How much disc golf do you play//prevent injury?

[sirflicksalot]

dang i only play on the weekends

 

[sloppydisc]

play as much as possible. if something hurts, rest until it doesn't. simple.

 

[captain jack]

Hi, Wondering how much disc golf some of you play? Do you play every single day? If so, do you use any stradegy to prevent injury to your arm/wrist/hand.

I play as much golf as I can when I'm not doing other stuff.
I can play 100 holes in a weekend if I have the time. I think this is pretty good considering I'm getting older and I have been playing for 20+ years, plus both my arms were dislocated at the shoulder when I was a little kid, so I dont have really good strength there.

The best strategy I have is to alternate shot types. I used to throw only backhand. Throwing 54 backhands in a round can be very tiring.
The only time I actually injured myself was when I tried wayyy too hard to keep up with players who were throwing alot farther than was. I pulled my elbow really badly, and quit playing golf for 2 years because it hurt too much.

When I got back into playing, in order to save my elbow, I learned to throw a decent forehand shot. Combining forehand and backhand drives got me much farther, with no pain.
I thrower a thumber now too, and a tommy.
Mixing up all these shots has given me the ability to play as much as want, for as long as I want, with little to no pain.

For myself i throw alot of overhand and this year ive been playing almost everyday (at least for the last month or so anyway). Ive certainly noticed i need to ice up my shoulder most nights if i want to play the next day.

I didnt read all the replies, but, if it hasnt been mentioned, the biggest thing with throwing overhands is the follow through.
The pain comes from stopping your arm suddenly, mid swing.
Its hard to remember this every time, but its important, follow through all the way with your arm when you throw a tommy or a thumber, like Pete Townsend windmilling his guitar on "Wont get fooled again".
This is the key to minimizing pain, without this, I can only throw a few shots before my shoulder screams at me to stop, once I start using the follow through, I'm golden.


As far as the whole sub topic here about disc golf being an athletic sport, I dont think it really is. I see big, non athletic dudes and skinny little refugee lookin' guys who do just fine playing golf.
The only part where big powerful bodies would be beneficial is long drives.
If you really need to throw 650', then by all means get pumped up, but disc golf is more of a finesse thing, not a strength game, its more about muscle memory, not size. I would imagine that big monkey arms would not make someone a better putter, but instead would probably be more of a nuisance, getting in the way of control. I know of at least one professional baseball pitcher who will NOT play disc golf because of the stress it puts on the shoulder and elbow, which is far greater than the full power pitches he throws. Technique is much more important in disc golf than brute strength.

The average disc golf course usually involves only a mile or two of walking, so its no more aerobic than walking your dog after dinner. If your not getting your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes at a time, its not really excersize.

I know some of you play mountain golf, and this may involve some elevation changes, but you still arent getting the excersize that hiking 10 miles of trails gives you, no course is that long.

I played two rounds solo yesterday, at the longest course we have available in the area, but I still doubt I worked off more than one beers worth of calories.
Stamina is good, but a kid can play as much disc golf as a trained athlete, its just not really physically demanding.

Disc golf does not keep me in shape. Hiking and running keeps me in shape.

So, my short answer to your questions is, trade up your shots more, learn to throw backhand, and then learn a forehand, and remember to follow through on your overhands.

 

[chuckdisc]

I make it out as much as possible...Most of the time 2-4 times a week.

 

[smarkquart]

I have always had a rubber arm, so no amount of throwing has every tired it out. I try to play something about five times a week, but when the school year is in full swing (and if I can ever find another teaching position), that is usually reduced to two to three times a week. I make up for that lack of getting out by throwing more when I am there.

Within the last year, however, I have noticed that my elbow has been getting a little sore. Not painful, just sore. The same held true for my ankles after playing a round at HSSA (up and down a ski slope). Since then, during tournaments or rounds where I know I am going to test my ankles, I wear braces that I bought at Target for 15 dollars. They work great and I do not even notice they are there. Most rounds now I use an elbow brace that tennis players wear. That as well cost about 15 dollars. It took a few throws to get used to it, but now I do not notice it at all.

I have also changed the way I drive when I go for maximum distance. Before I knew what OAT was, I would try to rocket a stable to overstable drive into a line drive. This requires a ton of snap and bringing your center of gravity away from your body. There is a lot of whipping and jarring motion, especially at the shoulder and elbow joints because you are trying to add upon the snapping motion with your wrist. I would not recommend throwing like this. It really does not get that much distance (about 370-390 feet) and despite my rubber arm, I was finally starting to feel it for the first time in my life. Now, I try more sweeping hyzers with Valkyries and Wraiths, which is a more natural body motion, or flexing lines with Nukes and Bosses which requires more of your core muscles than your arm and you do not have to give it 100 percent to still get 370-420 feet.

 

[mk.ultra]

What conditioning is best is the question i think. Flexibility, agility exercises would be good id think but would still like to learn some weight training if anyone is doing some. Kettle balls and maybe some cable work? not sure.

