Four Key Exercises To Fire Up Your Swing
Getting your hips working properly in your swing is critical to being a good player. They need to work properly to allow you to:
- get you into the correct positions in your swing,
- generate power and
- avoid lower back and knee injuries.
Here are my top four exercises that I prescribe to my clients to get their hips back to being both flexible and strong. Do these and you’ll be swinging it better in no time.
Exercise 1: Spiky Ball ‘Search and Destroy’
5 minutes
Use a spiky ball to massage around your glutes (your butt) and hips to loosen them up and prepare them to rotate. Spend five minutes between each side, focusing on searching for sore spots and destroying them.
Exercise 2: Foam Rolling Hips
5 minutes
Use a foam roller to roll over your quadriceps and hips. Cover both the front of the leg and around towards the sides. Like the spiky ball exercise, spend extra time on sore or tender spots.
Exercise 3: Hip Flexor Stretch with Reach Over
30 second holds each side (2 sets)
Get into a half-kneeling position (pad under the knee if needed). From here, tuck your hip ‘up and under’ engaging your glute (butt) and core. Put your arms straight up in the air and bend over to the side. You should feel a stretch down the front of your leg and hip and under your arm. Concentrate on taking big deep breaths.
Exercise 4: Clams/Reverse Clams
10 repetitions each leg (3 sets)
Lie on your side with your legs bent approximately 90 degrees.
Clams: Keep ankles together and lift knee upwards, rotating at the hip.
Reverse Clams: Keep knees together and lift foot up, rotating the opposite way at the hip. For both exercises keep the pelvis neutral – do not let it twist.
Lauren Sanft is a Titleist-certified golf fitness instructor and director of Golf Fitness Co. laurensanft.com.au
