Seated Row - Exercise to Improve Arm to Trunk Connection
The most common golf performance complaint of the golfer over 40 years of age is that they need “more length”. In addition, many females find it very difficult to generate enough club head speed to effectively and consistently hit shots from the rough or out of traps. Is there anything physically that these individuals can do to improve this?
Three dimensional real time kinematic assessment has provided the PGA professional, the physiotherapist, the biomechanist and the athletic development specialist with a new found insight into possible physical intervention strategies. Optimal sequencing of body segments in the golf swing should ensure that there are consistent, measureable increases in speeds from transition through to impact. That is, the hips reach a maximum and slow, the shoulder reaches its maximum and then slows and finally the hands reach their maximum followed by the club head. Examination of the two graphs of body segment sequencing below will emphasise the difference seen in those who cannot “connect” their arms effectively to the trunk when the body is moving quickly with the club in hand. Though there may be other reasons for this characteristic, the improved awareness and strengthening of the “back” muscles will assist in remediating this problem.
If you think that supporting gravity, poor work postures, advancing age with decreasing bone mineral density, general weakness in the upper limb and too much emphasis on the chest muscles may all be factors leading to the phenomenon that I term “spaghetti arms”. I think terminology creates a very powerful visual image in our average players.
So what exercises will assist in developing back or “pulling” muscle strength? In this article we will look at - The seated row.
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Starting Position: Trunk erect, abdominals contracted and scapula held comfortably held together.
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Finish Position: Trunk erect, abdominals contracted and scapula drawn down and back while upper arm held back in the shoulder joint.
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It is a popular exercise performed by many gym-goers. It is a great entry level back and posture strengthening exercise for the golfer new to resistance training. By strengthening the musculature of the upper back through proper shoulder blade control, we can help to keep your arms “quiet” throughout your swing but more effectively connected.
The objective of the exercise is to maintain neutral spine posture throughout, while pulling the bar towards the abdomen. If you pull the bar higher than this you will encourage use of the upper trapezius and rhomboids to greater extent than we would recommend based on our observations of average clients. During each repetition, the focus should be on drawing the shoulder blades in together rather than just pulling your hands back to your belly.
You are actually trying to feel the lower points of your shoulder blade squeezing together more so than the upper portion – this can be best felt by ensuring that the bar is pulled low towards your belly button and not to your chest. Always keep your chest and eyes up throughout the exercise, we often find that when you look down, you actually drop your shoulders and round your back – a less than desirable position!
The pictures above show the start and finish positions from the side view. As a part of your program, you should aim to complete 3 sets of 12 repetitions with a challenging weight 2-3 times per week and always get a trained golf fitness professional to review the quality of your technique.
There are many varieties of this machine in your local gymnasium – be sure to ask the staff for assistance when needed.
Good luck and good golfing!
David Chettle
Athletic Development Specialist
Ex-Director of The Golf Athlete
Michael Dalgleish
APA Sports Physiotherapist & Sports Scientist
Director – The Golf Athlete
Licensee – Golf Biodynamics for Queensland
Work: +61 7 3354 8666
Mobile: +61 438 678467
International Speaker and Presenter – for The Golf Athlete Level I, II and Coaching Seminars - see the website for outlines and the calendar of events around the World. Consultant to numerous Australian Touring Professionals, Golf Australia Elite Players, Queensland State Amateur Teams, the Queensland Academy of Sport Squad, Schools of Excellence in Golf (Kelvin Grove & Hills International School) and the PGAs of Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and the UK
Author: Michael Dalgleish & David Chettle
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