3 Stages of Strength Training for your Golf Swing

Golfers lifting weight is good for your body and it's good for your golf swing you just have to do it right and be consistent over time the deadlift is an incredible movement to learn develop and then help you progress on and off the course and that is where we focus today I'm Michael PGA professional and head of performance here at DRVN Golf and fitness and people ask me all the time how I can lift so many weights so often but still Swit it like this and the thing is it is very simple it is about habits it's about patterns and yes it is about consistency cuz think of it like this if you don't lift a weight for 6 months when you next come back it's going to be a pretty novel stimulus for your body and you're going to get a bigger reaction that's when we start feeling stiff we start feeling tired ay that's because you haven't been doing it consistently for myself I have trained for about 20 years consistently and understanding how my body reacts allows me to lift the weights that benefit my body and benefit my game without getting injured and without fatiguing myself when I head to the car so we want to help you do that and the cool thing is we do that is exactly what we do you don't have to be thinking about how to progress over time you don't have to be thinking about sets and Reps you just need the DRVN app all right go get the right program it'll take you less than 1 minute but today we are going to look at the key factors of developing strength for your golf performance and we're going to focus in on the dead deadlift we have three key elements we're going to look at your mobility and Readiness to lift then we're going to look at your form and technique and how to develop from there we get into the Real Performance elements of progressive overload and the type of lift that best benefits your body all right we're going to talk about the swing as well and this is how you can golf Str first of all what is a deadlift basically we're picking something up off the ground that could be very heavy that could be very light but we have to use the legs and the back as well as connecting through the core if we want to do it correctly okay and obviously the more weight that we have the stronger we need to be and that is where your opportunity comes to actually improve over time all right so when we look at Factor number one that is your Mobility okay that means flexibility but also movement control can you get into the correct deadlift pattern to use the ground use the big muscles and do it safely that's what we look at right now okay so we got two movements here and all you need to is a club okay perfect to follow along right now just to test out where you are okay so in terms of the actual hinge pattern an incredible way to test your hips is the seated good morning so take a seat on something that allows your knees to be at the same height as your hips you can go pretty wide with your stance and then put the club across your shoulders this really isolates the movement pattern okay and what we're looking at here is maintaining a neutral spine so we don't want to be rounding forwards trying to get our head down what we're looking to do is work through the hips and the lower back all right this is an incredible movement for your golf swing and your Mo movement and Mobility overall okay so from here we start with our eyes up so the top of our head to the ceiling and we're going to hinge at the hips so really inst toate the movement from down here in the seated position we have to really work to maintain that nice spinal position not rounding not excessively arching we're looking to stay neutral work as far into the hips as we can and then come back up to a seated position so hinge down get deep into the hips and sit yourself up okay so from here we really want to be going past that midp point okay so roughly 45° from a seated 90 all the way through and then as close to our quads and our legs as possible this is a great way to test your hinge building mobility and then also warm up if you are going to deadlift Mobility movement is the single leg RDL okay so here we're going to be standing a club is a good idea it gives you a good level of feedback and it allows you to rotate if you choose to okay so for the single leg RDL we're looking at balance and stability so the foot on the ground really has to stabilize we're then going to use the trail foot to balance okay so already you're starting to learn the movement pattern we're going to maintain a slight Bend at the knee look to get into the hamstrings and the glutes once we get to that hinge fire the hips okay so looking at it from this side we start with hamstring stretch the shoulders move forwards we keep that bend in the knee then we go down to the middle of the shin and fire the glute okay so we're stretching through the hamstring we're loading the glute on the way back and then we fire up to stand okay and if you want to use this for your golf swing whether at home or getting warmed up we're going to add in some rotation okay so this is all helping you learn the movement pattern because deadlifting is a skill it's a form it's a technique all right and if we build that from the base you're going to make more progress and have less injuries over time okay so into the ardl with rotation we're going to take that same movement get to the bottom rotate over that lead side and then stand tall okay so if you can do this you know that your foot is working well against the ground you know that you're hinging well through the hip you can manage your