This is Part 5 in our 5 part series designed to help improive your golf game as well as build strength and conditioning. In this post we will cover the Double Outside The Body Swing.
We have collaborated on this series with Master of Sport, Mike Salemi (@kettlebelllifestyle) and Mind Pump Media (@mindpumpmedia), both are great follows on social media and full of knowledge about kettlebell and fitness. In order to prepare for this series, Mike Salemi went to the Titliest Performance Institute certification and completed his TPI certification which is designed to "teach professionals how to increase player performance through a deep understanding of how the body functions during the golf swing." (http://www.mytpi.com/certification). 14 of the last 17 Major Championships were won by golf professionals advised by a TPI certified expert. Combining the knowledge taught at TPI certifications with Mike's already indepth knowledge of the body and lifting will create an amazing series of posts designed to help improve your golf game as well as overall strength.
By Mike Salemi:
Double Outside the Body Swing for Golfers
Think you’re driving the ball long? Well think again. A fluid and powerful golf swing is one in which each segment builds off the prior, starting with the pelvis, thorax (chest region), lead arm, and finally shaft.3 And while the golf swing is a movement driven by rotational power, there certainly is a time and place for power exercises that occur in other planes of motion.
This may be appropriate for situations for example when seeking to avoid overuse patterns stemming from the same repetitive movement (i.e. pattern overload), or when we need simply need to build up a power deficit, and we are less concerned with it happening through a rotation.2
The Double Kettlebell Outside the Body Swing is a ballistic swing that focuses on loading the lower body in the sagittal plane (front to back direction), and mainly incorporates the muscles concentrated on backside - lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.
One reason why I choose this specific kettlebell swing variation for golfers specifically, is because many players exhibit a common postural fault known as “C-Posture” - increased rounding of the back during normal standing posture and also the position at address. C-posture restricts rotation, making twisting around a smooth axis all the more challenging.3 By positioning the kettlebells at your sides, this swing variation encourages an opening of the chest and elongation the spine, which is something wise to promote while lifting.