Imaging Helps Protect Golf Muscle
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
I’ve given more than 50,000 golf lessons, and my experience tells me that most golfers don’t have a lot of time to work out and/or don’t like to – so they seldom visit the gym. Either way, this lack of a structured workout presents a real problem, especially as you age. For this reason, I’m always on the lookout for effective prophylactics my students can use, and I’m now going to offer to you the ultimate intervention: Simply imaging your workout protects your golf muscles from atrophy. After you read this, you’ll have to agree that your workout can’t get any easier than just thinking about it!
The Research: A recent study at Ohio University by Brian Clark, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience, explains the principle: “What our study suggests is that imagery exercises are a valuable tool to prevent or slow muscles from becoming weaker when a health problem limits or restricts a person’s mobility. The most impactful finding is … the critical importance of the brain in regulating both muscle strength and growth.”
Here’s how it works: To give your muscles a mental workout, first relax through deep, regular breathing for about 60 seconds, then close your eyes and begin to perform in your mind a preselected exercise – such as a dumbbell curl. See your arm bent at the elbow, and the weight rising as your biceps muscle begins to bulge — and you can actually move your arm as you match the proper motion. Do three sets of 10 repetitions just as you would in an actual exercise. The most famous bodybuilder of all time – Arnold Schwarzenegger – used imagery on every lift, so we know it works. While Clark and his group focused on patients who had injuries, there’s no reason golfers can’t use the technique to keep their golf muscles in shape while away from the gym and the golf course.
Takeaway: You can make changes in the physical pathways devoted to a particular skill by using your brain’s power to create clear, distinct, and glitchless mental pictures that are so real that they fool the body into thinking you are actually working out. Said another way, you can “be there and do that” without having “been there and done that.”
That’s the good news – the bad news is you still have to do the physical parts of your exercise regime – aka ‘no pain, no gain.’
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
