By Mike Romatowski
Titleist Performance Institute

There are many methods of cardiovascular training. Which would be most effective for general conditioning, and which would be most specific to training for golf?

Two major energy systems...

There are two major systems used by the body to create energy. One is "aerobic" (with oxygen), and the other is "anaerobic" (without oxygen). People often confuse the two; many people think that if you are severely out of breath, then the activity is aerobic. The opposite is actually true.

It helps to think of this in layman's terms: If the activity is one wherein you could essentially keep going for an indefinite period of time (such as walking or slow jogging), then you are training aerobically.

If the activity is intense enough that you have to stop within a minute or two, then you are training anaerobically. Thus, if you find yourself bent over, breathing hard or out of breath, you have actually been training anaerobically (without oxygen).

The impact of impact...

Another consideration regarding cardiovascular training is the issue of impact. "Experts" are often quoted as saying that you should choose activities that are "low-impact" or "no impact" such as the popular elliptical trainers found in most gyms. They offer the advice that impact (the foot striking the ground) is somehow harmful. Again, the opposite is true.

You want your feet to hit the ground.

Your brain uses feedback from the foot strike to formulate its commands to the rest of the body. In other words, your brain gathers information from the impact (what kind of surface is this, is it hard or soft, even or uneven, what should I tell the ankles and knees and hips and shoulders and heart and lungs to do?), processes it, then send out orders to the rest of the body. This whole process might be called ground reaction. It is a vital component of human movement.

Ranking the contenders for general fitness:

Hiking is one of the best cardio activities for golfers.

Considering the fact that most humans require a mix of aerobic and anaerobic activity, and considering the fact that you want your feet to hit the ground, I would rank the popular activities as follows:

Excellent:
Circuit training
Hiking outdoors
Alternate walk/jog
Alternate jog/run

Good:
Jumping rope
Calisthenics
Aerobics classes
Swimming (no ground reaction, but good because your body is surrounded by a resistive, reactive substance)

Fair:
Biking outdoors (creates muscle imbalances)
Treadmill walking or jogging

Poor:
Elliptical trainer (no ground reaction)
Stairmaster (unnatural ground reaction)
Stationary bike (abs and glutes inactive)

Ranking the contenders for golf:

The key is to choose an activity that closely resembles the golfing experience, at least in terms of the specific muscles used and the energy system required. Therefore the best choices are:

Hiking outdoors
Alternate walk/jog
Circuit training

Note: When I say you want your feet to hit the ground, I don't mean with jarring impact. I just mean normal, healthy footfall.

For more golf fitness tips and to receive a personalized golf fitness program, please visit www.mytpi.com.