Exercises and Stretches For Senior Golfers

Heart disease, diabetes, anxiety disorders and the list could go on. This is just some of the common illnesses we face as we age.

Uh-oh, I’m not here to scare you but I’m actually here to brighten up the day.

Do you know that there are thousands of senior citizens all over the world who chose golf as one way to stay in shape?

Are you one of them? Well, that's good to hear!

Though this sport it may not be particularly arduous, it can provide you with sufficient cardiovascular exercise and stretches on most parts of your body.

But before you pick that club up and start a round of golf, let’s first take some time to loosen your body through a series of golf exercises that do wonders for seniors. If you want to learn what these exercises are, then please keep on reading! 

1. Let’s start to loosen up

With every exercise, you should begin with a general warm-up. This will help you lubricate those stiff joints and tendons, increase your body temperature and promotes blood flow to the muscles you are using.

A warm-up can be as simple as jogging or walking briskly on a treadmill for about 10 to 15 minutes before you proceed to the next step. Adjust the treadmill so that it inclines a little bit to take pressure off your knees.

You’ll know you are doing this step properly when you are lightly perspiring.

2. Don’t skip stretching

But before we begin to actually exercise, make sure you don’t skip stretching. Stretching is important since it helps prepare your body for the exercise it’s about to get.

So here are some golf stretching exercises for seniors:

• Rotated shoulder stretch. This is just a simple shoulder rotation, forward and backward. This stretching exercise will also help you improve your range of motion.
• Ankle stretch. You can do seated ankle rotations, clockwise and counterclockwise or you can do seated and standing calf raises. Calf stretches are also a good idea. You may not feel like these stretches have benefits for your ankles, but stretching the surrounding muscles will improve your ankle flexibility.

Remember that golf involves a lot of walking and this may put a strain on your lower body. If your legs aren't loose, I'm afraid your golf session for the day will quickly become a painful event.

• Hip Stretch. Another way to improve your range of motion is to improve the flexibility in your hips. You can do simple hip drops or a seated hip stretch. 

Seated hip stretches are really great since it can be done almost anywhere as long as there’s a chair you can sit on, even if it is just a tee bench or low table. Here’s how you can do it:

• Sit on the chair and place your left ankle above your right thigh. Then push downward on your left knee using your left forearm. 
• Lean onward by your waist up until you start to feel some gentle stretch on your right hip.
• Repeat this stretch on your opposite side.

• Quadriceps stretch. A simple quad stretch with torso rotations is very helpful in improving balance. This can be done by following these steps: 

• Standing with your back on a chair while crossing your arms over your chest.
• Then place your right foot on top of the chair while keeping your right knee even with your left knee.
• Now, tighten your right buttock muscles and you will start feeling some stretch in front of your right thigh.

To make this stretch more fun and efficient, try to mimic a backswing by rotating your shoulders as well as your torso on the left. Bend the left shoulder as well as the trunk slightly to the ground. Don't forget to do this stretch on your opposite side.

You can also use this stretching exercise before you begin a round. Take note as well that good flexibility is necessary for golf. This will not only improve your performance, like being able to make bigger backswing to improve club head and driving distance, but it can also minimize the risk of golf-related injuries, pains, and aches.

It's also worth evaluating your club flex to see if you should buy a senior flex club.

3. Time to work out

Now let’s get into the best and most helpful exercises for senior golfers to help you improve flexibility as well as your overall fitness. I’ve chosen these exercises since each activity will help you quickly and simply address spinal stability, strength and of course, flexibility.

Looking for great workouts that you can access at any time? Check out The Big Book of Golf Workouts. These workouts will age proof your body and tackle your biggest weaknesses with workouts tailored specifically for seniors. If you'd like to improve your shoulder and back strength, steady your balance, ease your sciatica, increase your hip and shoulder mobility and much more - then this book could be for you. 

