Golf Biomechanics Newsletter

December 19, 2006

Feature Exercise: Medicine Ball Wood Chop

The golf swing is an explosive movement. When training for golf you should keep in mind the repetitive expression of power during a full swing. If the involved joints are not properly trained for this repeated action, power will be lost and injury (acute or overuse) will occur. Also, as power drops off throughout the game stabilizer muscles may try to compensate for this loss. Overworking stabilizers as power producers will prematurely fatigue them. This is when swing errors become more frequent.

Below is an exercise I commonly use to improve power in my golfers. The Medicine Ball Wood Chop integrates core rotation with hip and shoulder action making this an effective exercise for golf-swing-performance carryover.

Step 1: Use a 1 - 10 lb medicine ball. Start with the ball over your right shoulder as shown. Think about bringing the ball to this position by rotating the torso. Keep the ball traveling in a straight line as you squat down. Exhale as you descend.	Step 2: As you squat down bring the ball to the lower left as shown. Notice the knees and hips are fairly symmetrical. Keep the back straight and rotate the torso to the left. You should feel weight shift to the left leg. Bring the ball back up to the right. Inhale as you rise up.
You can speed up the movement as you get comfortable with form. Speed can be increased up to 1 repetition per second.