You can learn a lot from Tour pros’ at-home workouts
Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas are two pros who have been sharing their at-home workouts on social media.
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Much like the rest of us, since the PGA Tour has been on pause pro golfers have been hard pressed to get to a gym to workout — let alone get professional input from their TPI certified trainers.
With the Tour eyeing a return in June, golfers like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Charley Hoffman have found ways to keep their bodies in top shape while stuck in their not-so-humble abodes.
And you can learn a thing or two from their workouts.
Rahm’s at-home workout includes a daily mobility routine that requires no equipment. For Rahm, who is known for his shorter backswing, allowing his flexibility to regress would interfere with his swing.
As a result, this mobility routine is far more important to his golf swing than how much weight he can lift.
Power is nice, but without the flexibility to rotate back and through there is no golf swing.
While Rahm has been keeping up with his mobility, Rory has been all over the map. Now the Tour’s Peloton King, he frequently goes up against other Tour pros on the bike to scratch his competitive itch.
When he’s not riding his way to victory, McIlroy is working out in his state-of-the-art home gym. While you might not have access to this level of equipment, there are several things you can learn from Rory’s at-home workout.
Maxing out isn’t necessary, nor is it productive most of the time. Most of Rory’s sets are in the 4-8 rep range, which allows him to maximize power while minimizing fatigue. Challenging your fitness is well and good, but workouts that leave you utterly exhausted can actually be counterproductive to developing clubhead speed.
Rory’s workouts are intense, more so because he’s performing compound exercises that develop his ability to perform athletic, functional movements. Almost all of the movements in his workout require him to generate power with his core or lower body and transfer it to his upper body. Sound familiar?
Scale your workouts appropriately — your body will thank you. Rory’s workout consists of movements that fit his body, not the other way around. This is important because there is no one-size-fits-all workout that will make you a better, more powerful golfer. For example, because Rory has struggled with a back injury before, performing landmine presses instead of overhead presses reduces the demand on his shoulders and back, while still training his body to be prepared for the golf swing.
Rory might have Thomas’ number on the bike, but JT won’t be outdone in the workout department. The single-leg Romanian deadlift performed by Thomas is a brutal test of mobility and stability.
The band provides some resistance, but also helps Thomas activate his core which actually helps mobilize his thoracic spine. Additionally, the hinge is one of the most important movement patterns a golfer can train, and the reason why deadlifts are such a foundational element of the program Kolby Tullier has designed for JT.
For Charley Hoffman, staying fit at home means working on his pelvic tilt.
Pelvic tilt is one of the most important movement patterns in the golf swing, though most golfers are unaware it’s even happening. Golfers that are unable to pelvic tilt usually aren’t maximizing the transfer of energy from their lower body to their upper body because they lack mobility, stability or control in their core. Hoffman makes the drill look easy because he’s worked diligently to improve the quality of his pelvic tilt with his coach Mark Blackburn and trainers Lance Gill and Kayleigh Franklin.
The drill Hoffman performs is designed to help him find a neutral pelvic tilt. This means that at address, his back is flat. Finding this position at address helps Hoffman’s core stability and power transfer through his swing.
With gyms largely closed and courses reopening, getting in golf shape isn’t as easy as it used to be. However, there are plenty of resources to help you build the perfect at-home golf workout for you, including finding a TPI certified trainer.
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