When Rory first came on the professional scene about 7 years ago, he was what I refer to as “skinny-fat”. That is, he was small in his physical stature, but rather soft as well. But since working on his fitness over the past couple of years, the results have been dramatic.
Rory talks openly in interviews about his fitness and diet regimen and we can all learn a lot from it (check out the video above).
What are the exercises Rory does in this video?
0:15 Standing Bird Dog (for mobility)
0:21 Arm Circles (to warm up shoulder joints)
0:24 Exercise Bike (general warmup)
0:28 Dynamic Stretch (for posterior chain)
0:37 Hex Bar Deadlift
0:59 Box Jump
1:04 Swiss Ball Dumbbell Pullover
1:15 Pushup to Hand Walk to Renegade Row
1:40 Kneeling Swiss Ball Core Rotation and Chest Pass Drill
Which exercises do you start with?
Rory made balancing the right and left sides of his body a top priority. This is accomplished by focusing on single arm and single leg exercises. The golf swing will create imbalances in your body, due to the repetitive single-side rotation. It’s very important that you prevent that imbalance from getting too far out of control. With a better strength ratio between the right and left side of your body, you will create more stability (a prerequisite for power) and reduce your risk of injury. Rory said:
“I’ve concentrated a lot on the core and my legs and being balanced from the ground up. I feel like I can hit it harder without losing balance. I just feel I don’t have to go after it as much to get the length. I didn’t have a strong enough core or lower back and glutes to stabilize my pelvis.”
NOTE: Rory has always appeared to have a great deal of flexibility. My guess is that he does modest work to maintain his range of motion throughout the year. For many of you out there, Flexibility and Mobility will be your first and TOP priority.
Progression to strength and power training
After creating balance and stability, Rory progressed to more strength training, and eventually power training. The important point here is that he was taken through a proper progression – Flexibility/Mobility, Stability, Strength and Power. Even world-class athletes need to respect this protocol, or suffer the consequences – sooner or later.
But you don’t have to be in your 20s or a PGA Tour player to benefit from these exact same principles.
A structured program with the right exercises
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but going to the gym a few times a week and doing whatever your buddies are doing will be of little benefit to your golf performance.
That said, few of us have access to specialists like Rory, which is why I’ve teamed up with a top golf fitness trainer to provide you with the very best golf specific exercises and a structured workout program you can do in less than 30 mins per day.
Your first workout video will be in your inbox tomorrow…