Whether you’re on a bike, rowing machine, skier or running on the track, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has crazy benefits golfers never realized.
“S” is for super in SHIIT
Like many other ridiculously effective training methods, golfers have been slow to adopt HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) because the golf benefits are not totally obvious until you take a closer look.
The idea is simple: alternating periods of short, intense “sprints” with less intense recovery periods in between.
The biggest advantage is that you get a ton of bang for your buck in 20 mins., but the advantages for golfers goes far beyond just saving time AND accelerating results.
But, you don’t sprint in golf
You may have never realized it, but your golf swing is a sprint. No kidding.
For two seconds, you are performing a total body, high-intensity, power-generating sprint that exerts a ton of energy…
…And you’re doing that sprint 70-100 times (maybe more) each round you play.
In golf fitness training, we spend a lot of time focusing on preparing your body for the conditions you’re going to encounter on the course.
So…if you’re going to sprint 70-100 times per round, we’d be insane to ignore training for it.
Still don’t believe in this SHIIT?
We talked about saving time and accelerating your results, which should be enough for anybody to adopt any training, but there are even more benefits for golfers:
Boosts endurance – It’s not the walking that fatigues you on the course, it’s the energy you exert during your swing that saps your energy. Obviously, having energy for your entire round is going to be more fun and you’re going to shoot better.
You’re more likely to stick to it – HIIT is more enjoyable than endless hours jogging or riding a bike. Plus, it takes many forms; you can sprint on a bike, rower, skier or on the street in front of your house. If you love anything, you’re going to keep doing it.
Great for your heart – Flexibility isn’t just great for your golf swing. HIIT increases the flexibility and elasticity of arteries and veins better than low-intensity, aerobic exercise.
This is how we do it
Outside of all the benefits, at its core, HIIT is used to elevate your intensity level, then have your body figure out how to recover. So how do you do that?
- It is best to end your workout with interval training – weights first, sprints last
- Each sprint should no last longer than 60 sec
- Rest 2x or 4x the length of your sprint
A very simple protocol you can do is 10 rounds of 20 second sprints using the method of your choice, with a 1-minute rest period between rounds.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Each 1-minute rest goes by really, really fast:)
But, it’s fun, you’ll feel great after your workout and you’ll quickly notice a difference on the course.
