How to achieve Rotational strength for Golf and Hurling!

At Function & Fitness Ireland F.F.I. we like to train in the upright environment as much as possible, in other words standing on two feet. The title of this article mentions Golf and Hurling but it can be about so many sports that rely on some rotational strength. In these specific sports it's a must that you are strong in twisting and turning, if you want to play these games successfully and without a higher risk of injury. In these sports you need to practise strength and movement in the upright environment too.

Firstly we emphasise  functional mobility is a must in all your joints. We promote body weight, kettlebell and Power club mobility movements. The kettlebells and clubs can add some extra resistance and assistance whilst mobilising a specific bodypart. Generally the kettlebells and clubs tend to be of a lighter variety to start with.

Once we have built up mobility and the body has adapted, it's time to progressively overload the body. With the Indian clubs it might mean changing your grip by milimetres. This is one of the beauties of Indian club work. It's not always about stepping up to another weight that could be 1- 2kg's heavier than the last weight, this jump could be too much for some. Also we can build on the basic movements and increase the range of motion, therefore increasing strength at greater joint angles.

There are some excellent kettlebell movements to improve your shoulder strength and mobility like the Turkish Get up and the kettlebell Arm Bar. But all kettlebell movements should emphasise the importance of stability and movement, right? The Indian Club movements also teach stability and movement, but here is where we start to use more rotational work,on the shoulders and spine in particular. Some of the side swings and chopping like movements will have an excellent transfer over to the Golf or Hurling swing. The kettlebell and Indian Club will also strengthen your forearm and hand strength.

Barbell training is excellent for building up maximal strength and power, but the classic gym movements with the barbell don't utilise enough rotational work. So if you are using barbells in your training, add some Indian club and kettlebell movements on your other days to get the strength for twisting and turning.

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