Kai Fusser, M.S., has been Annika's personal trainer for over 7 years and now also directs the fitness program at the Annika Academy at Ginn Reunion Resort.
THE AXIS: STAY ALIGNED
Our axis, the spine angle, is our second setup point. As our body is centered around our spine, it is important to keep it this position while performing an exercise. The angle of our spine will influence balance, the production and transfer of power, directional control and injury through compensation. The power we produce through the use of our lower body, the mid section and upper body has to be transferred along the spine to our target point the club. Any deviation off that straight line will translate into loss of power. If your spine bends, your rotation can not be as controlled and smooth. This means you never know exactly where your club head will end up. You will also have a hard time staying on your base, as the forces on your body are greater and will pull you laterally. Many times other parts of our body (i.e. the shoulder) try to compensate for the effect of a bad spine angle, this compensation often results in an overload of a certain joint or its connective tissue and overuse or injury will occur.
It is also important that your shoulders are square, parallel to the floor. If you dip or push down on one shoulder, the load on your spine will increase on that side and the spine will have to bend.
Annika refers to the feeling of turning within a cylinder. There you can not bend your spine (See Annika Sorenstam, Golf Annika’s Way).
For your exercises it is important to use a mirror whenever possible. I have my players use it all the time, as it helps them to check and control thier spine angle at all times. For me as the trainer, I can see the spine angle from several directions through the mirror and can correct them accordingly. A great help can be the crack where 2 mirrors meet. If you position yourself right in front of it and line up your nose, belly button, and the center between your feet, you can see if you begin moving your spine off the line. If you see yourself moving off the line you will need to find a way to correct it, or better yet, you need to learn how to avoid it in the first place.
Good alignment in the spine is achieved by creating and holding a good base, by engaging your core muscles. Good balance, keeping your shoulders square and awareness of where your body parts are at any given time during the exercise is key. All of this has to be learned and constant checking in front of the mirror or by a trainer will lead to the ability to control it.
Imagine a straight pole going through the center of your body and you are not allowed to break that pole, so you need to avoid bending your hips or dip your shoulders.
That is also important during any rotation. It is very easy to bend your upper body or dip your shoulders during a rotational exercise, again think about the pole inside you and just rotate around it.
I am a proponent of heavy weight exercises and eccentrics (after proper preparation). How should you lift a heavy dumbbell, for example during a biceps curl where the load is trying to bend your spine to the side? Think again about the pole inside you, tighten your core and with the help of your legs move down the pole and up in a pump motion curling as you move upwards through straightening your legs. Some would call that “cheating,” but the difference is that we are doing this in a safe manner with a straight spine and tight core while distributing the load throughout the whole body. The reality is that in most sports we have to deal with big loads and many times they come unexpected, so we must learn how to handle them through training. Just like the full swing of a driver, it is fairly violent on our body.
We are in charge of the dumbbell, the cable pull, the club or any force that we create, don’t let it get you off your base!
