In order to effectively build efficient rotational power, there are a slew of pieces that all need individual attention to work together in combination. To start, there are different progressions that work on rotational power, but which progression to use is based on how well you currently produce power through rotation. Ultimately, there are specific prerequisites that should be achieved before moving to the next progression. Let's go through that order!
Rotation Progression 1
If you are limited when rotating, there are three key areas to focus on for improvement. First, get those hips loosened up! A great exercise to open up the hips is half-kneeling open hip rocks. The second key area is priming lower body power. This can be done with lower body power exercises, like a landmine curtsy lunge to knee drive. And third, put it all together and sequence the pattern. Now that the hips are loosened up and lower body power is primed, we can put it all together for an efficient rotational power exercise, like a standing closed med ball side toss.
Rotation Progression 2
Now that your lower body is sufficiently loose but engaged, here are three things to try when looking to improve your rhythm of rotation. First, start with mobility. Loosening up before rotating is important because this allows you the full range of motion through your entire swing. If you are not loosened up before rotating, your body may need to compensate somewhere else to achieve that full range of motion. Second is to add load. By adding load, you are increasing the stimulus that your body must overcome but still breaking down rotation in its entirety. Finally, sequence the pattern. This involves putting together the previous two steps and can be done with exercises that focus on rotational power, such as medicine ball throws or rip trainer drills. With these three compounded aspects, we should be rotating efficiently through full range of motion. When breaking it down step by step and focusing on each area, this allows you to prime each area before rotating to achieve rotational rhythm.
Rotation Progression 3: Loading the Backswing
When looking at rotational power through a golf swing specifically, there are certain end ranges that need to be primed in order to exude an efficient swing through full range of motion. The backswing is one of these areas. To train loading into the backswing, first you need to know how to load into the hip. Exercises that force loading on the hip, similar to a backswing, are landmine Russian twists, curtsy lunges, and med ball throws. Without an efficient backswing, you could be limiting your own potential!
When looking at rotational power through a golf swing specifically, there are certain end ranges that need to be primed in order to exude an efficient swing through full range of motion. The backswing is one of these areas. To train loading into the backswing, first you need to know how to load into the hip. Exercises that force loading on the hip, similar to a backswing, are landmine Russian twists, curtsy lunges, and med ball throws. Without an efficient backswing, you could be limiting your own potential!
Because there are so many parts to rotation, it is important to start small and work your way up to the big picture, which is efficient rotation. To start, focus on rotating the hips, which is important for rotation because the hips are what lead the movement. Good exercises that focus on rotating through the hips include rip trainer slap shot and rip trainer lacrosse shot. Both exercises are great for getting the hips rotating. Medicine balls are also a great implement to use when working on rotating the hips. The next progression would be combining a hip hinge with a single arm press. This allows you to load into the hip and work on rotating out of this loaded position, which grooves the movements of rotation. The last progression involves a half-kneeling position which takes the lower body out of the equation and allows focus to be on rotating through the upper body. A great example for rotating from the upper body would be half-kneeling cable lift variations.
Rotation Progression 5: Sequencing
After going through the previous four progressions, you are close to mastering your rotation. Perfect sequencing for efficient rotation can be challenging because of the vast combination of technical skills, but practice will reenforce proper movement. To improve sequencing for rotation, use different rotation variations that allow you to rotate through full range of motion. At THP we like to use the K-Pulley system to work rotation as this allows you to rotate through full range of motion with constant resistance forces the athlete to stabilize as the K-Pulley's resistance is based on how much force the athlete produces. One variation we like is the K-Pulley 3D Strap + Punch. This forces athlete to load into the hip and the resistance ensures that they are being explosive through the entire range of motion. Two other variations include K-Pulley Slap Shot and K-Box lateral lunge opener. All of these variations are perfect for more advanced rotational training sequencing.
