Workouts

We know strength in the lower body is key when it comes to generating power in the golf swing. But any weakness in the upper body can lead to power leaks when it comes to transferring that power from the ground up in your swing. Upper body strength helps you control the club for improved consistency, compress the ball at impact for maximum power, and can even help prevent shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries. Let’s get to work with an upper body strength session designed specifically for golfers.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise indicated.

The ground is your friend in golf! As a golfer, using the ground properly is crucial when it comes to generating maximum power and speed in your swing. In fact, if you look at some of the best long drivers in the world, they actually leap off the ground at impact. For this reason, this week’s workout focuses on exercises to help you improve the ground reaction forces in your swing. Expect a high intensity workout mixed with exercises for further improving your sequencing so you can efficiently generate power from the ground, up. As the weather gets colder for many of us, this type of training is the perfect way to stay in golf shape and even improve your performance for the next golf season.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise indicated. Exercises 3-5 are a HIIT session, so go from one exercise to the next with the prescribed rest in between.

Do you often feel sore after a round of golf? If you want to boost muscle recovery so you can play all weekend long, use this session to help reset your body. The stretches and exercises in this session are particularly helpful for those of you struggling with tight hips and soreness in your mid and lower back. Instead of letting muscle tension and fatigue affect your score the next time you play, reboot your body after a round of golf with this simple circuit. As a bonus, this session can also be done on de-loading weeks or on weeks when you feel fatigued to allow your body to recover.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise noted.

We all work out to get fit, but getting fit for golf requires an exercise program specifically tailored to the unique demands of the sport.  For that reason, this strength circuit targets the most important muscles in the golf swing. While most people think about the glutes when they think about power, the pecs, lats, hamstrings, forearms and obliques are also some of the most important muscles when it comes to distance off the tee. If you’re in need of a total body strength workout that will lead to more clubhead speed and consistency, this is the workout for you.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise noted.

Want to generate more power in your swing? Then getting a bigger turn is key. All too often, limitations in the mid back and hips restrict your ability to coil properly. These limitations not only force you to make compensatory movements in the swing, they also often lead to low back and shoulder injuries over time. This workout targets mobility in the hips and mid back and stability in the lower body and core to help you make a bigger turn. Whether your arms take over too much in your swing or you’re losing distance over the years, this is the workout for you.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise noted.

Golf is an explosive sport. For that reason, long and slow cardio workouts do very little for your golf performance. Instead, I like to take my golfers through high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts to help them burn fat and build the fast twitch muscle fiber necessary to swing the club as fast as possible. This is a very challenging, time efficient workout for those days when you really want to sweat.

Go through the 8 Strength/Power exercises as a circuit with 30-60s rest between each exercise. Then rest for 3 minutes and repeat the entire circuit 1-2 more times, making sure you rest for 3 minutes before repeating the circuit.

The shoulder is responsible for up to 20% of your total clubhead speed. It goes without saying that restrictions in your shoulder joint can lead to a number of avoidable swing faults and rob you of power. In this workout I’ll teach you my favorite exercises for getting that crucial mobility back in your shoulders so you can hit more consistent shots and drive the ball farther. Whether you’re looking to avoid swing faults, prevent shoulder injuries or simply undo the effects of sitting all day, this is the workout for you.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise noted.

If you want to deliver maximum power to the ball, increasing your lag is critical. Simply put, lag in the golf swing means the clubhead lags behind the motion of the body and arms. All too often, the arms initiate the downswing. When this happens, it becomes impossible to generate the lag necessary to create maximal distance off the tee. This workout focuses on exercises for ankle and hip mobility, upper and lower body separation and stability in the core to help increase your lag so you can make solid contact.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise noted.

Crunches are one of the most common core exercises, so it often surprises my clients to hear that I don’t suggest sit-up type movements in my golf fitness programs. As a golfer, most of your core exercises should be isometric and anti-rotation focused. Why? Because while we mostly think about the abdominals as helping us rotate, flex and extend, one of the main functions of the core muscles is to resist these movements. This stability is critical when it comes to avoiding low back pain and even hitting the ball farther, as recent studies show. And if a six pack is what you’re after, I’m here to tell you spot-treating doesn’t work! Total body workouts mixed with high intensity training is the key to fat loss, which helps create abdominal definition. Let’s get to work with a core workout designed to make you look better and play better.

Rest for 90s between sets unless otherwise noted.

So many golfers ask me if they should be doing yoga. It’s no secret that yoga can improve your mobility, balance, strength and endurance. In this workout, I’ve taken specific yoga poses and enhanced them to be even more beneficial for golfers. You won’t need any equipment in this yoga-inspired circuit so you can truly do it anytime, anyplace. Give it a shot before your next round of golf or as a recovery workout when you need to reduce tension in your shoulders, hips and low back.

Go through the entire Strength/Power section as a circuit with no rest between exercises. Rest for 3 minutes and repeat another 1-2 times.