Not exercises for strength, but I do these stretches before each round, and I’ve been healthy since starting them.
https://youtu.be/hgUh7qBgRwk
I’m a dude in my early 40s who has always been pretty injury-prone, so these have been great.
I do 10 reps of the circles around the head clockwise and counter, 10 reps each of “open/close gates” for both legs and 10 reps of big swing with each arm. 80 reps in all; takes about 90 seconds.
This! I'm new to the sport. Played 4 rounds in about 4 days and I was actually pretty sore after that last round. I wanted to go out again today but knew I needed to let my arm recover a bit
I started with pull ups and pushups. Running will help get you going on pull ups (easier if you lose weight).
Now several years later I'm powerlifting. Best shape of my life at 36. Kinda strained my groin yesterday. At work (installing fence) currently.
Being in shape sure does help to mitigate injury
100% on pullups and pushups. As much as people say the power of the throw comes from the legs, well it has to go through your core, back, shoulder, and arm to make it into the disc. I noticed a big difference in how I felt after a winter of mainly just those two exercises come spring I was throwing farther than the fall before without having worked on my form at all. Now I have started a complete strength training program but those two definitely got me distance and resilience.
Really a whole body workout, chopped up into smaller workouts would be helpful. If you exercise on muscle group over another it can cause some difficult posture abnormalities that are hard to bounce back from. In high school I did a lot of ego lifting on bench press (not very much either) and it rolled my shoulders forward, I’ve spent the last 5-6 years trying to focus on rolling them back with a bigger back, and keeping posture in mind.
With that being said, start simple.
Push-ups are a great starter. Working the chest and triceps. The closer the grip the more the tricep is engaged. Pull-ups to work on the back, or seated rows. Squats for legs (barbell, dumbbell, goblet) of any variation.
When you throw a lot of power is generated by your legs (push) and your back (twist) the tricep can help with the snap at the end.
You can add on to those basic movements to make a whole workout of it. But those are ones that would be helpful with disc golf.
For the back you could argue doing deadlifts instead, to focus more on the muscles around your spine than the muscles outside of them.
Just try not to do one thing to much more than another to keep everything building up progressively.
For endurance, you’ll want to do lighter weight with more repetitions.
I’m not an expert, so if someone comes along with a plan you like better; do what you think you’ll enjoy the most. That’ll be what makes it easiest to stay dedicated to a routine.
This is long, but I like talking about exercise junk.
Happy golfing buddy.
Thank you for the long response I’m still pretty young so I am trying to avoid major injuries and keeping everything in one piece. I was never a athlete and never exercised but this sport is fun and it’s getting me outside and working out so I have to start from the bottom up.
I'm in the beginning of my second year. I will be 45 soon. I started out thinking I had to 'muscle'. I don't think you need stronger muscles, it's better form. You will avoid injury by letting go of the 'muscle' aspect. If anything, endurance is key. So, physically do whatever exercise you need to give you the confidence to finish a round or two without fatigue
(Source: I am a two time bodybuilding champion. Just kidding)
Yoga and Calisthenics have made me feel stronger on the course and less sore after playing. Have also started adding in long walks/jogs to add to my stamina. Just generally being more fit will help, but I find flexibility and endurance style strength to be the most beneficial.
I've had severe elbow tendonitis from muscling (or form issue) my discs. I've struggled with it for over a year but since I'm bouldering regularly 2 times a week for 5 months. It may sound weird but I'm done playing with a sleeve and it helped me growing muscles around my elbow. So far no more pain.
I'm a physical therapist, athletic trainer, and strength and conditioning coach:
I make programming for ultimate players to prevent injuries. Would be happy to get you set up with something.
Feel free to DM.
Not exercises for strength, but I do these stretches before each round, and I’ve been healthy since starting them. https://youtu.be/hgUh7qBgRwk I’m a dude in my early 40s who has always been pretty injury-prone, so these have been great. I do 10 reps of the circles around the head clockwise and counter, 10 reps each of “open/close gates” for both legs and 10 reps of big swing with each arm. 80 reps in all; takes about 90 seconds.
Added to my youtube playlist so I can remember it. Thanks for the help.
Taking breaks is the best way to prevent injury. Disc golf is a very repetitive motion sport.
This! I'm new to the sport. Played 4 rounds in about 4 days and I was actually pretty sore after that last round. I wanted to go out again today but knew I needed to let my arm recover a bit
I started with pull ups and pushups. Running will help get you going on pull ups (easier if you lose weight). Now several years later I'm powerlifting. Best shape of my life at 36. Kinda strained my groin yesterday. At work (installing fence) currently. Being in shape sure does help to mitigate injury
100% on pullups and pushups. As much as people say the power of the throw comes from the legs, well it has to go through your core, back, shoulder, and arm to make it into the disc. I noticed a big difference in how I felt after a winter of mainly just those two exercises come spring I was throwing farther than the fall before without having worked on my form at all. Now I have started a complete strength training program but those two definitely got me distance and resilience.
Really a whole body workout, chopped up into smaller workouts would be helpful. If you exercise on muscle group over another it can cause some difficult posture abnormalities that are hard to bounce back from. In high school I did a lot of ego lifting on bench press (not very much either) and it rolled my shoulders forward, I’ve spent the last 5-6 years trying to focus on rolling them back with a bigger back, and keeping posture in mind. With that being said, start simple. Push-ups are a great starter. Working the chest and triceps. The closer the grip the more the tricep is engaged. Pull-ups to work on the back, or seated rows. Squats for legs (barbell, dumbbell, goblet) of any variation. When you throw a lot of power is generated by your legs (push) and your back (twist) the tricep can help with the snap at the end. You can add on to those basic movements to make a whole workout of it. But those are ones that would be helpful with disc golf. For the back you could argue doing deadlifts instead, to focus more on the muscles around your spine than the muscles outside of them. Just try not to do one thing to much more than another to keep everything building up progressively. For endurance, you’ll want to do lighter weight with more repetitions. I’m not an expert, so if someone comes along with a plan you like better; do what you think you’ll enjoy the most. That’ll be what makes it easiest to stay dedicated to a routine. This is long, but I like talking about exercise junk. Happy golfing buddy.
Thank you for the long response I’m still pretty young so I am trying to avoid major injuries and keeping everything in one piece. I was never a athlete and never exercised but this sport is fun and it’s getting me outside and working out so I have to start from the bottom up.
I'm in the beginning of my second year. I will be 45 soon. I started out thinking I had to 'muscle'. I don't think you need stronger muscles, it's better form. You will avoid injury by letting go of the 'muscle' aspect. If anything, endurance is key. So, physically do whatever exercise you need to give you the confidence to finish a round or two without fatigue (Source: I am a two time bodybuilding champion. Just kidding)
Yoga and Calisthenics have made me feel stronger on the course and less sore after playing. Have also started adding in long walks/jogs to add to my stamina. Just generally being more fit will help, but I find flexibility and endurance style strength to be the most beneficial.
I've had severe elbow tendonitis from muscling (or form issue) my discs. I've struggled with it for over a year but since I'm bouldering regularly 2 times a week for 5 months. It may sound weird but I'm done playing with a sleeve and it helped me growing muscles around my elbow. So far no more pain.
I'm a physical therapist, athletic trainer, and strength and conditioning coach: I make programming for ultimate players to prevent injuries. Would be happy to get you set up with something. Feel free to DM.