Should we be sprinting for swing speed training?

[GolfSpy BOS]

Found this blog article from Mike Carroll to be quite interesting:

https://fitforgolf.blog/2023/02/27/sprinting-a-lost-form-of-exercise/
 

Thinking back to my high school days I really did enjoy when I went to a speed camp prior to the start of a football season. Took two-tenths of my 40 yard dash time too. 
 

What Mike talks about in here all seems to make sense to me. I might just have to start working some sprinting into a routine to see if I can unlock a little more distance!

 

[JohnSmalls]

@GolfSpy_BOSI saw this the other day too. Had me wanting to lace up and see just how slow I've gotten. Is it still possible to swing a golf club with a pulled hammy? 

[GolfSpy_APH]

10 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Found this blog article from Mike Carroll to be quite interesting:

https://fitforgolf.blog/2023/02/27/sprinting-a-lost-form-of-exercise/
 

Thinking back to my high school days I really did enjoy when I went to a speed camp prior to the start of a football season. Took two-tenths of my 40 yard dash time too. 
 

What Mike talks about in here all seems to make sense to me. I might just have to start working some sprinting into a routine to see if I can unlock a little more distance!

 

I couldn't sprint when I was younger so I would be scared to do it now. However I do think that better excercise, stretching and more would certainly be highly beneficial. 

I have tagged the article for my to read list. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

10 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Found this blog article from Mike Carroll to be quite interesting:

https://fitforgolf.blog/2023/02/27/sprinting-a-lost-form-of-exercise/
 

Thinking back to my high school days I really did enjoy when I went to a speed camp prior to the start of a football season. Took two-tenths of my 40 yard dash time too. 
 

What Mike talks about in here all seems to make sense to me. I might just have to start working some sprinting into a routine to see if I can unlock a little more distance!

 

Sprinting is great way to build power, so I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be beneficial to the golf swing. I'll incorporate sprinting into my weekly routine on occasion via the treadmill in 20 second intervals with a 40 second recovery and will typically do 10 total sprints. 

[null]

Box jumps are great too.  Medicine ball slams.  Wall slams.

Any explosion exercise is HUGE for gaining distance

[Placasse61]

Good article. Distance runners need to train their fast twitch muscle fibers to increase speed. The best training in athletics is a multi-disciplined balanced approach. Training the same muscles daily with the same stimuli, over time, produces stagnant results.

[JohnSmalls]

2 hours ago, Golfspy_Lukes said:

Box jumps are great too.  Medicine ball slams.  Wall slams.

Any explosion exercise is HUGE for gaining distance

Definitely something I'll have to focus back on in the gym.  I've unintentionally gotten away from it over the last couple of years and it started showing off the tee box.  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I do 10-yard sprints from the couch to the fridge on commercials. Does that count?   I guess not. But I do walk 18 holes at a brisk pace once or twice a week. Once you are good bit into your 60's sprinting is probably not a smart thing to do.    

[GolfSpy AFG]

I've been doing a sprint workout once a week for over a year now.  I also do plenty of med ball work, and jumps, so I can't reasonably point to sprinting in particular with regards to gains in speed.  But, I am getting faster despite getting older, and I'm convinced this training has helped.

Mike's article is pretty spot-on.  You really have to warm up thoroughly or you're going to end up with hamstring or hip flexor problems.  But it's great for power development, and overall conditioning if you stick with it.

[MNUte]

2 hours ago, Placasse61 said:

Good article. Distance runners need to train their fast twitch muscle fibers to increase speed. The best training in athletics is a multi-disciplined balanced approach. Training the same muscles daily with the same stimuli, over time, produces stagnant results.

Agreed. Some of the best golfers I know do mixed martial arts or boxing as their primary form of excercise. Lots of lower body power and fast twitch muscle training. And as they've mentioned to me, they know how to sync their motions from their hands to their feet so it's a lot easier for them to just flow with their swing. 

[cksurfdude]

5 hours ago, Placasse61 said:

The best training in athletics is a multi-disciplined balanced approach.

Yes, what that smart guy said!!

