A good golf swing begins with a good setup.
However, if you have poor posture from sitting at a desk all day, it can be hard to get into the proper setup to smash drives and play your best.
That’s where functional fitness trainer Morgan Hale comes in. During this month’s Home Fitness program, Hale will focus on exercises that are designed to help you get into a better setup so you can swing more freely and add power off the tee.
Your posture could be ruining your golf swing — but it’s not too late to fix it
The first week of her program is all about, you guessed it, posture. Each exercise is designed to help you activate the correct muscles for a proper setup, which in turn will free you up to rotate and get into better positions in your swing.
So if you’d like a simple way to add a few more yards to your swing, stick with Hale’s program and watch the video above.
Week one workout: Better posture
1. Hip Hinge: Grab a golf club from your bag and place it across your hips. Keeping the club in this position, shift your hips backward to drill a proper hip hinge sequence. This exercise targets your posterior chain, so you should feel it in your glutes, hamstrings, and your lower back. Perform three sets of 10 reps.
2. Standing Trunk Flexion: Place the same golf club out in front of you while maintaining the same hip hinge position your just practiced in exercise one. Push your hips backward while keeping your spine neutral. Hold that position for ten seconds. This will help strengthen your posterior chain and provide stability and balance as you swing the golf club. Perform three sets of 10 reps.
3. Pull Aparts: If you are one of the many golfers that suffers from C-Posture, or overly rounded upper back and shoulders, this exercise is for you. Standing with your arms straight out in front of you with you thumbs pointed up toward the ceiling. Pull your arms apart by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Then hinge at the hips and drop your arms so they hang in your natural setup position. Perform three sets of 10 reps.
4. Pelvic Tilt: If you don’t have C-Posture, but rather are one of the many golfers that has a curve in your lower back at setup known as S-Posture, this exercise is for you. It will also help you learn proper sequencing and how to use your core in the golf swing. Standing in a hinge position with a golf club pressed against your hips, pull the club toward your belly button. You should feel your abs and obliques. Perform three sets of 10 reps.
Performing these exercises a few times per week as prescribed will help you perfect your setup and put you on your way to perfecting your swing.