How often should I train to increase my ‘Golf Fitness?’

 

It’s understandable that this is one of the first questions I come across when a golfer comes to me looking for advice on their workout routine.

My typical response usually goes like this…”how often would you LIKE to train?”. Personal preference increases internal motivation, higher levels of internal motivation foster better consistency, and better consistency creates stronger results.

Unless their answer is “I don’t want to exercise at all”, then I usually agree that whatever they deem realistic is the best place for us to start. Perhaps one of the greatest things about strength training is just how little we can do and still benefit from it, especially as we age.

While there will always be debate over the ‘optimal’ amount of training the physically elite need to do, it’s clear that even just a small amount of strength training each week is hugely beneficial. For instance, a 2018 study (1) showed that training less than an hour produced similar functional results to training FIVE TIMES AS MUCH!

Most clients will typically commit to 2–3 training sessions per week, and as a golfer that is all that is necessary to make all the progress you’d ever need to maximise it’s impact on your performance. This might surprise you, if you were into recreational bodybuilding in your earlier life like I was, it may even feel uncomfortable to do that little…but it’s based on strong evidence.

If you weren’t into bodybuilding then I’m hoping you’re elated to know that you probably don’t need to spend more than 2–3 hours a week shifting iron to get the most from it. You can legitimately commit less than the time it takes for a PGA tour player to play 9 holes every week and not feel like you’re missing out!

So now you know the time commitment, this leads us onto the question that usually follows…

 

What ‘Training Split’ should I follow?

The old ‘which body part should I train on which day’ conundrum.

If you’ve ever stepped in a commercial gym you’ll know that most keen gym-bro’s strength routine will look something like this…

Monday — Chest and Triceps

Tuesday — Back and Biceps

Wednesday — Legs (Or a rest day dependent upon whether they train them or not)

Thursday — Probably Chest again

Friday — Probably Back again

Saturday — Arms, shoulders, and core

Now whilst I won’t get into why this isn’t an ideal split based on the science, as a golfer who only needs to train 2–3 times per week you really don’t have to make a decision on whether it’s best to train X body part on Y day. EVERY session should take a total body approach and ideally if you can train with 1–2 days rest between one you’ll get a nice balance of stress v recovery.

Of course if your diary dictates that you have to train a couple of days in a row it certainly isn’t going to stop you progressing, but it might simply require that you have one day where you target the front of your body a touch more and the next day the back of your body a touch more in order to aid recovery.

 

There are many other benefits to taking this total body approach to your training too:

1. You won’t hit any body part so hard on one day that you’re intensely sore for your rounds the next

2. You’ll reduce your chance of getting overuse injuries such as golfers elbow by spreading training volume across the body

3. You’ll stimulate each muscle group at least twice per week which the research shows is more optimal for strength and hypertrophy

4. You’ll have more chance to get stronger and faster on the exercises that benefit golfers the most

I want to train more than 3 times a week, what should I do?

Awesome, you already love exercise and want to do it a little more often.

If you’d like to train 4–5 times per week then the way you should split your training simply comes down to your ’sub-goal’.

 

Sub-Goal Example 1: You want to look JACKED on the golf course

If you have a goal of seeing large muscle growth alongside an increased performance in golf then this is where I’d recommend an ‘Upper/Lower’ style split.

One day you target muscles across the front and back of the upper body, then the next you simply work the muscles across the front and back of the lower body. As mentioned in the chapter before, this enables you to stimulate each muscle group twice per week to maximise muscle gains, and it also leaves you well enough recovered to give each session the full beans.

 

Sub-Goal Example 2: You enjoy exercise and just want to do more

A noble goal, and one that opens up a lot of possibilities for what you do on that 4th day. I’m going to give some example below of how I’ve split up training for clients of mine who have this goal and off the back of that you can then go away of some ideas of what you might like to do.

 

A — The Aerobic Athlete

This individual is looking to focus on their aerobic health and therefore also their longevity. For this client I will program like this…

Workout A — Total Body

Workout B — Total Body

Workout C — Total Body

Workout D — Low intensity cardio of choice OR Higher intensity interval circuits

 

B — The Long Drive Enthusiast

For those who are already strong and really want to get as fast as possible and hit drives that leave their partners open-mouthed. Therefore the 4th day will be be used to give them an extra dose of SPEED!

Workout A — Total Body

Workout B — Total Body

Workout C — Total Body

Workout D — Speed Swinging Session and Plyometric/Ballistic Exercises

 

C — The Accessory Day

This is for those guys who aren’t fully in the ‘I want to look jacked’ category but they might notice their arm in the reflection of a car window now and then and wonder if they might be a bit happier if it was a little bigger!

For these guys I’ll take the 4th day and fill it full of exercises that train the smaller muscle groups such as those more towards our extremities.

Workout A — Total Body

Workout B — Total Body

Workout C — Total Body

Workout D — Arms, Shoulders, Calves, and Core Focus

 

D — The Golf-Yogi Hybrid

The final example is for those golfers I’ve trained who really enjoy the feeling of a good stretch and some lower intensity activity.

I’ll explain in a coming chapter why maximising your range of motion doesn’t require you to perform endless hours of stretching or Yoga, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a fan of lower-intensity active recovery that helps you unwind and reduce overall stress levels. In fact for some of my clients, those with high-pressured jobs or lifestyles, I’ll actually encourage them to perform a day like this.

Workout A — Total Body

Workout B — Total Body

Workout C — Total Body

Workout D — Yoga/Pilates Class OR Golf Mobility Routine

 

If you’d like to have a chat about me creating a ‘custom-fit’ programme for you then book a call and I’d be happy to have a chat about what you’d like to achieve and how we can build an approach you’ll love.