You're in the middle of your third of eight Zoom meetings for the day. Yes, you realize that having a meeting about planning the next meeting to review the minutes of an earlier meeting is vitally important, but -- deep down -- all you're really thinking about is the next time you'll be able to tee it up.
Don't worry. We feel your pain…and we have your back. At Hit IT Great, we're committed to helping you improve your game. So, just because you're stuck at your desk, it doesn't mean you can't be working on your game. These three workplace or home office golf fitness hacks will let you optimize your body for the game while you wait for the workday to end.
1. Office Chair Neck Swivels
Turn your office chair into a piece of exercise equipment! Just as important as the ability to separate hip movement from shoulder movement is the ability to separate shoulder movement from head movement. If you have trouble keeping your head down throughout your golf swing, add this move into your Zoom meetings to increase range-of-motion around the neck and head, and boost power and accuracy in your game.
Sit with proper posture facing your monitor. Ideally, you can hit "Gallery" view to make sure that you can see yourself on-screen. This is the starting position. Slowly, keeping your face squared to the screen and the camera, swivel your chair to the right. Only go as far as you can without it affecting your ability to keep your face squared forward. Hold this position for a two-count -- and you should feel some tension in your neck -- and then return slowly to the starting position. Now, do the same to the left. You might find that you can turn deeper in one direction than the other, but over time, those differences will become less pronounced.
Do 15 turns to each side (or until someone in the meeting tells you to stop fidgeting).
2. Doorway Chest and Shoulder Openers
A tight chest and shoulders will wreak havoc on your swing. And, unfortunately, the hunched-over sitting position we spend most of our workday in isn't helping the situation much. Use the closest doorway to help open up your chest, shoulders, and entire upper body for a deeper takeaway and a deeper follow-through.
Find a doorway that no one will mind you monopolizing for a couple of minutes. Stand in the middle of the doorway and reach out to your sides and grab the doorjamb. Your arms should be at 9:00 and 3:00 and parallel to the ground. From here, without moving your feet, slowly fall forward keeping your body straight. You should feel a really nice stretch across your body from wrist to wrist and through the chest. Hold this for a ten-count and then return to standing. Now do the same stretch with arms at 10:00 and 2:00 and then again with arms at 8:00 and 4:00.
Run through the set of these three ten-second stretches three complete times.
3. Coffee Break Balance Challenge
If you've watched any of the Hit IT Great videos, you know that we're very much into balance work. Improving your balance and overall body awareness is one of the quickest ways to optimize your body for the game of golf. And this is a great exercise that'll fit perfectly into your workday.
The next time you head to the coffee pot or the kitchen, add in a balance challenge. Instead of leisurely walking back to your desk with your caffeine fix, hold your cup in your dominant hand with your arm outstretched and walk heel-to-toe as if you were walking on a tightrope or on a balance beam. Go slowly and pause after each step. It might seem pretty difficult at first, so start with a less-than-full cup -- or use water -- but you'll be surprised at how quickly your balance and body control improve. You might also be surprised to discover you have better balance depending on which foot is in front. When you've nailed the move with the cup in your dominant hand, switch to your non-dominant hand. And when you're really feeling comfortable with the movement, switch from water or coffee to more daring and dangerous liquids like beet juice and tomato soup.
Now that you've used some simple exercises to help optimize your body for the game while you work -- and, hopefully, had some fun doing it -- check out the rest of hititgreat.com to see how the best players in the world optimize their bodies for the game. You can even work on your own golf-specific mobility, stability, and strength with our free "No Equipment" workout -- you won't even need an office chair, a doorway, or a coffee cup!
And don't forget to check out Coach Joey D's brand new book, Hang the Banner, co-written with Coach Kolby "K-Wayne" Tullier. Hang the Banner will teach you how to optimize your body for golf while improving golf-specific strength, movement, balance, and neurological function -- all from the comfort of your own home. Order your copy today!
