I wanted to pick up where we left off from last week where we talked quite a bit about myth busting some of the most common, polarizing, and most talked about golf fitness topics. Today, the focus will simply be strength training for golf performance. The first myth that was discussed last week was:

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR GOLF IS GOING TO MAKE YOU INFLEXIBLE, YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE YOUR TURN, OR YOU ARE GOING TO GET TOO BIG FOR GOLF.

You have to work extremely hard to get big for golf. It is a full-time job to gain muscle mass. 

How To Go About Strength Training For Golf And Golf Performance?

Today, I am going to discuss the logistics and breakdown of how you go about building muscle strength without adding muscle mass. This can be for golf or golf performance but could be for any of your fitness goals. Building muscle strength and adding muscle mass are two different things. Regardless of what exercises you are doing resistance training wise, we will discuss what the parameters are to build muscle strength.  

In terms of building strength for golf and golf performance, what are the parameters we are looking for?

To start, you need to have a rough estimate of what your one repetition maximum weight is. The exercises you should know your one repetition maximum weight for are squatting, deadlifting, pressing and pulling. Your one repetition maximum is the most amount of weight or resistance that you can do one time. Now, if you don’t want to find out what your one repetition maximum is, we can talk about that and you can ask me some questions via phone or email about your next steps. There are other ways to do this based off of what we call RPE (rating of perceived exertion). Sometimes this is a solution if you do not have a good idea of what your one repetition maximum. Your RPE can also be useful if you are completing an exercise that does not necessarily have a one repetition maximum.

In terms of building muscle strength (not muscle mass), we want to focus on 80-90% of that one repetition maximum. That 80-90% of your one repetition maximum is going to be your weight selection, your challenge, or your resistance. You are going to complete up to 6 repetitions with your 80-90% weight. Typically, you will be in that 4-6 repetition range. You will complete 2-3 sets of 4-6 repetitions.

The Difference Between Attaining Muscle Mass vs Muscle Strength for Golf Performance:

The differentiator between muscle strength and how to attain muscle mass, is the recovery period. Your recovery period for building muscle strength is going to be 2-5 minutes. In other words, after you complete a set, you are going to rest 2-5 minutes before you come back for set 2. You will do the same thing after set 2. You will wait another 2-5 minutes before completing set 3. The neuromuscular system needs a recovery period between sets in order to build strength. For building mass, the recovery time is going to be less. If you are trying to build muscle mass, you are only going to be resting 30-90 seconds.   There is a clear difference between building muscle mass and muscle strength.

Strength training, for building muscle strength (not muscle mass, not muscle endurance) is where we want to be for golf and golf performance. This builds a strong foundation for golf from an injury prevention perspective, for golf performance, and for resistance. This is the nuts and bolts of strength training for golf. Is it overly exciting? No. Is it important for you to understand that when you go to the gym and are going to put the time in, you understand which parameters make the most sense for you in terms of what you are trying to accomplish. For most of us, we should be shooting for strength training to build muscle strength.

Additional resources for golfers: