Before the season begins, Nick Faldo spends a great deal of his time in the gym working on his 'core' strength.
You need some muscles if you're going to whack the ball 250 yards!
The golf swing requires you to perform various rotational and bending movements with an upright torso. This means a lot of twisting and turning!
So it's vital to strengthen all the muscles in your mid-section that allow you to transfer movement and power from the upper body to lower body and vice versa.
These exercises have done the business for Nick.
- Abdominal Curls: Hands on your thighs curl up sliding hands up to the knees then slow controlled curl back down
- Total Abdominal Curl with Crunch: Start with knees and feet up and crossed. Turn knees out and place hands to side of head, before curling in both the upper body and knees to reach the outside of the elbows
- Oblique curls: One leg crosses over the other with knee out, arm to the side and hand flat on the floor. With the other hand, lift your shoulder to your opposite knee without lifting the elbow
- Side Straight Leg Lifts: Lift your feet off the floor as you lie on your side with your head down and feet together. Keep your body straight and keep the move controlled
- Side Lifts: Lie on one side balancing on your foot and forearm with legs together. Lift up from the waist by pushing up from the side nearest the floor
- Plank: Onto your forearms and toes, keep back straight and pull abdominals tight - hold that position for 30 seconds
