If you have not done so already, I suggest you download my complimentary golf fitness e-book. In it I discuss many of the topics covered in this off-season golf fitness training guide.

In my experience there is one common goal for most golfers looking to improve their game: they want a more powerful golf swing. The reasons I have found for this are:

1. The golfer wants to be able to swing easier (which will help them maintain good, solid technique and make good contact with the ball) but still wants to hit the ball the same distance they currently do with their scoring clubs.
2. They want to be able to hit their long clubs, especially their driver, further. Much further.

If this sounds like something you desire then there are two ways to achieve your goal of having a move powerful golf swing and longer drives:

• Increase the amount of force your body is able to product through both technical and physical improvements.
  
• Decrease the amount of time it takes for you to develop and deliver maximum force to the golf ball.

Obviously, if you could increase the amount of force and decrease the time required to produce maximum force then your power levels would go through the roof. In order to have this happen, you must focus on doing high quality power training.

Power training focuses on the conditioning of the nervous system and getting as many muscle fibers as possible to fire at the same time so you can create significantly more power with the same amount of muscle mass. You can increase your strength and power significantly without adding on a single pound of muscle mass.

Here is one of my favorite analogies on strength and power: Strength is defined as the ability of a given muscle or group of muscles to generate muscular force under specific conditions.

Imagine that you want to move a broken car and you have five people ready to help you push it. If everybody doesn’t work together or if they push at different times, then moving the car will be very difficult. However, if everyone pushes together at the same time, then moving the car is very easy.

This is basically the same way that strength is produced. Muscle fibers contract at the same time, and these contractions produce force. More muscle fibers contracting together equates to more force. Speed (power) training is basically the process of getting those muscles to fire at the same time so you can move more stuff in a shorter time span.

Genetic
Some people are simply more capable of producing maximum strength and are also neurologically more efficient (their nervous system and muscles naturally work together more efficiently). These types of individuals are the Jason Zuback’s and Tiger Wood’s of the golfing world and are typically seen as being more athletic.

Body Fat
Excess body fat can significantly limit your ability to generate maximum power in your golf swing. Excess body fat can potentially inhibit both flexibility (a large gut can severely limit your shoulder turn) and skill proficiency (significantly altering your center of gravity which can greatly affect overall balance).

Conditioning
Preventing or delaying the onset of fatigue is crucial to performance, both physically and mentally. All golfers should strive to have the ability to finish a round of golf feeling as fresh and strong as they did at the beginning of the round. A solid level of baseline conditioning will help you feel like this and will help you keep power levels high through your round.

Establish A Baseline Level Of Conditioning
No matter the sport or event, once you get tired power levels will decline and technical proficiency will start to drop off. This is especially true for the golf swing since it is a very technical movement.

You can play better golf deeper into your round by making sure that you have a baseline level of conditioning. This will allow you to prevent fatigue late in your round and finish off strong.

Focus on Speed of Movement
Another very important part of enhancing golf performance and increasing golf specific power levels is training with loads that will let you move at or near the speeds that you normally move in a golf swing.

It has been proven time and time again that individuals looking to enhance power levels should train with loads and speeds as close as possible to those of the actual sport.

Bouncing off my first point, you should not try to exercise at or near golf swing speeds when you are first starting off because doing so when you are not properly conditioning will almost certainly result in injury.

Once you get your body accustomed to basic training movements then you can begin focusing on golf-specific movements at speeds close to your actual golf swing.

Exercise Over A Complete Range Of Motion
Many “golf specific” flexibility training programs are not very effective at enhancing the dynamic flexibility needed for the golf swing because they stretch the muscles individually and in static positions. In reality, your muscles work as a unit in the golf swing and stretch/contract together from dynamic positions.

A few dynamic stretches in which you gradually increase the range and duration of the multi-joint motions found in the golf swing will serve you much better than a single extended session of many single-jointed static stretches. We want to stretch various muscles together since they operate together in the golf swing.

It should also be noted that heavy resistance training used over a full range of motion constitutes a very efficient and effective means of active stretching/flexibility training.

Perform Shorter, More Intense Workouts
If enhanced golf power is your goal then short, intense workouts should be your primary focus. If you are training with a higher level of intensity then after about 45-60 minutes you will see your power levels drop off.

By performing shorter workouts it is much easier to maintain the level of focus that is needed to execute a workout with a high level of intensity. You will also get better overall results (weight loss and overall body structure) by performing these types of workouts.

Warm Up Before Your Workout/Round
Warming up should be a staple for anyone serious about playing better golf. In addition to helping you avoid injury it will also help you play better golf and swing at full capacity.

I know that when I do not warm up I can’t comfortably top a 110 MPH swing speed. Once I get warmed up I can easily top 130 MPH and can usually get to around a 140 MPH swing speed. By taking the time to warmup you ensure that you are capable of having a great workout or round on the course.

If you want to improve your power in a safe, efficient and practical way, you need to do the following on a consistent basis:

• Increase both general and golf-specific strength: Progress from simple exercises/movements to complex golf specific exercises/movements.

• Increase both dynamic and static flexibility: Use full range of motions in all your training movements and participate in a structured flexibility training program.

• Increase golf swing proficiency: Identify your key technical flaws and address them as best as possible during the off-season.

• Decrease amount of excess body fat: Reduce body fat levels to improve overall flexibility and overall energy levels.

• Establish and maintain baseline conditioning levels: Establish a solid conditioning base to help you produce higher power levels for longer and also recover faster from intense workouts.

By focusing on these basic power training principles during your off-season training you will see significant improvements in your swing speed, club head speed, ball speed, distance, power, flexibility, balance, stability and overall scores.

If you would like more detail on the different components of golf fitness download my free golf fitness e-book. If you would like your own custom golf fitness program join the Pure Power Program.

Off-Season Core Training Guide
Off-Season Static/Dynamic Flexibility Training Guide
Off-Season Power Golf Fitness Analysis
Off-Season Golf Fitness Training Home
Golf Fitness Blog

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