The one-leg balanced shoulder press is a great exercise to increase your balance, strengthen your core muscles and work your shoulders.  As with most of the balance exercises, this exercise is harder than you think it should be!  As discussed in the previous blog this exercise requires one dumbbell.  I recommend trying a lighter dumbbell to start with and increase the weight once you can perform the exercise while keeping your balance through the 2 sets and keeping good form.  More on this later.  Let’s get started!  I hope to add pictures for the exercises soon.

Ok, the picture below is closer to the correct form  (with one dumbbell)…need a model like in the thumbnail though…

First:

Stand on your right leg with your left leg slightly bent behind you and your foot off the ground.  As with the Twisted One-leg Airplane exercise, the left leg does not need to be bent and any particular angle, just keep it off the ground.

Second:

Place the dumbbell in your right hand with your arm straight down against your right leg.  Your left hand should be bent and held against your mid-section.  Use good posture, keeping your shoulders back.  Don’t lean forward or slouch your shoulders.  Be sure to keep your hips and shoulders square.  I like to face an object such as the TV, a wall, or full length mirror as I find it easier to make sure my body stays square while doing the exercise.

Actions:

1.)  Keeping your balance, curl the weight up to your shoulder with one end of the dumbbell facing your target and the opposite end to the side and in front of your chin.  Your arm should be bent at 90° with your upper arm parallel to the ground.
2.)  Press the weight up straight above your shoulder in a slow steady motion while maintaining your balance. Keep your core muscles engaged.
3.)  Slowly lower the dumbbell back to shoulder height.  Repeat.

Thoughts:

Keep separation between your base leg and your raised leg.  Don’t rest the raised leg along side the base leg.  Try to remember to keep the core muscles engaged.  If you feel significant strain on your shoulder use a lighter weight.  Keeping proper form and balance are more important than speed or the weight of the dumbbell.  Keep your wrist firm, and your arm angle should be 90° to your shoulder.  With your wrist firm that means that the front end of the dumbbell should always face the target.

What is it working?

You should feel your lower leg muscles firing to keep your balanced weight over your foot.  Core muscles should remain tight.  You should also feel your triceps, biceps and shoulder muscles working.  Remember, don’t use too much weight!

Repetitions:

Repeat 10 to 15 times and then switch legs.  Complete 2 sets.

Advanced:

Stand on a yogi brick once you can do this exercise without having to brace yourself.

The words ‘Use Free Weights’ conjure up images of bulky bodybuilders to most people.  As much as free weights, you can insert the word dumbbells here if you will, are important in body building, they are also important in a fitness program.  The main advantage I see in dumbbells over a stationary weight machine (besides cost) is that dumbbells require your muscles to also balance them in your hands.  Weight machine cables glide in pulleys or in guides that more or less hold them in a stationary plane, while dumbbells will want to tilt right or left in your hands during use.  The use of dumbbells will increase your Proprioception, or allow you more awareness of how to use and manipulate your muscles for better control of the implement in your hands.  Using dumbbells will develop, build, and strengthen the small muscles that work in unison with the larger muscles that doing the majority of lifting.  Bring this benefit to the golf course in better control of the golf club during your swing.  I mention how dumbbells will increase your proprioception of your hands, but they will also increase sensory  awareness of your arms and shoulders when used in exercises.

I bring up dumbbells in this sequence as the next blog will be devoted to an exercise that requires a dumbbell.

I would recommend obtaining several different weighted pairs of dumbbells.  Many exercises require the use dumbbells and dependent on the muscle group the exercise targets, the number of repetitions, and your strength you could use a pair of 5-lbs, 8-lbs, 10-lbs, 15-lbs, and 20-or 25-lbs dumbbells.  They do not need to be purchased at once, I pick up a set every so often to add to my personnel home gym.  Start with the lighter ones, you will know soon enough if you want to use heavier ones.

