Strength Training Overview

Golf and strength training have in the past seemed to be polar opposites of one another. However, men like Gary Player and Tiger Woods have shown that these two concepts can not only coexist but are virtually necessary to conquer the 8,000 yard behemoth's that are in vogue.

I have been fortunate enough to work with a few world class trainers including Tyler Ferrell, Caroline Nichols, and Kyle Anderson.  While I would highly recommend finding your own trainer to work with - particularly a Titleist Performance Institute trainer - here are a few of the lessons I was fortunate to learn.

Mobility + Stability + Strength = Swing Speed
Golf is not a sport where you can just focus on gaining as much muscle as possible and then expect to go out to the course and hit the ball 400 yards.  To gain distance, you must gain swing speed.  While proper fundamentals will help any golfer gain swing speed, adding that extra distance takes three elements - (1) mobility, (2) stability, and (3) strength.  For that reason, every workout should include all an equal amount of all three elements.

Frequency
I have been told different things by different trainers but I have found what works best for me is the following. On Mondays and Thursdays, I do a routine with a focus on the upper body.  On Tuesday and Friday, I do a routine with a focus on the core/lower body.  On Wednesday and Saturday, I focus purely on stamina.  Sunday is my day off.

Routine Variation
I have found that if I do the exact same workout routine too long my body hits a plateau.  To try to avoid this plateau, I do three things:

  • Reverse the Order: I reverse the order that I address each muscle group during both my upper body and my core/lower body.  For instance, during my Monday upper body workout, I start with my chest and end with forearms.  On Thursday, I start with my forearms and end with my chest.  Similarly, during my Tuesday core/lower body workout, I start with my upper abdominals and I end with my calves.  On Friday, I start with my calves and end with my upper abdominals.
  • Change Elements: While there is some overlap between the two upper body workout routines as well as my core/lower body routines, I try to incorporate slightly different elements in each workout.
  • Redesign Monthly: Every month I evaluate my progress and reevaluate my routines.  Usually, this results in my changing of approximately half of each routines elements.


While these are not perfect routines, you can find my workout routines below:

Upper Body (Chest to Forearms)
1. Level 1

Core/Lower Body (Upper Abdominals to Calves)
1. Level 1

Upper Body (Forearms to Chest)
1. Level 1

Core/Lower Body (Calves to Upper Abdominals)
1. Level 1

Old Workouts

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