Profile
Name - Andy T
Age - 36
Height - 5ft 9
Weight - 195 lbs
Location - Seattle
Client Status - Online
Profession - Contract Negotiator
Lifestyle - Quite sedentary outside of golf
Golf History
Very strong amateur player, with an all time low handicap of +2. Played high level junior and college golf, but as work and family commitments increased, time for golf reduced Andy's game suffered and his swing became shorter and slower. Below is Andy's swing from the start of our time working together, he was keen to improve the length of backswing and body rotation through impact.
Andy's swing before starting the 3 month golf fitness program
Initial Goals
Andy wanted to get back to the standard of golf and the physique from his 20's (pre kids!). Specifically we wanted to achieve the following:
- Pain free golf
- Consistently shoot under par
- Get ball speed back above 165 mph
- Improved mobility
- Improved strength
- Improve eating and sleeping habits to lose 20lbs in a year
Fitness Experience
In good shape before 2nd child was born - weighing 165 and working out 4-5 times per week. Put on weight after 2nd child was born and stopped exercising due to time constraints. Elementary knowledge of fitness and experience with various workout regimes, but lacked direction.
Available Equipment
Small but quite well equipped home gym containing;
Elliptical, floor sliders, pull-up bands, pull-up bar, power blocks to 50lbs, bench, TRX type straps, super speed sticks, resistance bands with handles and leg straps, swiss ball, 3kg med ball, kettle bells (10, 15, 20, 25, 35), ab wheel, fitness gear band bar (connects to bands on one or both sides).
Available Time
4 x 40 minutes per week
Initial Golf Fitness Assessment
Andy’s initial video assessment showed that he had retained many of his physical capacities; he has still quite strong and stable with decent mobility. There were some key restrictions that were likely hindering the rotation and speed in his golf swing however - shoulder and hip mobility, weak core muscles, inactive glutes and poor movement pattern awareness at the pelvis and upper back. Below are Andy’s scores from the initial golf fitness assessment, along with the specific areas highlighted for improvement within each testing category.
I was confident with Andy's playing history and athletic attributes the physical improvement we were going to make would translate well to his swing / ball speed goals.
Basic Strength - 77%
- upper back
- core (rectus, obliques and back extensors)
Stability - 75%
- shoulder girdle
- hip stabilisation
Mobility - 85%
- shoulder internal rotation
- shoulder external rotation
- thoracic rotation, especially left
- lumbar flexion
- hip flexion and internal rotation (both sides)
Movement Patterns - 62%
- glute activation
- scapula control
- pelvis rotation
Posture - 85%
- forward head and internally rotated shoulders
Driver Ball Speed - 65%
- 157mph (goal of 165+ mph)
Bodyweight - 65%
- 195 lbs (goal of 175 lbs)
Andy's Initial Program
Because Andy was already quite strong and demonstrated good exercise technique, we could start at a higher level than most. The 40 min session duration was suited to a circuit format so we launched straight into a lower / upper body split along with a self massage and stretch routine targeting Andy's mobility restrictions.
Lower body strength workout from Andy's first program
Upper body strength workout from Andy's first program
Mobility workout from Andy's first program
Selection of exercises from Andy's first program (click top right to see the playlist)
Progression - Assessment and Program 2
1 month into the program and Andy was tracking well at this point, as expected he was demonstrating quick results in both the golf fitness assessments and his performance outcomes. Here's an update from Andy after month 1:
"Body feels pretty good. Some soreness in my knees still from the lunges and squats, but I think it's improving. It's an adjustment for them to feel "load" and I needed to make a mental adjustment to trust the exercise. I'm definitely having less pain/soreness after practicing which is nice. I'm already seeing some performance gains too. Picked up about 3 mph in ball speed and lost 6 pounds in just 3 weeks which is pretty cool! Most importantly, I'm enjoying the workouts."
I was now confident to start increasing the complexity and load of exercises and to introduce a SuperSpeed protocol to directly target the swing speed goals. See below for the weekly workout split and some examples of the training sessions and exercises included in program 2:
- Lower Body Strength x 1 per week
- Upper Body Strength x 1 per week
- Mobility x 2 per week
- Superspeed x 2 per week
Lower body strength workout from Andy's 2nd program
Upper body strength workout from Andy's 2nd program
SuperSpeed workout from Andy's 2nd program
Selection of exercises from Andy's third program (click top right to see the playlist)
Outcomes
After just 3 months of training Andy had achieved all of the goals he set, apart from the weight loss. As you can see from the scoring profile graph, he was doing a great job across all the golf fitness assessment categories. His golf swing had also gained length and improved rotation through impact, and he had this to say about his driver ball speed:
"I realistically hoped to hit high 160’s max ball speed and have a cruising ball speed of 165. Max ball speed right now is 175 and cruising is 170-173 which is great for me. We are up 18 mph in ball speed in 3 months and I have no doubt 170 will be here in the summer"
Andy was also kind enough to write me a short testimonial:
"I have been working with Nick for 3 months and have been extremely happy with the results. I have gained over 25 yards of carry with my driver and am experiencing much less discomfort after playing or practicing."
Comparison graph of Andy's golf fitness results from first assessment to third assessment. The wider the data points in the graph, the better the score.
Andy's swings before and after the 3 month golf fitness program.
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