Your golf body type is: Overly Tight
Your custom golf workout will focus on: Core Flexibility
This workout is designed to improve the flexibility of your hips and upper spine for greater elasticity in your golf swing, and it also teaches you how to activate your abs and glutes so that you can achieve better separation of your upper and lower body, which can help improve your ball strike.
Workout Focus:
- Improve hip flexibility
- Improve upper back mobility
- Activate your mid and lower core to anchor the stretch
- Reduce tightness and pain
Open Book
Reps: 5 each side
This exercise will unlock the muscles in the front of your shoulders and chest, which will reduce any neck pain and improve your upper body rotation in your swing.
Set up in Side Lying Position, laying on your left side with a rolled-up towel or a pillow parallel to your hips in front of you. Bend your right arm to 90 degrees, bend both knees, then hook your right leg over the top of the towel. Press your right knee into the towel as you rotate and open your upper body to the right as far as you can without letting your hips follow your upper body. Feel the stretch across the front of your right shoulder and chest. Hold and breathe, deepening the stretch by dropping the back of your right shoulder towards the floor as far as your body allows (it’s okay if the back of your shoulder doesn't touch the floor), then return to start. Repeat on the left side.
Open Book
Reps: 5 each side
Alternating Dead Bug
Reps: 8 reps each alternating side
This exercise will strengthen your mid and lower core while lengthening your lats and hip flexors, which will increase hip mobility, reduce lower back pain, and improve your upper body rotation.
Set up in Plane Position with your back against the floor and your knees bent. Tuck your hips and brace your abs, flattening your lower back against the floor to fully engage your core. Extend your left leg by driving through your heel and gripping your left glute as you simultaneously lower your right arm overhead, reaching your thumb towards the floor. Only lower your arm as far as you are able to without your elbow bending. Return to your starting position and repeat with the other side. You should feel contact between your lower back and the floor throughout the entire movement of the rep. If you feel tension in your lower back, re-tuck your hips and brace your abs. If needed, you can re-tuck your hips after each rep before alternating to the opposite side, otherwise keep your hips tucked and abs braced throughout the entire set (more advanced).
Alternating Dead Bug
Reps: 8 reps each alternating side
Hip Flexor Stretch
Reps: 5 reps each side
This exercise will reduce tightness in your hip flexors and thigh muscles, which, when tight, create weakness in your glutes and abs and contribute to lower back pain. Improving your flexibility will help you to maintain your posture and generate more power in your swing.
Set up in Split Kneeling Position with your left foot forward, and your right toes tucked up under your ankle, pressing into the floor. Using a wall for stability, arch and tuck your hips, then push your hips and your left knee forward while squeezing your right glute until you feel a stretch in the front of your right hip and thigh. Hold the stretch and breathe, pushing the ball of your right foot into the floor to help the stretch, then return to start. Arch and re-tuck your hips between each rep to reset. You should not feel any pressure in your lower back, so be careful not to arch your lower back or lean your upper body forward. Keep your upper body nice and tall, and keep your hip tuck throughout the entire movement with your abs braced and your right glute gripped. Repeat the set on the other side.
Hip Flexor Stretch
Reps: 5 reps each side
Inner Thigh Stretch
Reps: 5 reps each side
This exercise will reduce tightness in your inner thigh muscles, which will reduce lower back pain and improve your ability to rotate your hips in your golf swing.
Set up in Kneeling Position holding a wooden dowel or broom handle in front of you with your arms straight, then extend your right leg straight out to the side, right foot flat on the floor. Brace your abs to keep your back in a straight line from head to tailbone and tighten your thigh muscle to keep your right knee straight as you sit your hips straight back, tilting the dowel away from you and leaning your upper body forward and down until you feel a stretch along the inside of your right thigh and hip. Return to your starting position, driving your hips forward and bringing your upper body tall with your shoulders back and down. Be careful not to round your shoulders or let your right knee bend as you sit back. Repeat the set on the other side.
Inner Thigh Stretch
Reps: 5 reps each side
Pro Tips for our Core Cues
Brace your abs:
Pull your belly button towards your spine, bracing as if you're preparing to take a punch, or as if you’re blowing air out through a straw, and then hold that tension in your abs to activate your mid core.
Grip your glutes:
Squeeze your butt and hold the tension to activate your lower core.
Corkscrew your elbows:
With your arms straight, rotate the insides of your elbow pits outward to activate the upper lat and scapular muscles of your upper core, which will help stabilize your shoulders.
Base Position:
Sit your hips back behind your knees (option to place a rolled-up towel behind your knees if you have knee tightness or discomfort), then walk your hands out until your arms are fully extended in front of you.
Slope Position:
Set up with your hips forward of your knees and your shoulders stacked over your wrists so that your body is in a straight line from the back of your head to the back of your knee.