I'm currently doing weight training, its been a great experience. Here are some pics that you probably don't wanna see:

before: 6'2", 150 lbs

now: 6'2" 190 lbs (and this picture is almost 2 months old now, have toned up more since then)

If you really wanna gain some muscle this program is unmatched: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

Along with that program drink at least half your body weight (in oz) of water daily, take a multi vitamin and fish or flax oil, and get .5-1 g of protein/lb of body weight daily. Results are inevitable, it just takes time. Took me about 8 months to achieve that, but it was well worth it. I am stronger than I've ever been in my entire life.

 

[Mike C]

**** multiple sets. If you do one set at the max weight you can handle for 8 reps, you'll do all the work to that muscle that you need to do.

 

[mk.ultra]

**** multiple sets. If you do one set at the max weight you can handle for 8 reps, you'll do all the work to that muscle that you need to do.

...do you work out? I'm still a total newb but I can tell you right now that it works, and every workout plan I've ever seen utilizes 2-4 sets for each exercise.

 

[speerhead]

**** multiple sets. If you do one set at the max weight you can handle for 8 reps, you'll do all the work to that muscle that you need to do.

no:doh:

 

[Mike C]

...do you work out? I'm still a total newb but I can tell you right now that it works, and every workout plan I've ever seen utilizes 2-4 sets for each exercise.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shannon9.htm

There's an example. He does one set of everything. The idea is, you use heavy enough weight, and go until you literally cannot go anymore (Then go some more if you have a partner and can do forced reps). You use your muscles very hard, but very briefly.

The wikipedia article does a good job covering the basic ideas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_intensity_training

I've weight lifted on and off for about 6 years, and have tried a lot of different styles. I think a lot of the common ideas, like warm-up sets, needing 3-4 sets of every exercise and others aren't necessarily true.

Once you've developed your base strength and have learned the basics of weightlifting, it seems to produce good results based on what I've seen in myself and everyone I've seen try it. I do HIT training 2-3 times per week and my typical work-out is 10-20 minutes long. I look like this and spend maybe an hour per week in the gym, if that. It's nice knowing that I can make it to the gym 10 minutes before close and get a good work-out in that works my entire body, makes me breathe hard and promotes muscle growth.

 

[sidewinder22]

Most muscle gain is from the 1st set and the gains taper fast with each set:
1st set = 80%
2nd set = 90%
3rd set = 95%
4th set = 97%

 

[mk.ultra]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shannon9.htm

There's an example. He does one set of everything. The idea is, you use heavy enough weight, and go until you literally cannot go anymore (Then go some more if you have a partner and can do forced reps). You use your muscles very hard, but very briefly.

The wikipedia article does a good job covering the basic ideas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_intensity_training

I've weight lifted on and off for about 6 years, and have tried a lot of different styles. I think a lot of the common ideas, like warm-up sets, needing 3-4 sets of every exercise and others aren't necessarily true.

Once you've developed your base strength and have learned the basics of weightlifting, it seems to produce good results based on what I've seen in myself and everyone I've seen try it. I do HIT training 2-3 times per week and my typical work-out is 10-20 minutes long. I look like this and spend maybe an hour per week in the gym, if that. It's nice knowing that I can make it to the gym 10 minutes before close and get a good work-out in that works my entire body, makes me breathe hard and promotes muscle growth.

I'll have to try it in the future...admittedly I'm still pretty new to lifting, not even a year in yet. Nice aesthetics though, I'm trying to cut some fat some my bulk now

 

[U_NICED_ME]

I just recently returned from vacation and until then had no idea how much my body needed a break from disc golf. I typically play anywhere from 6 to 10 rounds a week and with tournaments I'd say it is closer to 10. There is definitely a strain on the body if you're working in the field and throwing multiples at courses.

Now that I took a couple of weeks off, I'm throwing even longer than I was before. It took me a couple of days to get loosened up again, but I've definitely gained some D. BTW, this vacation was after about 6-7 months of golf at the aforementioned rate.

I think everyone will be able to manage their routines differently. However, listen to your body mostly. It will let you know when enough is enough.

 

[NothinButChing]

warming up and stretching of course

 

[dukdukgolf]

ya,,still doing freeweight rows,,reverse fly's and bench press manly. I do low weight and high repitition. Ussually i try to get in 13-15 reps and i do a few sets. Seems to really be helping me out. Also i ride exercise bike a couple times a week to my knees stay strong. So far so good, The rows and reverse fly's in particular really seem to help with my arm speed when im pulling the disc.

 

[giddyup]

i didn't read all 10 pages of posts...

but i've actually seen some videos of some pros who have modified their throws to compensate for pain and injuries. one guy had a strange looking sidearm there where it was all arm. He almost got his torso/arm parallel to the ground and threw the disc over his head. But he drilled it. He just had to train his body to achieve the mechanics of a good throw in a different way.

 

[tu-f-o]

revive time.
I'm another old loser who has injured himself from just practicing at a park. Did not really stretch before or after, and threw too much.

seems like the keys are stretching before/after, exercise/condition.

does anyone have a youtube link on good stretches for disc golf?

i hurt my left hip area, probably from sidearms without follow through.

 

[DiscFifty]

Stretching, hydration, learning to throw relaxed. Those 3 points will give you a long disc golf career.