central gravity and then you are stable enough to work that rotational pattern okay so these are two checkpoints to get you into an initial position to start working with the deadlift Factor number two is exactly that it is your form and your Technique and for this we recommend that you use different equipment okay we can learn with the barbell but if you can get the fundamentals with a band or a kettle bell or essentially a free weight that we can work around you're going to progress faster again okay so here we're starting to work the exact movement patterns with the band we have variable resistance it's only stretch it's not actually loading the body so we can layer this out on the ground both feet on and then both hands in we then need to start working on our form okay so in this position initially my back is rounded my posterior chain isn't working and that is a negative position okay I also I don't want to sit Too Tall and put extension into the spine because again I can't recruit the glutes so when I set into this bandid deadlift we want the chest down want the knees pushing out into the forearms we sit those hips down to lower the posterior chin the top of our head starts to look at the ceiling and from here I can start to push into the ground We Stand Tall and complete the movement work down control the downward phase so we get back into that same position lock in push up okay so you can see there from those reps with the band The Stretch is increasing which means it gets harder through that range of motion that's an incredibly powerful learning tool as we start to understand how to fire the muscle all the way through the lift okay so that's a perfect way to start out you can go from a light band to a midband to a heavy band that is going to be a perfect progression to start your deadlifts from there we can move into the kettle bell okay so now we start to load the body but we don't need quite as much in terms of form and technique because it's a much smaller object than a full barbell okay so we take that learning from the bands we have our feet just about hip width apart okay from here we need to be able to organize and push those hips back okay this is where the good morning comes in we got the glutes we got the hamstrings we're maintaining that neutral spine okay so when we get set our chest is over the kettle bell we're in a good position arms are just there to hold on to the kettle bell and then before we lift we lock in okay so don't start from here get down make sure you're in that neutral spine and then push into the ground the downward f is also very important if we just let ourself loose we're going to lose that spinal position so you're just going to return the movement that is slight Bend of the knee push the hips back to load the quad the posterior chin neutral spine to the ground reset get you breathing right next rep push into the ground okay this is huge for your footwork in the gym and on the golf course okay all of the Power is coming through the ground because if it wasn't there we wouldn't be able to move so as we lock in you feel the lats really engag the neutral spine both feet are pushing into the ground that means the big muscles through the leg legs into the back can create all of that force that we need to pick this up with great form great technique and in a way that allows you to progress into our next set of lifts Factor number three is Progressive overload and performance so if you nailed your mobility and you can hit these patterns correctly then learn your form and technique with a lighter weight we start to move on to the big lifts all right compound lifts these are going to be heavier weights more equipment and more of a challenge so that you get more progress all right that's how we really see progress with our health and our fitness you have to continually overload the system okay if we if we if we if we continue to lift the same kettle bell our body is going to adapt that means that it's not going to be as challenged and therefore our results start to slow down that is where Progressive overload comes in all right it's a very simple concept you lift more weight over time in a suitable progression so that your body continues to adapt at a suitable rate okay the good news is if you haven't been lifting you'll probably get a lot of progress in a short period of time if you use the right program if you've been Lifting for a long time you have to be even more on point with your percentages with your consistency and sets and Reps because the gains get more difficult your body gets more and more used to the stimulus and from there we have to have everything on point to go to that next level our first consideration here is the type of deadlift you prefer now I've typically been a conventional deadlift user but over the last year or so trap bar deadlifts have definitely taken priority okay they allow you to get into an incredible position with less stress through the spine and more power through the legs now when we think about the golf swing is exactly where we need to be so trap bar is at number one okay conventional deadlifts they're excellent as well okay we have to look at that form we have to be able to move that barbell in a vertical path so that we organize our body and really load up correctly to get the most out of it and option number three is the Sumo deadlift okay you might find this preferable for your hips for your hinge pattern or just to change up your training stimulus as we do in the DRVN Golf and fitness app all right but whichever lift you are focusing on we need to see that