Unfortunately sprinting is a thing of the way way past for me (unless of course I'd be literally running for my life ) so stay in shape with regular aerobics, plus varying strength and agility exercises, etc etc. Try to add in new, different things occasionally .. like box jumps .. although for me this means, so far, just onto the first step on the basement carpeted stairs...

[Placasse61]

8 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I do 10-yard sprints from the couch to the fridge on commercials. Does that count?   I guess not. But I do walk 18 holes at a brisk pace once or twice a week. Once you are good bit into your 60's sprinting is probably not a smart thing to do.    

Only if you incorporate 12- or 16-ounce curls.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

10 minutes ago, Placasse61 said:

Only if you incorporate 12- or 16-ounce curls.

I knew I was missing something in the workout.

[Kenny B]

7 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Yes, what that smart guy said!!

Unfortunately sprinting is a thing of the way way past for me (unless of course I'd be literally running for my life ) so stay in shape with regular aerobics, plus varying strength and agility exercises, etc etc. Try to add in new, different things occasionally .. like box jumps .. although for me this means, so far, just onto the first step on the basement carpeted stairs...

Nope!  Like sprinting, jumping is not going to happen. There is a reason that I bought this one-level house a few years ago.  

[GolfSpy_APH]

For all those who were or are sprinters, what do you find the best way is to train or stretch for it? I was always a long distance runner and I imagine that they are drastically different. 

[B_R_A_D_Y]

TPI covers sprinting in its Power2 program. Any exercise that requires explosive “quick twitch” muscles is beneficial. I believe TPI even suggested doing a cling-n-jerk with a broomstick … no weight … just to get ur body to experience explosive motion. Even the throwing motion, going from progressively lighter baseballs, down to throwing a towel or then making a throwing motion empty handed as fast as u can. Point is, speed train the entire body. 

[Golf Therapy]

On 2/28/2023 at 11:51 AM, MNUte said:

Agreed. Some of the best golfers I know do mixed martial arts or boxing as their primary form of excercise. Lots of lower body power and fast twitch muscle training. And as they've mentioned to me, they know how to sync their motions from their hands to their feet so it's a lot easier for them to just flow with their swing. 

I came on here to say this about martial arts. Training martial arts helps in a lot of ways for golf. You gain balance, strength, and a mental edge. I found this to be one of the more helpful things unintentionally and thought I’d share with everyone who can’t do sprints and running in general for various reasons.

[Hook DeLoft]

If I tried to sprint, it would simply be an old man jogging slowly.  A few years ago, a neighbor said to my wife, "I thought I saw Clay running around the circle the other day."  My wife replied, "Was his ass on fire?"

[TR1PTIK]

On 3/1/2023 at 7:43 AM, B_R_A_D_Y said:

TPI covers sprinting in its Power2 program. Any exercise that requires explosive “quick twitch” muscles is beneficial. I believe TPI even suggested doing a cling-n-jerk with a broomstick … no weight … just to get ur body to experience explosive motion. Even the throwing motion, going from progressively lighter baseballs, down to throwing a towel or then making a throwing motion empty handed as fast as u can. Point is, speed train the entire body. 

Yep. That's basically what I was going to say. Anything that gets those muscles firing quickly will be of benefit and you see it in the workouts pros do now with medicine balls and such. 

[WaffleHouseTour]

Hmmmm, fascinating. However, running is on the list of prohibited activities my surgeon gave me after my hip replacement. But I’m allowed to use the elliptical - he doesn’t want the constant pounding on the hip joint.  I wonder if I can/ should incorporate into my 40 minute elliptical routine some intervals where I roll the resistance back and go all out on speed - if that would be an approximation of sprinting?

Ive just started the Stack - so I assume I do the simulated sprint on the alternating days from the stack?

[alfriday101]

I am "of a certain age" where I will not be sprinting on the track anytime soon.  But, I read through other articles in the series posted above and found this:

 

"Sprints

It is unlikely that an older individual will be able to sprint safely without gradually building up a solid base of strength, mobility, and lower speed running first but this doesn’t mean that “sprints” can’t be performed on stationary bikes, cross trainers, and other cardio equipment of this nature."

 

I went for a bike ride today and did some sprints and lived to tell the tale.