Want 180+ ball speed like the Champion Golfer of the Year, Xander Schauffele? Well, power training is a large part of how you achieve that.
We may intuitively understand power when we see it. Like seeing a fastball from a baseball pitcher, a boxer throwing a haymaker, or a professional golfer hitting a driver. The accurate outcomes of those movements are amazing but what makes these types of movement so impressive is the ability to produce so much force so quickly. And that’s what power really is, force multiplied by velocity.
I am willing to bet that most golfers see the benefit in increasing their power and understand that they need to improve this area of their fitness if they wish to improve their distance on the course and reach new levels of their game. How to do it may be more of a grey area. Well, there is an instructional side of sequencing the golf swing in order to maximize power, but this discussion will be focused on using the swing you have. Like we talked about in the golf strength discussion, a stronger golfer has the ability to hold the clubface still as they hit the ball out of long rough. But golf power is equally important in this scenario. You can possess adequate strength for golf but if your nervous system is not used to quickly expressing that strength in the form of high swing speed, it will be hard to swing the club fast enough to cut through the tall grass. The bottom line is that a full golf swing takes 1-2 seconds and is inherently a powerful movement so the strength you gain in the gym is only going to be fully expressed on the course if you train for power in the gym too.
So how do you start to improve your muscular power? The easiest way is to make your strength training movements faster. With more speed, there is more force across your muscles so it’s advisable to reduce your weight at first or try the movement without weight to see how it feels to move that way. For example, if you are routinely squatting 100-135 lbs with a barbell for 3 sets of ~8 reps and that is challenging your leg muscles, try reducing weight by 50% (50-70 lbs) and then pushing up out of the squat very quickly. After a 2-4 weeks your muscles and connective tissue will start to adapt depending on how consistently you do these. Then you can start working up to higher intensity with weights, ideally getting up to 70-80% of your max weight, so in the example’s case, close to 80-110 lbs or likely a bit more due to strength adaptations. As weight increases reduce the reps down to something like the 3-6 range too.
For the argument that you don’t need to move heavier weight fast to improve your swing speed because the club is so light, I would like to point out that most 12 year olds have the ability to hold a full-size driver and swing it. Does that mean they are going to be able to swing it fast or well?
The next step in power training can be adding Olympic lifts/variations, plyometric, and jumping exercises. These exercises can involve leaving the ground and are more effective at developing power, but you have to have a solid base of mobility and strength to begin doing these and if you are new to them, I would recommend getting advised by us or a fitness professional you are working with to do it safely. Also, an easy way to develop some lower body power can be to jump rope. It’s not complex, teaches you to push off the ground quickly, and has many health benefits.
If this area of golf training has caught your interest (it should) then below are a few ideas for you to develop power in areas/movements that will translate to the golf swing. Even if you are not enthusiastic about golf, using muscular power is an essential part of how our bodies move day-to-day and is just as important to maintain throughout your life as muscular strength.
Exercises:
Explosive Deadlift/Single leg deadlift
Explosive rotational row
Kettlebell swings
Medicine ball rotational throw
Medicine overhead slam and press
Explosive lateral squat with kettlebell (can add clean)
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