Forward Prisoner Lunge: Stand hip-width apart with your hands behind your head and keep a neutral spine. Take a step forward with your right leg. Once your knee touches the floor, push back up and forward to your starting position.
BY AAGD STAFF
MARCH 30, 2020
Gym closures and quarantine mandates are forcing people to make big changes to their workout routines. But exercise is especially important now, even when the logistics are more challenging because it boosts us physically and mentally, says Craig Sawchuk, a clinical psychologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“It’s easy to be sedentary right now and fall into a habit of grazing and watching Netflix,” he says. “Creating a daily routine that involves exercise can be therapeutic and bring a sense of normalcy to your day,” he says. We’re veering from our normal routine in this column by asking fitness experts to share home workouts tailored to different needs and abilities.
Opening of the hips through stretches and rotating the shoulders increases your body’s flexibility. Yoga is especially good for the spine, and improving proprioception and mental focus. These yoga exercises below are perfect for golfers to practice. Each movement is a terrific gateway to the wide range of yoga tools for healing, strength, and balance. Appropriate for all types.
WORKOUTS
Woman doing jack squats.
Jack squats
Standing with your feet close together and your hands clasped behind your head, push your hips back to get into a half-squat position. Jump your feet out to the sides, maintaining the squat position. Quickly jump your feet back to the starting position.
Yoga push-up
Start in a push-up position. Lift your hips in the air so you look like an inverted V. Lower your hips back to push-up position, slowly lower your chest close to the floor without touching and push back up to the starting position.
The swimmer
Lie on your stomach. Hold a yoga block or shoebox between your hands, breathe deeply and lift your chest, arms and legs off the floor and flutter kick your legs five times. Exhale and repeat.
Bank Walk
A. Keeping the band just above knees, stand with feet hip-width apart. Bend knees and shift hips as far back as possible, keeping chest lifted.
B. Leading with the right knee, take a small step out to the right, and then step left foot in return to starting position.
C. Continue to take small steps to the right, constantly pushing hips back and knees out. Do 20 steps to the right and then repeat to the left.
Do 3 sets of 20 reps per side.
