Fuente: © PGATour.com
http://www.pgatour.com/

PGA TOUR: Develop your dynamic balance with stabilization hops

/noticias.info/ By Sean M. Cochran
Special to PGATOUR.com

Last week, we delved into static balance training and, if you recall, static balance is the ability of your body to hold and maintain your postures and spine angles in a stationary position. Remember, static means stationary. The development of your static balance capacities is important because it allows you to get into the correct address position regardless of the stance, allowing you to execute the golf swing.

In addition to our static balancing abilities and the need for it within the golf swing, we have a second category of balance -- dynamic balance. Simply put, dynamic means movement. What I have found with many golfers -- from pros to amateurs -- is the dynamic balance capacities within the body require even greater levels of development for the golf swing than your static balance capacities. The reason for this is that the golf swing during every phase requires you to maintain a set spine angle and specific postural positions, at the same time you have other body parts that are moving the club. This is very difficult to do and requires acute levels of dynamic balance to perform. Changes in your posture and spine angle during the golf swing create a whole series of compensations with the end result usually being inconsistency and poor shots.

For example, when you begin your backswing and you start to stand up, this changes your spine angle position, causing compensation in your downswing because you have to return your body to a position in an attempt to get your club head on plane to hit the golf ball. The result is more often than not a bad shot.

This is the reason why developing your dynamic balance capacities is of such great importance for the golf swing. Developing your dynamic balance capacities is going to allow you to have greater control and efficiency in maintaining your postures, spine angle, joint movements and ability to create potency in the golf swing.

So knowing this and understanding that balance within the golf swing is a component of your physical body, this leads up to implementing dynamic balance exercises in your golf fitness program to improve your golf swing. A dynamic balance exercise I have found to be beneficial for golfers in developing more acute levels of balance dynamically is what I call side-to-side stabilization hops.

Remember, as we discussed last week, perform static balance exercises first and then move on to dynamic balance exercises. With the side-to-side stabilization hops, we perform this after the airplane rotations, which we discussed last week.

This is a very simple exercise to perform but please pay strict attention to your technique. Begin by standing upright, feet shoulder with apart, hands on hips and eyes forward. Lift your right foot off the floor, bend your left knee 45 degrees and begin exercise by jumping laterally onto your right foot, landing on the right foot only and balancing for two seconds. Repeat the jump laterally back to your left foot, landing and again holding for two seconds. It is of the utmost importance that you control the landing -- or stick the landing as you always hear in gymnastics -- and maintain balance on one foot in the posture you began the exercise

For this reason, limit your lateral jumps to a length that allows you to land properly and balance on one foot. Start with five reps of correct technique and build up to 15 reps.

Keep in mind that balance is a component of the body and there is both static and dynamic balance in relation to the golf swing, which requires two different types of exercises to develop these balance capacities within your body. The end result will be the development of more efficient balance in your golf swing, which, in the big picture, results in more consistency in your shots.

Sean M. Cochran is the personal strength and conditioning coach for 2006 Masters winner Phil Mickelson. He is co-owner of BioForceGolf.com and the author of several books, including most recently, Your Body & Your Swing. Cochran, who has worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres as well as working individually with players like Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior, started working with professional golfers, most notably Mickelson (who won the 2004 and 2006 Masters, and the 2005 PGA Championship), in 2002. Recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities in golf-specific strength training, he has spoken at numerous seminars and clinics around the country. BioForceGolf.com was founded in late 2004 to respond to the need of the amateur golfer for quality information on golf-specific-strength training. The site provides subscribers the highest quality information in the areas of golf training, nutrition, and general instruction. notas_de_prensa_archivo