Ask the average knucklehead to show you how powerful he is and what’s he going to do? Strike a pose straight from the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Hans-and-Franz playbook: biceps flexed, core clenched, face contorted.
But hear me now and believe me later: If you want to pump up your distance on the golf course and get as explosive as a PGA Tour pro, it needs to come from the ground up. That’s how lean little guys and gals who look like they can barely bench-press a 3-iron can drive it twice their body weight and more.
To be like them, you’ve got to be able to create both lateral stability and mega oomph at impact. Here are two great exercises to do just that and turn your pop-gun club-ball contact into a mighty Howitzer.
1. Lateral bounding
Begin by balancing on your bent right leg. Jump as far as you can laterally, landing on your bent left leg. While maintaining balance on that leg, jump back onto your right leg, and so on. All that energy created from the ground up makes this a hugely useful exercise for creating explosion at impact — the stronger you can get at this move, the more speed you’ll build with club in hand.
2. 180-degree jumps
Get into an athletic squat like a discus thrower. Explode with your legs, corkscrewing up and around, landing 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Immediately reverse the exercise to return to the starting position. This exercise helps you develop speed and power at impact. Rotation in the swing isn’t simply horizontal. You’re also turning up and through. This movement mimics that action beautifully.
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