Why Fitness Training Is Essential for Golf, Part 3: Power
Power is the end-all be-all for the golf swing. It’s what we train for. Mostly. When we drive the ball 10-20 yards farther than we did 12 weeks ago, it is because of the power we gained. I say mostly because the mobility and strength we gained to get to the improved power production also plays a role in injury prevention, injury rehab, and longevity in the game of golf. Besides that, the translation of the hard work you put in for mobility, strength, and power training in the weight room is to translate to power production on the golf course.
Why is mobility and strength critical for force production?
Well, we need to translate our mobility and strength qualities to create power. This is speed of force production. So, producing high forces over short periods of time. Again, with adequate mobility we can train strength through full ranges of motion with appropriate muscle activation and minimal risk of injury. By training strength, we improve our ceiling of force production and raise the force output number at our maximal speed. We will never be able to produce our maximal force output at high speeds. Instead, there is a percentage of our maximal force output that we produce maximal speed at. So, the higher our max force output, the higher the force output will be at our max speed.
How do we train for power on the golf course?
We will focus more on pure power training towards the end of any exercise program. Again, we need to focus on the pre-requisites of mobility and strength before this. Power training reduces the overall weight of the loads being lifted and increases the emphasis on speed. So, during the strength phases, we may be goblet or back squatting for reps of 6. We should be approaching failure by that 6th rep. This means the weight will be relatively heavy to produce near maximal force. The rate of force production at that high of loads will be slow considering how close it is to max force production. When we train for power, we may still use lower rep ranges like 4-6, but the emphasis will be on quality and fast reps. Here we work to find the heaviest weight we can lift at near maximal speed. If we tested this in the weeks leading up to the start of the exercise program, we would be using a weight much less than what we will be using now after going through the strength part of the program. The goal now is to work on sequencing and maximizing our strength into our speed producing patterns.
Power exercises will start more generic, like back squats or goblet squats done at higher speeds, and then progress to more golf specific with motor patterns mimicking golf mechanics in order to maximize translation to the swing. With the ideas above in mind, such as using less weight but maximizing speed, here are a few examples of golf specific power exercises that will help translate to the swing.
Conclusion
Power is an essential component of golf performance. We cannot optimize power in the golf swing without training for mobility, strength, and power in the weight room first. Then, we can transfer these changes to golf performance without trying to smash the ball as hard as we can, changing our swing path and sequencing in the process. Train power in the gym to create effort free transfer to the swing and shoot lower scores.
-Dr. Nick DC, TPI, CSCS
If you would like to learn more about your body, pain, and performance, send Dr. Nick an email at contact@integratedrpc.com or call at (585)478-4379, or schedule a FREE discovery visit at Contact.
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P.S. if you’d like to take your health and fitness seriously and make sure you continue checking the boxes for golf performance, consider signing up on the waitlist for “The Nashville Elite Golf Program”. This is a 12-week program with 2 small group sessions per week. Goals are to address the 5 areas of golf physical performance. These include lower body dissociation, upper body dissociation, core control, maintain posture, and setting and releasing the golf club. Attack low hanging fruit of physical limitations while improving fitness levels with this programming. More details coming soon! Sign up for the waitlist here: Sign up
