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.

WARM UP BEFORE YOU PLAY

What does your warm up look like before you make your first practice swing? Most people will get out of their car, walk to the range, do a few five second stretches against the cart and then they are good to go. What we have to realize is that the golf swing is a fairly violent movement that isn’t all that natural for us. We spend up to 95% of total energy output on a swing, especially us amateurs with a low efficiency movement. Therefore, it is critical for us to warm up our entire body. We also should try to "wake up" our nervous system to get it ready for the high demands of the swing by doing exercises that require a certain degree of coordination.

The warm up does not have to be longer then 4-5 minutes and it should consist of moderate dynamic exercises. I like jumping rope (with rope or pretending without rope), jumping jacks to the side and front, jumping with side rotation, light lunges, swinging of the arms, etc. It is important to stay loose during these exercises and to "feel" the body move freely.

Stretching? Most of the time your muscles are not warm enough to be stretched and you don't want to get into a range of motion past the range needed for the swing— then you would get into the range not supported by the muscles and put extra stress on the ligaments and tendons. There is no evidence that stretching will prevent injury or improve performance. I recommend doing some stretching after the round as the muscles like to tense up after play and stretching will prevent some stiffness. In the end, remember to complete a good warm up before practice — your body will thank you.