Progressive overload so as you start to load the bar okay we need to be working on a program over a period of time so whatever equipment you are using we're looking at starting at higher reps with a lighter load and then over a number of weeks typically 6 8 10 or 12 you can then going to increase the weight and decrease the Reps over time and once you work through that Spectrum you're going to see incredible progress because your body understands the demands that you are putting on it and because the weight continues to go up there is more of an external stimulus and that means there's more progress in your lifting okay so in terms of the trap bar deadlift as we set up to the bar we really want to feel as though we sink into the big muscles okay so I like to feel as though just like I doing my gol swing my feet stay pretty active initially okay my first movement is not to lean forwards I like to feel as I drop through the ground okay so that's the reaction force that we're looking for because when we lad down against the ground we can then push up okay great way to get started so from here feet again just about hip width apart we drop down into the bar and take our hold okay from this position we're focusing on our breathing we're focusing on that neutral spine and then it's that final movement that lock in so here drop the hips bring the head up get that neutral spine and then we push and stand top at the top you should be absolutely in line okay all the joints lined up feet to the ground and then we return the movement hips back knees Bend shoulders forward big breath in set down push be nice and aggressive okay so obviously you're going to see that over time when the bar is lighter you can focus more on speed and form and then we progress up to power and strength okay so with the trap bar deadlift you're going to absolutely fire up the legs you're going to get the glutes active and that's going to be solid through your entire body okay but whichever option you are going with Progressive overload over time with consistency is going to yield incredible golf games and you're going to play better Golf and feel awesome whether you're on or off the course so we know how to get stronger okay we build Mobility we learn the foring technique and then we use Progressive overload in the DRVN Golf and fitness app okay but how does this actually translate to your golf swi again we look at three key factors number one you need to be able to hinge at the hip and engage the posterior chin right even just taking our setup position we go into that slight hinge the key is that we use the body correctly the glutes the big muscles need to be firing so we don't put excessive pressure on our lower back it's going to resist injury we also need to make sure that as we move through we need to be able to use our body to deliver that power okay so stability is a huge Factor because as we unload all of that speed if we're not strong enough we're going to give up position early extension is the main one the glutes cannot function well enough and we start to hump the ball and hit bad shots okay so the actual physical capability to be strong enough and stable enough through the swing is huge if you want to be consistent and hit the ball a little bit further number two strength is the foundation of everything that you do even just from standing up through to the deadlift and hitting the ball in between okay the body needs to be strong enough to actually move the club around its Arc use the force that we created and then deliver it into the ball okay so we need that Baseline strength for power which then also translates to speed okay so as we get stronger we will have the potential to increase our on cause performance okay the key there again which we use here at DRVN is that we want to get as strong as possible with the best range of motion and movement control so that we can then deliver that into the skill of the golf swing okay because we need to be strong we need to be able to put Force into the club head and then into the ball but we also need an optimal technique to use the sequencing the rotation and everything that a golf swing requires so strength is going to equal performance you just got to keep getting those reps and then finally number three is durability okay the stronger your body from the muscles to the joints to your overall system the less injuries you're going to get the more golf you are going to play okay so if you work on that Mobility first if you have great form and then use your Progressive overload over time your swing is going to be based in Optimal Performance okay you're going to strengthen your body you're going to move better and you again going to have the capability to practice for longer have less injuries and therefore a much greater chance of playing better golf all right so this is the deadlift we use all different types of lifting from the kettle bells dumbbells machines through to the compound lifts and even some Olympic lifting in our programs we also focus on the mobility and the movement factors so whatever level you're at and whatever you're gos we have what you need all right so this is really getting you thinking that you want to take your body and your game to that level that you've always desired smash your goals and smash some drives head on over get your s Day free child to the DRVN Golf and fitness app now to get the best program for your game in just 1 minute and we appreciate you taking your time right here make sure you hit like hit subscribe and tell your friends to subscribe to the channel so we can all golf strong