Train Your Decelerators For Improved Golf Fitness and More Power in Your Swing

Increasing power in the golf swing is something even the best players in the game today will take with open arms. So what is the most effect way to go about increasing power? For the amateur, in conjunction with technical improvements of the swing, specific physical training can do wonders for increasing power. Lying on a bench and pushing a barbell up and down will not get you the extra 20 yards you have been looking for. A solid understanding of the intricacies of the body during the golf swing is crucial for an appropriate power development program. Tom House, a former major league pitcher and coach, and now an athletic performance guru stated it best. He said you can “only swing the club as fast as you can slow it down”. What exactly does this mean?

Well, the human body is incredibly smart and knows itself better than you do. When the brain knows that your accelerator muscles are more developed than your decelerator muscles, then it will actually slow down the rate at which you accelerate into your downswing. This happens to prevent injuries caused by over swinging. For the most part, the muscles that are responsible for acceleration are located on the front side of your body, and the decelerators on the back side. Think of all of the hamstring pulls you’ve seen or fell victim to. Almost all of the time, the pull occurs when the runner is beginning to decelerate their stride. This happens because the quadriceps muscle (the accelerator) overpowers the hamstrings (the decelerator) while the hamstrings are trying to slow the runner down.  The hamstrings then have an “uh-oh” moment and respond with a contraction so forceful that it causes trauma to its tissue.

Again, one area of focus when training the body for a powerful golf swing should be the muscles on the back of your body, and specifically for the upper body, the muscles in between your shoulder blades. Stability of the shoulder girdle is crucial for power generation. One exercise that is effective in adding stability to your shoulders is called the wall slide. To perform a wall slide, put your back against a wall and slightly bend your knees so you’re in a mini squat position. Make sure your abs are tight, your low back is flat, and your head is against the wall. From here, put your elbows and the back of your hands against the wall. Squeeze your shoulder blades together like you are trying to hold a pencil in between them. Now slide both arms up the wall while keeping your abs and shoulder blades squeezed.  Slide up until you feel light tension resisting you from going further. Hold for 3 breaths and return to the original position.

This is just one of many exercises you can do for a powerful swing. For any questions about the wall slide or power development, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected] . 

Jason Rivkin, ATC, CGFI-FP1, GPS