Golf practice is waning but my core strengthening is increasing.  Any momentum I had a week ago is gone and I only have 2 weeks to my next tournament!! My last run was Saturday, and after 7 miles in the hot humid weather, I could barely swing my speed stik. So how will I save my game without hitting the links? 

Last night I worked on side push-ups. I got this idea from a book called Core Performance Essentials. 

I picked up the book at Costco a few years ago and figured it was a good value compared to a personal trainer. Now I always knew that my core body could use a little work (ha ha), but until I tried some of these, I didn’t realize just how bad it was. Push-ups? No problem. Side push ups, big problem!

It took me about a year of non-continuous effort to get to the point I could do a decent side push up. Now I do three sets on each side- it’s easy to gauge your improvement over time with these exercises because my point of reference is almost always ZERO reps capability when I start. Most of the routines I either was not doing, never heard of, or did wrong. And that’s after years of working out off and on with trainers, friends and different gyms. 

The book has 4 illustrations for all the exercises, and 4 levels of difficulty for each one. For those who like to skip the reading and get to the beef, there is a couple of pages of spreads that show all the exercises. Then as you are able to hit a certain level, there is a slight modification for the exercise to make it harder. It’s color photos with color coding for levels or stages,  and everything is all together so it’s easy to follow. 

I follow up all strengthening programs with lots of stretching, simulating specific golf movements. 

For the ladies, if you suffer from a terminally soft tummy like me,  these golf shorts are great for whatever kind of body you have. They give when you need it, and are snug when and where you don’t. By Bugatchi Women, they have something called elastane which gives it some stretchability. You don’t have to wear them for golf. They look great with everything. They look like classy shorts, and no one ever needs to know they actually stretch. 

Sorry guys, there is nothing comparable for you. However, here’s a bunch of really nice men’s golf shorts.