Golfers over a certain age are no different than the general population over a certain age. Senior golfers have to deal with the process of aging just like everyone else.
The aging process leaves us with less physical capabilities than we had in our twenties, thirties and even our forties.
With that said, senior golfers should approach their golf fitness training just like everyone else.
Strength training must be the first priority.
This is due to the process known as sarcopenia, which begins around the age of forty.
Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and physical strength. It will affect anyone who is not physically active.
The best way to offset this process is legitimate strength training.
Unfortunately, most senior golfers are told that they should focus on stretching and mobility work in order to offset age related joint stiffness.
The idea is that if they can still generate a full hip and should turn and continue to have the ability to swing the arms high in the back swing, they will maintain swing speed.
However, there is really no getting around the fact that our connective tissues (ligaments, cartilage, etc.) will get stiffer over time no matter what.
Consider the example of Sam Snead.
Gary Player back swing
Snead was known for having excellent flexibility, much like Phil Mickelson today.
Snead had a nice long back swing in his peak competitive days. Similar to Mickelson, the club in his back swing with the driver would go well beyond parallel.
If you check out a video of Snead in his 70s, you’ll see that his back swing with a 3 wood was still pretty full, but short of parallel.
This happens to everyone.
Gary Player is now 89, and his fullest swing is about 3/4.
Player is known for being a fitness freak, and he still exercises regularly.
However, even at his age, he would benefit more from legitimate strength training.
The best exercises for senior golfers
Legitimate strength training involves training the big compound movements with barbells.
Compound movements are exercises that involve multiple joints and multiple muscle groups.
They are the exercises that have the widest therapeutic window and can eventually be loaded with the most weight.
For example, you can start out deadlifting with an empty barbell weighing less than 20 pounds and work your way up to 200 pounds or more.
That is what we mean by a wide therapeutic window.
The Squat
The absolute best exercises for senior golfers are the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press.
If you play golf, then you likely have enough mobility to train all four of these exercises, even if you have some wear and tear.
Training these exercises allows you to build muscle and strength, and they will help you maintain much of the mobility in your joints.
As a result, you will be able to slow the inexorable decline in your swing speed due to the continued decline in the range of motion.
Senior golfers should lift heavy weights
This seems counterintuitive, because 90% of the fitness industry and medical profession tell seniors to stick with lighter weights.
Deadlifting in my garage
Unfortunately, lifting lighter weight does not send a powerful enough signal to the central nervous system to cause the body to adapt with increased strength.
Yes, you can build some muscle by lifting lighter weights with higher reps.
However, to do that continuously, you have to do a lot of sets.
If you have ever trained this way, you will know that it often leads you with a lot of muscle soreness. I can tell you it is not fun playing golf with sore muscles!
At the same time, you won’t get increased bone density and strengthening of the connective tissues. These are also needed along with increased muscle mass to produce increased strength.
You will get a little bit stronger if you are untrained, but you will not get legitimately strong.
Increased strength is really what the senior golfer is looking for.
Consider this formula… Power = Force x Velocity.
Strength equals the ability to produce force against resistance.
Because we lose body speed AND flexibility (which combine to produce velocity) as we age, we need to be as strong as possible to help offset these issues.
Legitimate strength training does NOT involve lifting heavy right away
Many seniors avoid lifting barbells because they have the misconception that they need to lift heavy weight right from the beginning.
That’s not how it works.
The first time you get into the gym with a strength coach you would learn the four main lifts, and along the way, figure out your starting weights for each exercise.
For seniors who are new to training, or haven’t trained in years, they will start at VERY conservative weights.
The idea is that the first several weeks are focused on perfecting the movement patterns, while adding a little weight to the bar each workout.
Over time, with consistent training and solid programming, the senior golfer will become much stronger. That is how the body adapts.
If you have any doubts about the benefits of this type of training, check out this video of a 70 year old lifter who got back to training to help him with softball.
Final thoughts
A 92 year old man deadlifting
Hopefully by now, if you are a golfer of a certain age, you have an understanding that legitimate strength training should be your fitness priority.
This is even the case if you don’t play golf or any other sport.
Once we get past the age of 50, we can choose one of two paths…
The easy path is to take it easy. We’ve earned that, right?!
Well, the fact is, life gets harder as we get older.
As a result, we must train harder to maintain a good quality of life just in case we live to an advanced age.
If you love golf, and you want to continue to play if you live past 70, 80 or even 90, you need to work hard to maintain that ability.
Consider the case of my idol, Jack Nicklaus.
Jack is a perfect example of what can happen to you if you don’t train.
Jack’s primary physical activity back in the day was tennis. Tennis is notably harsh on the hips, knees, ankles and of course the elbows.
Unlike Gary Player, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video of Jack doing any sort of weight training.
As a result, Jack is not very fit, rarely plays golf, and he says he can only hit his tee shots about 190 yards.
Jack is 84 years old.
Now, consider the image to the left of Dr. Life (on the left). At the time of that photo, he was 84 years old.
My guess is that if Dr. Life had Jack Nicklaus’ golf ability, he could still rip it 250.
The choice is yours.
Get busy living or get busy dying.
If you are a golfer, my guess is you’ll want to get busy living.
Now, get to work!
