By Pam Owens, Special Contributor
You’ll feel more confident standing on the first tee when you know your body is primed and prepared for performance. You’ve worked hard for strength and skills to create more distance in your drive, so you’ll want to access your full capacity for power before the first tee shot. Follow today’s article to understand a key technique using irradiation to maximize your body’s internal strength before and after a round on golf days.
To create force or “drive in your drive,” you’ll need to tap into your body’s deepest internal anatomy where movement is generated. Your golf swing is generated first within the joint at the deepest layer of tissue using the nervous system and connective tissue, then flows out to the muscles and displayed externally as a golf swing.
Manufacturing intensity within your body, also called irradiation, is a natural skill used by strong athletes. Harnessing intensity is an important skill that uses pent-up energy to transfer forces in sequence through the body. Today’s routine is a great place to start practicing how to 1) drive intensity within the moving joint, and 2) applying intensity to the rest of the body to create stability while resisting motion.
Using this intense internal loading practice, we are able to generate greater forces for power by moving through greater active ranges. And using this routine before and after golf achieves many of the goals listed below:
Before Golf Goals:
• warm up your muscles and joints,
• prime the nervous system for forces needed,
• move into ranges you'll need on course,
• practice movements you'll need,
• prime fast twitch muscles and fascial tissue.
After Golf Goals:
• re-align your body from the one-sided movements and imbalances of golf
• flush out inflammation with movement
• recover faster
• improve mobility for next day and beyond
While this list may seem overwhelming, a short workout using irradiation, will hit multiple goals. Today’s lesson highlights a shortened routine of controlled articular rotations (CARS). Use “internal” cueing and visualization to create a chosen intensity level. The intensity is more important than the reps or sets.
Learn this CARS routine and irradiation technique with me today as we focus on three key areas: hips, shoulders and spine.
Short Version of CARS
First, try this irradiation drill. Clasp hands and push without moving. Slowly recruit more joints as you increase drive. Activate more muscle gradually then un-ramp the tension gradually.
Next, using slow, controlled motion and irradiation, move into your safest and greatest ranges in each area with approximately 2-3 intense reps.
1. Grab a golf club for balance and stand on one leg. Move your hip through a large circle around your body while maintaining balance and stability through the rest of your body.
2. Move your arms in a large circle around your trunk while also including axial rotations at the shoulder joint.
3. From quadruped position, segment your spine through flexion and extension in a slow whipping motion to thoroughly recruit each section of spine and neck.
Following this routine, do some light strength exercises using a band as illustrated in my banded warm-up called “Bomb It On The First Tee” to warm up your golf movements.
Training your internal capacity by generating internal tension to guide your body through broad ranges of movement allows you to control forces to build more power. I realize this is a different approach for those who focus on traditional training, but this internally focused approach is the foundation of external strength and power.
Pam Owens is the Director of Fitness for Royal Oaks Country Club in Houston and the owner of Pam Owens Fitness. A three-time Golf Digest Top 50 Fitness Professional, Pam helps golfers all over the world get lean, bendy and powerful with online or in person coaching. For a free pre-golf banded routine and more resources, click here.