• Leg Circles (while lying on the side) 

This is just an amazing hip exercise for every golfer. As your age starts catching up, the hips (as well as the joints) are the utmost affected portion of your body. But we all know that the hip has a very important role in your game, so it is a must that you strengthen your hip.

You can follow this amazing routine:

• Lie on your side by the floor while keeping your supporting arm just above the head. Your lower legs should be straight and in line along your body.
• Now, carefully raise your top leg for a bit, but make sure it won’t disturb the position of your pelvis. Then draw start drawing small circles with the top leg. 

You can begin this exercise in just small sets, at least five circles, and then change to the opposite side.

• Golf twist 

What’s even better than exercising your club swing muscles than taking light practice swings. This is a good way to improve the flexibility of your shoulder and at the same time helps improve your range of motion.

This is very easy to perform too!

• First, assume a proper stance; don’t mind too much about the gap between your feet for this exercise, it doesn’t have to be 100% accurate.
• Hold something like a medicine ball or even just a small bottle of water and swing your arm the way you swing your club. (Read my guide on proper swing technique here)
• Do this until you get stronger.
• Extend and back flex the leg.

As I’ve already mentioned, your quadriceps muscle is very important since it bears the force of the body weight whenever you are walking or even just standing. So make sure you keep those legs loose by doing this simple workout:

• Stand upright while both of your feet are firmly on the ground. I highly recommend that you place a strong object in front of you for added support.
• This time, begin to bend the right knee slowly while raising your foot until it touches your buttocks.
• Stay in this position for about 10 to 15 seconds before going back to your original position. Repeat this exercise with your left leg.

• Bridges With Toes Turned In 

• Lie on your back and place your feet flat on the ground while your knees are raised.
• Now, turn your toes in and raise your pelvis from the ground. Stay in this position for a few seconds then go back to your original position.
• Repeat at least 8 to 10 times.

• Standing Cross Body Crawl Pattern 

• Stand up with your hands at shoulder level. Simultaneously lift your right hand with your right foot, at an elevation to no less than 6 inches; Make sure that you are maintaining a well-balanced stance.
• Try to repeat this at least 20 times.
• Do this with your opposite hand and foot.

Bonus: what do you think about yoga?

You may think that these two exercises do not naturally complement with each other. But I must say, doing gentle yoga stretches is a good way to tone the muscles that you will be using during a round of golf, and at the same time will help you improve your range of motion as well as balance, minimizing the risk of injury.

What Yoga moves should you try? Carefully try these moves out, until you get the hang of them.

• Chair Pose. This will help you target your ankles and strengthen your legs. This is also a good way to improve balance. 
• Cat and Cow Position. This will limber up the shoulder and the back. 
• Seated Spinal Twist. Don’t get confused with its name, this is definitely one of the easiest yoga poses that will help you increase the range of motion in your spine as well as your shoulders. It will help prepare your body for the rotation as you swing your golf club.
• Plank Pose. This is another way to improve your balance and build strength in your shoulder.
• Warrior Pose. This pose will help you strengthen your core, ankles, legs, and arms and at the same time improve your balance and range of motion.

Disclaimer: I'm not a medial professional. Talk to your doctor first before starting any new fitness routine, especially if you are feeling dizzy, fatigued or weak.

Final Thought

So there you have it, the best golf exercises for seniors that can help you improve strength, posture, stability, and balance in your entire body. What's great about these activities is that they only need a couple pieces of equipment so you can easily perform them at home. Soon enough, you will notice having the most powerful swing on the golf course. 

And if you are new to exercise or strength and resistance training, these workouts are a good place to begin with. Anyway, I hope this article will help you be more fit and have fun-filled golf sessions.

Want to get started but don't know how? I'd recommend a copy of The Big Book of Golf Workouts, the most comprehensive and effective golf fitness resource with 50+ golf specific mini workouts to help improve your game.

 If you still have any more questions, please don't hesitate to drop it in the comment section below; I'll get back to you as soon as I can.