining.com

Quick Summary of the article so you can skip around:

[1.] Why Bands?

Portable
Effective
"Joint Friendly"
Inexpensive

[2.] 9 Band Golf Exercises

Why bands?

Before diving in, it's important to realize that a band is simply one tool.

It's one training tool of many.

I could sit here and write about the benefits of dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, and medicine balls too.

The best program is, more than likely, the one that makes use of several pieces of equipment.

By doing so, you can apply diverse stresses, and create a more adaptable and resilient body.

HOWEVER, I know many of you are part of the home workout crew... which is awesome!

And because of this, bands may be your best friend when it comes to training, let's dive into why...

Portable.

You can take them anywhere you want.

They roll up and fit in almost any bag.

I brought them to Europe with me a few years back. I am going to be bringing them with me when I travel to Arizona later this year.

Especially for golfers who travel to play beautiful courses, grab a few bands and pack them along!

Effective.

Just like any other tool, they are great at applying an external stimulus to the body.

More than that, they allow you to load the body in any plane of action.

How do dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells produce force? Via gravity.

How do bands produce force? Via elasticity.

This elasticity can be directed in any plane of action... which is especially clutch for rotational athletes like us because now we can load up the transverse and frontal planes.

"Joint friendly"

Due to the ascending tension of the band, the resistance being applied to the body changes as you complete the movement.

For example, if you are completing a band resisted push up, the band tension will be much lower in the bottom of the push up, as compared to the top of it.

At the bottom of the push up we are at our weakest point, our joints are in more biomechanically disadvantageous positions.

At the top of the push up we are relatively stable and strong. It's a biomechanically advantageous position.

The band loads the bottom less and the top more... which is in line with our biomechanics.

However, this is a positive and a negative.

On the positive side, we can scale back stress that we are applying to the body.

On the negative side, we can scale back stress that we are applying to the body.

Let me explain...

We want stress. Stress is good. It's what creates adaptation.

However, we do need to balance the amount of stress we are applying to the body.

Therefore, at times, the joint friendly nature of the bands can be beneficial when the goal is to scale back stress.

But when the goal is to maximize stress and create gains, they may not be your best option.