Importance of Warming Up
You may notice this week that I am walking with a slight limp. This is because I pulled a muscle in my leg playing football with some friends on Tuesday night. The reason I pulled a muscle – no warm up.
Now when I play golf I always have a warm up, just because its part of my routine, I hate standing on the 1st tee feeling cold and with no eye for the ball yet. It almost always ends in disaster. When I played football on Tuesday night, because it was just with friends, we started the game as soon as we all got there, so we were all cold. Then literally, the first time I got the ball I took a strike on goal (which I scored), but felt something twang in my right quads and then I could barely walk. Not only did I feel embarrassed because I had to sit out the remaining 55 minutes. I also felt bad for my team because they were now a man short and as a result got battered.
The same can happen when playing golf, in other sports people warm their bodies up in preparation for the activity ahead without even thinking about it or questioning why they are doing so (although I didn’t). What most golfers seem to forget is that golf is similar to sprinting in that it is a very explosive action which culminates in a lot of force traveling through the body over a very short period of time. With no proper warm up the chances of getting injured are very high.
So, if you’re one of those golfers who just stands on the 1st tee with no preparation, try warming up the next time you play. Just a few rotations without a club then a few shots in the net should do it, along with a few stretches. You will see a massive difference in the success of your first few shots.
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