According to the leading authority in the field of physical training for golf, an institute, "Glutes are King." The large muscles that extend the hip should be strengthened and stretched to their maximum to reap the benefits of optimal performance. For the purpose of discussion, I will assume their opinion is true - glutes are king.
So how does The Authority strengthen glutes? By performing functional activities, sometimes using resistance, usually in the form of dumbbells - their first mistake. While functional activities can challenge glutes, they cannot provide full-range exercise for the same. Nor can the use of dumbbells. Full-range exercise means just that - a resistance that provides the muscle with an exact and appropriate challenge at each and every angle of movement through the entire range of motion. Full-range exercise can increase flexibility, strength (due to a greater involvement of muscle fibers in contraction) and protection from injury. Functional activities fail to isolate muscles. Without isolation, maximum muscle strength is impossible. Not maybe, impossible. And the only device capable of providing full-range exercise is a machine with an appropriate cam - something the Authorities would love to discuss. The point is this: If you identify a muscle as being important in a sports-related role, strengthen it the BEST WAY POSSIBLE, not by a half-assed choice because it looks like golf (in this case).
The second mistake: When glutes are worked hard (with a heavy resistance), the effort can put the muscles of the lumbar spine at risk. Glutes, hamstrings and low-back muscles (erector spinae) are closely associated in function. Glutes and hamstrings are among the strongest muscles of the body. They can take heavy loads. The small muscles of the lumbar spine cannot, despite the fact that they function within the most efficient joint system of the body. So before you work the glutes hard, you'd better strengthen the muscles that extend the lumbar spine. And what does the leading Authority have for that purpose. Zero - and no clue. Research conducted at the Center for Exercise Science (University of Florida) as early as 1986 concluded that the ONLY meaningful way to strengthen the erector spinae was to prevent the pelvis from rotating during back-extension exercise. Two decades later, the ONLY device capable of performing that task is the MedX Lumbar Extension machine. Yes, a machine - another discussion point that would end if the Authorities ever read the research.
The third mistake: They brag that they don't produce injuries . . . for all the wrong reasons. They attribute success to working the core (including spinal erectors, which they CANNOT work, at least doing it their way) when it's due to another factor - not strengthening glutes to their maximum (neither full-range nor hard). What kind of watered-down program is that for the King? And why has the incidence of low-back injury on the professional tours (PGA, LPGA and Champions) not been reduced by such genius?
So how does The Authority strengthen glutes? By performing functional activities, sometimes using resistance, usually in the form of dumbbells - their first mistake. While functional activities can challenge glutes, they cannot provide full-range exercise for the same. Nor can the use of dumbbells. Full-range exercise means just that - a resistance that provides the muscle with an exact and appropriate challenge at each and every angle of movement through the entire range of motion. Full-range exercise can increase flexibility, strength (due to a greater involvement of muscle fibers in contraction) and protection from injury. Functional activities fail to isolate muscles. Without isolation, maximum muscle strength is impossible. Not maybe, impossible. And the only device capable of providing full-range exercise is a machine with an appropriate cam - something the Authorities would love to discuss. The point is this: If you identify a muscle as being important in a sports-related role, strengthen it the BEST WAY POSSIBLE, not by a half-assed choice because it looks like golf (in this case).
The second mistake: When glutes are worked hard (with a heavy resistance), the effort can put the muscles of the lumbar spine at risk. Glutes, hamstrings and low-back muscles (erector spinae) are closely associated in function. Glutes and hamstrings are among the strongest muscles of the body. They can take heavy loads. The small muscles of the lumbar spine cannot, despite the fact that they function within the most efficient joint system of the body. So before you work the glutes hard, you'd better strengthen the muscles that extend the lumbar spine. And what does the leading Authority have for that purpose. Zero - and no clue. Research conducted at the Center for Exercise Science (University of Florida) as early as 1986 concluded that the ONLY meaningful way to strengthen the erector spinae was to prevent the pelvis from rotating during back-extension exercise. Two decades later, the ONLY device capable of performing that task is the MedX Lumbar Extension machine. Yes, a machine - another discussion point that would end if the Authorities ever read the research.
The third mistake: They brag that they don't produce injuries . . . for all the wrong reasons. They attribute success to working the core (including spinal erectors, which they CANNOT work, at least doing it their way) when it's due to another factor - not strengthening glutes to their maximum (neither full-range nor hard). What kind of watered-down program is that for the King? And why has the incidence of low-back injury on the professional tours (PGA, LPGA and Champions) not been reduced by such genius?
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