Last week, we delved into the development of stabilization strength for the golf swing. Remember, if you cannot stabilize the spine and maintain those angles and postures within the golf swing, there will be some struggles on the course. We know through research and having watched TOUR pros like Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and countless others that strength training is a beneficial component of the development of their bodies, their golf swings and success at the highest level of play

For amateurs, we started the journey of developing strength for your golf swing with stabilization strength training, specifically, static stabilization exercises for your benefit. From this we need to take the next step in developing your strength-training program and that’s the incorporation of exercises to develop dynamic stabilization strength in the body. We touched on the definition of dynamic stabilization last week. A quick reference back is that it’s the ability of the body to integrate the hip, pelvis, trunk and shoulders in correct order and timing for the golf swing.

Improving your dynamic stabilization strength will allow for all these movements to occur more efficiently and effectively. Before jumping into a stabilization strength exercise for our program, we must be very aware of a principle within strength training programs at this point; certain strength training exercises are beneficial to the golf swing and others are not. There are no bad exercises, only bad exercises for golf.

The reason some exercises are possibly counterproductive to the golf swing is they do not train the body in the positions and movements required of the golf swing. That is why it is integral at this juncture of your training program to keep in mind the principle of cross specific training. This is training your body to the positions, movements, and physical requirements of your chosen sport, in this case golf.

What we must do is choose strength training drills and exercises that simulate the golf swing and develop the strength capacities in your body specific to those requirements of the golf swing. This will create benefits to you as a golfer such as; greater efficiency in the mechanics of the golf swing, improved repeatability of the swing, and enhanced clubhead speed (i.e. power).

Knowing that our second component of strength to be developed in the body for the golf swing is dynamic stabilization strength and knowing the exercises we chose must be cross specific to the movements performed in the golf swing, one of the best cross specific strength training exercises for the golf swing is the physio ball Russian twist. Almost every pro golfer I know utilizes this exercise and says it’s one of the best training exercises for the golf swing.

Physio ball Russian twist start position.

Begin this exercise by sitting on a physio ball and slowly walk forward, allowing the ball to roll onto the upper back, continue to walk out until your head and shoulder rest on top of ball. From this position, elevate your hips horizontally inline with your shoulders and knees. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, extend your arms and clasp your hands in front of your face. You are now in the correct beginning position for this exercise. Next, rotate to your right, utilizing your core on the rotation allowing the ball to roll underneath your shoulder. Focus on the rotation of the torso to create the movement within the exercise. Allow your eyes to follow your hands within the rotation. This will enhance your ability to involve the core within the exercise.

Continue rotating to you right to a position until your shoulder and arm are resting on top of the ball. Return to your starting position and repeat the rotation to the opposite side. Technique is of the utmost importance within this exercise and I like my golfers to begin with 8-10 reps and work up to 25 reps on this exercise.

Physio ball Russian twist end position.

Again this is a great stabilization strength training exercise for golf. This requires you to stabilize your knees, hips, and core as well as keep your spine in a fixed position, while rotating around a fixed spine angle, which is very cross specific to the golf swing.

So, let’s keep in mind as we continue on with developing a strength training program for golf; begin with static stabilization exercises and move onto dynamic stabilization exercises, remember in each phase we must make sure the exercises we use are cross specific for golf.

Sean M. Cochran is the personal strength and conditioning coach for 2006 Masters winner Phil Mickelson. He is co-owner of BioForceGolf.com and the author of several books, including most recently, Your Body & Your Swing. Cochran, who has worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres as well as working individually with players like Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior, started working with professional golfers, most notably Mickelson (who won the 2004 and 2006 Masters, and the 2005 PGA Championship), in 2002. Recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities in golf-specific strength training, he has spoken at numerous seminars and clinics around the country. BioForceGolf.com was founded in late 2004 to respond to the need of the amateur golfer for quality information on golf-specific-strength training. The site provides subscribers the highest quality information in the areas of golf training, nutrition, and general instruction.