What is the biomechanical advantage of coiling in the golf swing?

[Guest guest]

I know that " coiling " is necessary for a good golf swing, but what does coiling

really do? If you read the golf literature, it is suppose to " store power " ,

cause the body to act like a " spring " , and create " torque. " Yet, even the most

casual observation suggests that muscles and tendons don't store power. For

example, when I contract my triceps, when I release, my arm does not immediately

" fire off " my bicep. So my question is, what does coiling in fact do? My guess

is that it takes the " slack " out of the muscles that are used on the downswing,

which in turn assures a smooth swing and an immediate application of power. But

if that is all, why all the talk about storing power and so on? Is there any

biomechanical basis for the concept of " storing power " ?

Walter Wessels

Cary, North Carolina

[Guest guest]

>

> I know that " coiling " is necessary for a good golf swing, but what does

coiling really do? If you read the golf literature, it is suppose to " store

power " , cause the body to act like a " spring " , and create " torque. " Yet, even

the most casual observation suggests that muscles and tendons don't store power.

For example, when I contract my triceps, when I release, my arm does not

immediately " fire off " my bicep. So my question is, what does coiling in fact

do? My guess is that it takes the " slack " out of the muscles that are used on

the downswing, which in turn assures a smooth swing and an immediate application

of power. But if that is all, why all the talk about storing power and so on?

Is there any biomechanical basis for the concept of " storing power " ?

>

The below extracts may be pertinent:

Super Stiffness

Stuart McGill, Professor of Spine Biomechanics

Invited for Dragondoor.com

At a gymnastics or martial arts meet, or at a weightlifting competition, listen

to the coaches advice to the athlete – Stay tight! This means to maintain

stiffness. Being stiff ensures that there will be minimal energy losses as

forces are transmitted through the linkages. Optimal performance requires

stability, and stability results from stiffness. Stiffness in the body results

from muscular co-contraction. Be stiff, and be compliant. Knowing the difference

and when to be one or the other is a major way to improving performance.

When a muscle contracts, it creates both force and stiffness. Force creates

joint torque to support postures and create movement – but sometimes the force

will enhance joint stability and sometimes it will compromise stability. It

depends on the magnitude of the force and its relative magnitude relative to all

other muscle forces acting at the joint. In contrast, muscle stiffness is always

stabilizing. A stiff muscle buttresses against perturbations from all

directions. Stiffness at one joint buttresses the development of explosive power

at another. Stiffness is also enhanced by positional techniques of the body

segment linkage where one segment can be stiffened against another – for

example, stiffening an arm against the torso.

When all muscles at a joint stiffen together a " super stiffness " phenomenon

generally occurs. The total stiffness at a joint suddenly becomes more than the

sum of individual muscle stiffnesses. Consider the abdominal wall in creating

" core stability " .

Rectus abdominis, external and internal oblique and transverse abdominis appear

to bind together when all are active to create a super stiffness higher than the

sum of each individual muscle. For those activities that demand high core or

torso stability, all muscles must be activated – never isolate one. Furthermore,

as will be shown later, high performance in athletics requires rapid muscle

activation onset and force development, together with equally rapid reduction of

muscle force. Super stiffness needs only to occur briefly in such cases, but if

it needs to be brief, the motor control system must be highly tuned to ensure

optimal super stiffness.

Consider a lifter in competition. The core must be extraordinarily stiff to

minimize energy losses and ensure that the torso will not buckle. Super

stiffness is required with all muscles contributing. Some individuals have

recently begun to advocate " drawing in " the abdominal wall during the exertion –

this is ill founded. Not only does super stiffness and stability demand all

muscles to be stiffened but they must be maintained at a distance from the

spine. Sailboats with masts needing stability achieve this with rigid spreaders

of the guy wires or rigging. Vasily eyev achieved the spreading of the

muscles to enhance stability with girth. In contrast to the manoeuver of

abdominal hollowing (not recommended), try performing the abdominal brace. Here

is how to begin teaching the

brace. Begin by standing in a relaxed upright standing posture with sufficient

erectness so that the torso extensors are inactive – palpate them to be sure.

Then contract the entire abdominal wall and feel the back musculature contract.

This is the brace – all muscles around the torso stiffen to ensure stability.

Now the focus is on matching the intensity of the contraction to the stability

demand of the task. Interestingly enough, stiffness and stability is an

asymptotic function – in other words a lot of stability is achieved in the first

25% of the maximum contraction level. Thus 100% muscle contraction levels are

rarely needed – the trick is to activate many muscles to achieve symmetric

stiffness around a joint.

As a professor and consultant I see too many people who succumb to bad backs

during the effort to increase fitness. No wonder. Building true strength and

function is elusive for many following the traditional American approach

dominated by body building concepts. Of all the variables required for optimal

performance, building muscle strength is the easiest component to enhance with

training. Far more difficult is the enhancement of the foundation components of

healthy motion and motor patterns, joint stability and endurance. And only then

with this foundation can serious strength with speed and power be developed....

Short range stiffness, super stiffness and performance

The abdominals form an interesting illustrative study. They are not designed for

great length change. Consider the rectus abdominis that has transverse tendons

interrupting the series arrangement of sarcomeres. This is to transmit

significant hoop stresses, developed in the abdominal wall, transversely through

rectus so that it is not ripped apart. The key is to realize that the rectus

muscle is designed to develop short range stiffness. Trying to train the muscle

by performing curl ups over a gym ball misses the point of its function. Top

boxers, martial artists and weight lifters, know how to train the muscle group

for short range stiffness. Plyometric training of the group with medicine ball

catches and throws, ballistic short range, and rapid contractions are techniques

to optimize the storage and recovery of elastic energy potential. Read " The

Naked Warrior " by Pavel, to see the tests and training for super stiffness in

sustained contractions – his technique of using a stick looking for " soft areas "

when performing a pushup is an excellent example.

Super stiffness is used by the best football hitters, golfers, martial artists

and weightlifters. Consider the hit in football where maximum speed of approach

requires the combination of sufficient stiffness and compliance. But at the

instant of impact a total body stiffness is generated by rapid contraction of

all muscles. This is what makes the impact so devastating by some. Breaking the

board by the martial artist requires the skill of compliance to build speed with

rapid super stiffness just at impact. The axeman splitting wood uses the same

technique. The professional golfer who has a relaxed backswing but rapidly

obtains super stiffness at ball impact is the one who achieves the long ball.

The one who tries to swing too hard too soon actually decreases speed of

movement. Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Vasily eyev, all knew the secret of Super

stiffness. Understand the relationship between speed, compliance and stiffness

and you will be achieving ultimate performance.

Source

McGill, S.M., Ultimate back fitness and performance, Wabuno publishers, 2004.

Available from www.backfitpro.com

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Carruthers

Wakefield, UK