Part Four of RSNG’s weekly Zero to Hero, home strength session progresses from pure strength, onto speed and power. Those three things don’t automatically develop together, so it’s perfectly possible to be both immensely strong, and lacking in athletic speed.
Perform this exclusive, free workout – designed by Pro Tour strength and conditioning coach Jamie Greaves – to get athletic power and maximize your potential club head speed, off the tee…
Many people who hit the gym, or train at home, are missing out a vital element in the mix. While lifting weights and doing standard exercises will definitely make you stronger, this may not make you faster, or necessarily able to produce more athletic power.
This is because you train muscles for strength, but you need to train your central nervous system for speed. This is why Jamie Greaves has designed this exclusive workout to round off your Zero to Hero 4-week plan, where speed and power is more of a theme.
“For a golfer, it's not enough to just be strong, we need to also be able to utilize that strength quickly, and speed & power exercises are a great way to train this,” he says.
Do this workout twice a week for a full-body blast (leaving at least 48 hours between workouts), to maximize your club head speed potential. Make sure you check back in with RSNG next week, for a free, brand new 6-week training plan from PGA and LET pro Tour strength and conditioning coach, Jamie Greaves…
Introducing dynamic movements into your workouts will increase your speed outside of the gym
RSNG Golf Strength Zero To Hero Workout: Week Four
1. Band Resisted Push-Up, Sets: 3 Reps: 6 Rest: 60 seconds Wrap a band around your mid-torso and cross it over as you grip it to create more tension. ‘Screw’ your hands into the floor, to stabilize your shoulders and help your elbows to track nicely as you move. Start in a high plank position, lower slowly and then press back up with intent. The band will provide extra resistance here and the thickness of the band will set the challenge. You want to feel like your body moves as a single unit through the rep, without rounding or extending your body excessively, and don’t let your elbows flare out too much. Target: chest, triceps, plank & upper body push.
2. Backpack Split Squat, Sets: 3 Reps: 6 (each side) Rest: 60 seconds Start in a split stance position, holding a weighted backpack (or a dumb-bell or kettlebell) in front of your chest. Lower down slowly and under control before driving up with intent. Don’t rush or bang the knee off the floor. Looked at from the front you should maintain reasonable hip, knee and ankle alignment. Avoid diving the knee in and kicking the hip out. Stay tall through the torso on each rep and do reps on both sides. Target: quads, glutes, core.
3. Golf Posture Speed Rows, Sets: 3 Reps: 12 Rest: 60 seconds
Begin seated with a band attached down low. Adopt an exaggerated golf posture, and then row the band in aggressively, and with speed. Keep your torso static, don’t round your shoulders excessively, lean back out of your posture or dip your head. Target: lats, upper back, core.
4. Backpack Single-Leg Deadlift, Sets: 3 Reps: 6 each side Rest: 60 seconds Begin standing and holding a weighted backpack in front of you (or a dumb-bell or kettlebell). Put all of your weight onto one foot and tilt from the hips to form a fairly straight line, between the foot hips and shoulders.
You should really feel the motion in the hamstring and glute on the standing leg. Ensure not to just round through the torso to lower the bag or get too much knee bend on the front leg. You really want the hips to drive the motion from the front view, try to maintain reasonable ankle knee and hip alignment as you move trying to prevent the back foot from rotating open or twisting through the body. Do reps on both legs. Target: hamstrings, glutes, core.
5. Banded Thruster, Sets: 2 Reps: 8 Rest: 60 seconds Begin by standing on a band, with the top of it resting on the back of your shoulders, gripping it in each hand. Drop down into a small squat and drive off aggressively pushing the band to the sky. If behind the head is uncomfortable, simply perform the same motion with the band on the front of the shoulders. Don’t let the band drift forwards. Target: shoulders, glutes, quads, core, triceps.
6. Backpack Lateral Swing, Sets: 2 Reps: 6 each side Rest: 60 seconds Start in a staggered stance, holding a weighted bag (or dumb-bell or kettlebell). Swing the bag side to side in a kind of chopping motion, trying to stay stable in the lower body. Make sure you do not try to turn the motion into a golf swing, and don't let the swing of the bag pull you off balance, and lose stability in the lower body. Really grip the ground with the front foot, and resist the swing of the bag. Pause for a second at the end of the range of motion each time, and try to maintain your original posture as much as possible. Do reps on each side. Target: core, rotation, spine.
WHAT NEXT? Want to hit the gym but are tight on time? Then read how the strength and conditioning expert behind the GolfWod app optimizes his workouts to cut time and boost efficiency.
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Jamie Graves is a strength and conditioning coach who specializes in training golfers and has also played the game himself for over 20 years formerly reaching a plus figure level. He currently works with golfers of all ages and abilities including tour players such as Charley Hull and Meghan McLaren. Jamie offers in person sessions at his private facility at Northampton Golf Club as well as online through his JG Golf Fitness App, helping all golfers to move better, get stronger and swing faster! Follow him on Instagram and visit his website for more.