How to Power Your Lateral Shift in Your Downswing

In order to promote more power in the hips to begin your downswing, you need to exercise those muscles that create the power.

Your hips are the power source that can produce a strong transition in the downswing. There are at least 20 muscles that are used in golf, but I’ll give you the ones to focus on for this exercise.

I’ll demonstrate presuming you’re a right handed golfer. If you’re left handed, simply reverse this setup. The muscles you need to strengthen are your gluteus maximus muscles (buttocks) and your hamstrings (back of thighs).

Keeping a continuous knee flex throughout the swing, these muscle groups wind up power in the takeaway or backswing. Other muscles benefit, as well, but for this exercise, these are the ones to provide that super power launch in the lateral movement to start your downswing correctly. Your hip, lower back and inner and outer obliques immediately follow and assist, but focus on the gluteuls and hamstrings in this exercise.

Here’s how to begin a daily exercise routine to strengthen you golf muscles…

1. Lay flat on your back with your knees up and feet flat on the ground.
2. Place your hands next to your sides and begin flexing your right knee inward and down towards your left calf.
3. Bring your knee back up to its original starting position and flex it outward to your right and return.
4. Next, flex your left knee inward and down towards your right calf and back to its starting position, then outward to your left and back to its upright position.

Continue this exercise for 10 minutes every day. By performing this exercise routine while watching TV, it won’t seem like exercise at all, which means there’s a good chance you’ll do this every day.