How can GYROTONIC® training for golfers help your game? Let's measure.

Many times I've been asked "What's the goal of GYROTONIC® training?" To me, the answer is "The system itself has no goal. What are YOUR goals?" The point of any exercise system should be about helping the client reach their goals, not to have the system itself be a goal.

Gyrotonic training for golfers has been discussed as a way to help golfers improve their game. In this article I outlined seven specific ways Gyrotonic training helps with issues discussed on the Fitness Fridays segment of Golf Digest Magazine. As the actual saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So let's eat some golf pudding.

Meet Andrew, my golf case study client.

After writing my Fitness Friday article I wanted objective evidence that Gyrotonic training for golfers can help improve their game. I asked around for golfers who were willing to be a case study client for a six week training program exclusively using GYROTONIC® methodology. They'd have to be willing to be poked and prodded, measured and photographed. Andrew heard about my request through a trainer friend we have in common. He embarked on his six week program in November of 2015.

Objective measurements are the best way to know results

How someones "feels" is important. But it's also subjective. You can be in essentially the same physical state (exact same height, weight, body fat percentage, injury history, etc) but "feel" different day to day. How you feel has a great many variables affecting it: what you ate, how much you slept, your emotional state, etc. While it's always important to ask a client how they're feeling, to properly notate physical changes that result from training, objective measurements are obligatory.

Looking back at the Fitness Friday post, there are several joint ranges of motion that are valuable for a golfer to focus on. We specifically focused on the rotation of the hips and shoulders as well as hamstring mobility. All measurements are in degrees of motion and are active ranges of motion, meaning Andrew moved his joints to these ranges of motion while his muscles were actively working.

Joint	Before		After
	Left	Right	Left	Right
Knee extension (hamstrings)	58	62	67	67
Hip internal rotation	13	13	25	29
Hip external rotation	25	22	34	35
Shoulder internal rotation	80	45	95	68
Shoulder external rotation	68	80	86	115

As you can see, Andrew made great gains in all the ranges of motion we focused on. He balanced out his hamstrings but definitely has more room to improve with both. Take note of the shoulder rotation numbers. Before starting, his right shoulder had fair external rotation and poor internal rotation. It was reversed for the left arm. This follows the pattern of the body for a back swing. At the top of the back swing, the right arm is in external rotation and the left is in internal rotation. But the ranges of motion reverse for the follow through and his measurements show that little emphasis had been put on increasing his performance in the follow through. While the measurements aren't balanced they are clearly better, meaning his follow through will be more integrated with his back swing.

Over the first six sessions, my body posture has been improved. It has been a combination of flexibility and body awareness. This is reflected in how my body feels, which is less rigid, and in my golf game. Golf is a main focus of the training. I played for the first time since beginning the training this past weekend. It was the best I’ve played. The work on my body mechanics positively influenced my ability to swing a golf club in a more coordinated and flexible fashion. – Andrew after 3 weeks

Improvement in posture

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In this short video, you can see Andrew performing a single leg squat before then after. The increases in his core strength, proprioception and glute strength allow him to remain far more upright when squatting after just 12 sessions.

I'll end this post with a "call to action" to golfers as said by Andrew at the end of his 6 week, 12 session series to improve his game through Gyrotonic training for golfers:

The Gyrotonic training did a lot of good. The most important part of my swing for me to work on was controlling my arms (felt out of place when I swung) during the movement. At the end of the training, all my flexibility numbers were improved, and I noticed it in the golf swing. My previous lack of flexibility hampered the movement in the swing. Now I am more free and comfortable as I play golf. It has allowed my shoulders and arms to more fit in naturally with the swing and this has increased my level of play. I am more confident, and competent, in my swing. It was a real important step for me to work on, and the physical capability has increased my results from practicing. Mike is really good at what he does. I very much recommend this to anyone who wants to work on their golf swing and general body awareness/movements.