I use the plain iron type dumbbells, mainly because they are cheaper and my floor is covered by carpet.  If I worked on a hard surface floor, even if covered by a mat, I would most likely use the rubber coated dumbbells.  In the long run the coated dumbbells might be a better choice because the iron dumbbells can be damaged in use causing sharp edges that may cut you or anyone else like your children if they use them.  Dumbbells can of course be bought in any sporting good stores or online…have to love the free shipping!  See below.

The twisted one-leg airplane is a seemingly easy exercise…for the first 3 or 4 anyway.  This exercise is a good warm up for the body before doing more strenuous activities.   It also a great exercise to do before your golf round to loosen up your hips.  Let’s get started!  I hope to have a photographer soon so I can add several photographs for each exercise.

No equipment is needed unless you want to make the exercise more advanced (see below).  You can perform this exercise barefooted or with sneakers on.

First:

Stand on your right leg with your left leg lifted off the ground behind you.  The left leg does not need to be bent and any particular angle, just keep it off the ground…more than likely you will need to place it on the ground to keep your balance on your first few tries so don’t have it too high!

Second:

Raise your arms to parallel to your shoulders (in a Tee-position) and bend at your waist into your golf ball address position.  Don’t bend too much, use your 6-iron or longer stance.  Use good posture, keep your shoulders back.

Action:

Slowly twist your upper body to the right, and then to the left, while keeping your arms parallel the ground and in the tee-position.  Twist as far as you can without tipping over and try to hold that last position for a few seconds.

Thoughts:

Try to keep your right foot, knee and hip in line with each other (facing forward).  Do not turn your knee in the direction of your twist.
Do not lower your arms; keep them high in the T-position.
Keep separation between your base leg and your raised leg.  Don’t rest the raised leg along side the base leg.

What is it working?

You should feel this working muscles in your feet and lower legs.  To a lesser extent the outer hip muscles.

Repetitions:

Repeat 10 to 15 times and then switch legs.  Complete 2 sets.

Advanced:

Stand on a yogi brick once you can do this exercise without having to brace yourself.

All of us want to drive the golf ball farther.  We want to stick that wedge shot within 3-feet of the pin.  Occasionally we do hit the ball farther or knock it close enough for a tap-in.  But to do it more consistently, we need to have a balanced swing.  No swaying on the back swing or falling forward or backward on the follow through.  Worst yet, no stepping in the bucket with that left leg.  Less movement will produce better accuracy on your shorter shots.  Having better balance will allow your swing to be more consistent and you will hit the ball on the sweet spot of the club more often.  Once you can hit the ball in the sweet spot time and time again then you can then focus on swinging faster, which will increase your distance.  Does having more strength help, sure does, but without balance your increased strength will force the ball more off line and further from the center of the fairway!

Better balance will increase your body awareness, often call proprioception.  Proprioception will let your muscles adjust to slight movements during your swing, keeping you stable and your swing on plane.  Like the rocks in the picture above, a stable platform will make it easier to build the tower higher without tipping.  In the golf swing having a stable lower body and core will allow your arms to swing, and stay, more on plane at faster speed, producing more power and longer drives and/or straighter shots.

The next few blogs will concentrate on Balance.

Have you watch those infomercials for exercise programs?  They look more like try-outs for Dancing with the Stars…not here.  No confusing moves, no complicated machinery, no trying to keep up with the instructor.  The exercises I like to use are straight forward, simple, using common equipment that can be purchased at discount stores, sporting good stores or from the inter-net, and you do them at your own pace.  No feeling bad about yourself when you fall behind the instructor, or those looks of pity by the person next to you when you are out of sequence.

My philosophy is to move forward slowly with a new exercise, do the movements correctly and feel the muscles that are working.  If you are like me, uncoordinated, it takes a while to get the hang of it.  Do each simple exercise correctly, at your own pace, and you will see more improvement than rushing through a routine of half completed, improperly performed movements.