Insights
Getting stronger for golf: what to do in the gym, how your plan is built, and why it changes as you train.
Leaving a puddle of sweat on the gym floor is not the secret to a longer drive. If you are training for clubhead speed, grinding through slow, exhausting reps can make you slower. Here is the difference between max effort and max intent, the 10% velocity rule, and how the way you approach a set in the gym carries over to the tee.
Watch Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler in slow motion and you'll see where their distance comes from: they don't swing with their arms, they push off the turf. Tour players generate up to 200% of their body weight in vertical ground force at impact. Here is the physics of ground reaction force and how to train your lower body to build clubhead speed.
Every time you swing a club, you reinforce a physical imbalance that sets you up for lower back pain. A weak non-dominant side also acts as a hidden speed limiter on your swing. Here is why training both sides of your body equally is insurance for your spine, and why it helps you swing faster, too.
Thinking about dropping $600 on a new driver to buy more distance? Here’s a reality check: every legal clubface on the market is capped by the USGA at the same speed limit. Here is the physics behind the Smash Factor ceiling, why new technology only buys you forgiveness, and why the body swinging the club is where the next yards come from.
Think sticking to the exact same workout routine every month is a sign of discipline? It might be the reason your swing speed has plateaued. Here is how coaches use periodization, planned phases that introduce, build, and peak, to keep your body adapting, avoid burnout, and have your power show up when your golf calendar needs it.
Hit a wall with your lifting or your swing speed? Pushing harder might be the exact reason you're plateauing. Here is why an easier week, called a deload, is part of getting stronger: it lets your nervous system and your joints catch up, and it is where the work you already did turns into speed.
GolfBod is live on the App Store and Google Play. The gym app for golfers. Here's what we built and why it exists.
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