Whenever I get questions about “golf specific” exercises it is most often is about rotational exercises. Developing strength, speed, and power with rotational movements is definitely a key component of fitness for golfers. However, the ability to resist rotation is arguably more important, especially for the amateur golfer. We call these exercises anti-rotation exercises. Like many “core” exercises, anti-rotation exercises involve moving your limbs while keeping your trunk stable. The force being put on your body should be trying to pull or push you into rotation while you resist it.
Anti-rotation is a keep component for stability around your trunk and is a big player for injury prevention. Your ability to perform these exercises is also what tells your brain that you can control the movement and unleash your speed and power. Let’s get started!
We always, always start our exercises in a lying down position (back or belly). This puts less stress on the body, allowing us to control and isolate the movement patterns as efficiently as possible. Once we have perfected exercises in this position, we can move up to kneeling or half-kneeling. This makes the exercises more challenging by putting a little more stress on the body, but still allows us to control the movement pattern. And lastly, we progress into standing. Woah stress! Now we have placed way more stress on the body, challenging us in a way that will be reciprocated while golfing.
Rule of thumb: If you are progressing through your anti-rotation exercises and find that they are too easy, add body parts to the exercises. If they are proving to be too difficult, take body parts away. We go through these progressions to prevent injury. It’s never a competition to see how quickly we can progress through the exercises. Want more speed and power? Put in the time and effort to learn these anti-rotation exercises.
