I’m going to give you mobility and power exercises you can do at home that will increase your distance. To start, you’re going to learn how mobility and power affect your distance. Then, you’re going to learn the best exercises you can do at home to increase your mobility and power, so you can hit the ball farther than your friends and shoot lower scores. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
How Does Mobility Affect Your Distance?
Mobility is a joint’s ability to express a full range of motion. In other words, can a joint move freely without pain or tightness?
Mobility increases the length of your swing.
Mobility helps you hit the ball farther because it increases the length of your swing. One of the keys to hitting the ball farther is a long backswing. Look at the picture below that shows long drivers at the top of their backswing, and notice a few things. First, their hands are incredibly high. Second, their shoulders are turned so much that they point well behind the ball. Third, their belt buckle is pointing well behind the ball.
That is a combination of hip mobility, shoulder mobility, thoracic spine mobility, and neck mobility. I understand they don’t always hit the ball straight, but you cannot deny the fact that they hit the ball a long way. Because they can get into that position at the top of their backswing, they can crush the ball.
Optimal amounts of mobility allow for a technically sound swing.
Another key to hitting the ball farther is a technically sound swing. To clarify, a better swing allows for efficient energy transfer from the ground through your body into the club. How does mobility allow for a technically sound swing? The Titleist Performance Institute has found numerous correlations between a limitation in a joint and swing characteristics that result in a loss of distance. For example, a lack of hip mobility could lead to an over-the-top swing characteristic. Not only does an over-the-stop swing characteristic lead to inconsistent shots, but it also leads to less distance. More hip mobility would allow you to learn how to get rid of your over-the-top tendency, thus giving you a more efficient swing that results in more distance. If you’d like to know more, click here.
Quick disclaimer. Mobility alone cannot cure an inefficient swing characteristic. However, mobility does give you the physical freedom to learn how to fix an inefficient swing characteristic. I could give you the sharpest axe, but if you don’t learn how to use it, you won’t be a successful lumberjack. Therefore, mobility in combination with quality lessons will give you more distance. Not mobility alone.
How Does Power Affect Your distance?
This is self-explanatory. More power means more distance because power leads to increased club speed. All else equal, more club speed results in more distance.
Now the question becomes, “how do I get more mobility and more power with minimal equipment?” That’s where the the exercises come in. Below, you will find a list of exercises I have used with clients in the gym to increase their mobility and power.
Mobility Exercises for more distance
There are four areas that you need to target to hit the ball farther. The four areas are the hips, shoulders, thoracic spine, and cervical spine. You will get two exercises per area. First, you will get a foam rolling exercise that will relax the muscles surrounding the joint. Second, you will get an active stretch to give you more mobility in that joint. You need to do both to get the best results. I’ve also written key takeaways for each exercise that will help you make sure you’re doing it right. Let’s begin with the hips.
Hip Mobility Exercises
Foam Roll Glutes and Hip Rotators
To roll out your glutes, make sure you are leaning to the side that the leg is up. For example, if your right leg is up, lean to the right side. Roll back and forth ten times.
90/90 ER/IR
For 90/90 ER/IR, make sure your knees and your hips are bent at 90 degrees. In other words, you want everything to be a right angle. There are two positions in 90/90 ER/IR. In the first position, you’re in ER, i.e. external rotation. In the second position, you’re in IR, i.e. internal rotation. The key for both positions is posture. For ER, maintain an upright posture by keeping your chest up and reaching your chest forward. For IR, maintain an upright posture, and reach your back butt towards the floor. It’s not entirely possible, so don’t worry if you can’t actually do it. I just want you to get the feeling of rotating your pelvis to get in the right position. Hold each position for 30 seconds each side.
Next, we have the shoulders.
Shoulder Mobility Exercises
Anterior Shoulder w/ Lax Ball
Your anterior shoulder is the front part of your shoulder. To roll out your anterior shoulder, place a lacrosse ball at the point where your chest and your shoulder meet. Place your hand behind your back, so you stretch the muscles. Then, circle around the area. Find a tender spot, and roll out that spot. Do ten circles clockwise and counterclockwise on each side.
Supine Floor Slides
The biggest key for the Supine Floor Slides is to go slow. It should take you at least six seconds to raise your hands up and three seconds to bring your hands down. Make sure you exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down. Take your time. Do five reps. Up and down is one.
Then, you have the thoracic spine. Your thoracic spine is your upper back. It’s important that your upper back can rotate, so you can have a long backswing.
T-Spine Mobility Exercises
Upper Back Foam Roll
Give yourself a big hug. Spread your shoulder blades apart, so you stretch the muscles. Roll up and down ten times.
V-Stance T-Spine Rotations
It’s important you keep your back flat. Your spine is very good at flexing, extending, lateral flexing, and rotation, but it is not good at doing more than one at a time. If your back is round, place your hands on a bench or block, so you can flatten your back. Do five reps per side.
Lastly, we have the cervical spine. The cervical spine is your neck. It’s important that your neck rotates freely without tightness or pain.
Neck Mobility Exercises
C-Spine Foam Roll
Go slow. Take your time. If you don’t feel anything, place both hands on your forehead, palms up. As a result, you will put more pressure on the foam roller. Do ten rolls. Back and forth is one.
Prone Neck Rotations
Tuck your chin to your chest. You want a neutral neck position, so you get pure neck rotation. Do this for five reps each way.
Power Exercises for more distance
Your golf swing starts with your lower body; therefore, you will focus on increasing your lower body power. Upper body power is important too, but I want to give you exercises that don’t require equipment. In the gym, I’ll have clients use medicine balls to increase upper body and rotational power, but at home it’s quite difficult. Here are three of my favorite minimal equipment exercises for lower body power.
Jump Squat
For the jump squat, the key is the landing. Land as quiet as possible. In other words, good jumps should be seen, not heard. Do five reps.
Lateral Bound w/ Stick
Similar to the jump squat, land quietly. Do five lateral bounds per side.
Sprints
Sprinting is the most explosive activity you could do. However, if you decide to use sprints, make sure you warmup up properly. By warming up properly, you decrease your risk for injury. Sprint for 10 yards. Then, rest a minute and a half until you sprint again. Do that for three reps.
You can still add distance to your golf game within the comfort of your own home. Use these exercises on a regular basis, and you will get results. If you want to add yards and lose fat at the same time, then check out this free guide here. If you want to work together to achieve your golf and fitness goals, then apply here.