Isometrics, strength and motor learning.

Isometrics was founded in the early 1920's at the Springfield college in Massachusetts, the experiment involved a frog whereby one of the legs was bound until the leg was immobilised. During fixed intervals the leg was unbound and the strength tested and compared to that of the free leg. The results showed that the muscle of the bound leg was stronger than that of the free leg, how was this so? The bound leg could only strain against the cast causing the whole of the leg to force a static contraction resulting in a leg that became healthier and stronger.

Dr Mueller from the Max Planck Institute in Germany conducted a study involving over 5000 people, showing that a six second isometric contraction per day increased muscle strength by 5% in a week. So in only twenty weeks a human could have the potential to double their strength.

Isometrics have been very useful in certain cases to enable my clients to overcome an undesired, golf swing motor pattern, toning the muscle through a 6 second isometric hold can speed up the process of a swing change more so than a drill, as we strengthen the muscle in the position we are looking to achieve, (remember the body always moves towards a position of strength and away from weakness).

Isometrics also allows the golfer to gain strength without adding unwanted bulk that can creating blocking patterns in the kinetic chain.

So how could we apply this knowledge into the golf swing?  A person who is deemed to be swinging over the top, ask the golfer to swing to the top of the backswing, once there place the golfer into the desired downswing position, the client is instructed to push the hands and grip end of the club into the coaches hands in a more downward manner matching a more gravity based line, the coaches hands restricts the movement thus allowing a isometric hold to take place, repeat three times and then hit a ball and feel the difference.

Happy Golfing ;)

Breathing and the Golfer.

The game of golf is played with the most amazing piece of equipment in the game, and no it is not the latest Scotty Cameron, or Taylormade driver, it is in fact YOU. The human body is the one actually allowing the club to do the job, providing the body is in a state to allow the swing to reach its full potential, (99.9% of the population are far from ideal in this respect). Remember the environment in which you live will dictate how your body moves, your movements become your posture and you posture will become you structure. Today we will have a brief look at how breathing can aid your short game.

Now inhalation, sees a lengthening of the spine, you actually get taller as you breath in due to the curves in the spine reducing. Inhalation therefore facilitates extension, supination, and external rotation of the extremities, other wise seen as one moving away from the fetal position.

Exhalation sees the spine shortening as the spinal curves increase, thus flexion is now facilitated with pronation, and internal rotation of the extremities, a moving towards the fetal position.

Just from this brief description we can see that breathing can change the way in which the body moves, now the short game requires good stability and the ability to control distances, therefore the way we breath can ensure a repeatable motion. 

So before you settle in and hit your next chip or putt, experiment with this idea, inhale through your nose until the cavity is charged midway between both inhalation and exhalation, pause and hold your breath until the shot is completed, this ensures that the golfer is in between both flexor and extensor facilitation, this inhalation creates a stabilizing effect of both body and mind.

Try this and watch how an understanding of the way in which the human body works can improve your golf.

Happy Golfing ;)

Carl Crown.