Powerhouse for Golf,/ Tennis/ Pickleball

There is an area of the body with a very important status in the movement industry. It has nicknames like “powerhouse” and “king of the swing” and it rhymes with Elvis. It’s the pelvis, of course, and golfers should take note.

The pelvis is important because it connects your legs to your spine and acts as the gatekeeper for energy to flow from lower body to upper body. Basically, the key movements of the pelvis bear the big responsibility to either assist or impede power transfer.

The movements of the pelvis either build up your speed and transfer it up the chain or become the log jam that slows the energy flow. In the golf swing this log jam displays as poor sequencing, limited club head speed and can contribute to low back issues. When the hips and lumbar spine remain stiff the golfer often moves out of posture and thus limits the full transfer of power.

Pelvic motions are subtle but powerful to move and manage forces. We know from sensor technology that the pelvis performs three moves: rotation, tilting and hiking. Because of the proximity between the spine and legs your pelvic movement capacity is mostly dictated by your hip and spine mobility.

And to fully describe pelvic movement we can view these elliptical bones as a bucket of water. When the front of the pelvis tilts down we are “pouring water out the front.” And when the pelvis tilts into a posterior position at impact, we are “pouring water out of the back of the bucket.” At that moment, our glutes and abdominals contract or shorten and the lumbar back flattens into flexion. At the impact position, the pelvis also stops rotating to then allow the transfer of energy to the trunk.

In today’s article Robert Scott, PGA demonstrates 3 great exercises you can practice to gain more strength and control of your pelvis for rotation and tilting. Please use medical advice if you currently experience low back pain as this is not meant to rehabilitate an injured back but intended to strengthen and thus prevent back issues.

Pelvic Tilting on Pad – Start by laying down face up with your trunk and head elevated on a pad. Bring the front of the hips closer to your lower ribs to flatten the lower back and brace the glutes while keeping your feet on the floor. This is like “pouring water out of the back” for posterior tilting. Then squeeze your lower back and tilt the tailbone back to the floor. This is like “pouring water out of the front” for anterior tilting. Repeat slowly while recruiting as much abdominal, low back and hips muscles as you can.

1/2 Kneeling Pelvic Tilts & Loading – Start in a halfkneeling position with one knee on a pad and the other leg in front bent to 90 degrees. Tilt the pelvis of the kneeling side hip back and forth a few times. Hold the pelvis under or in the posterior position to load the hip as used at impact. Now attempt to check your loading by lifting the other leg off the ground quickly as a test. Reposition yourself and repeat to improve your posterior tilt for good hip loading.

Pelvic Rotation or Rolling from Quadruped – While in an all-fours position, extend one leg straight and maintain neutral spine. Begin rolling the pelvis down and back up as far as you can so that you feel the stretch on the inner and outer hip. Maintain straight arms, level shoulders and head. When doing the pelvic rotation/rolling you will be also rotating the spine as we do in the downswing.

Mastery of these pelvic movements and mobility through hips and spine will add more power and many more years of enjoyment to your game. With modern golfers harnessing more power through equipment and instruction it becomes even more important to make sure your powerhouse can handle that power.

Pam Owens Fitness Director powens@royaloakscc.com (281) 899-3236

GX On Demand

Head over to the Sports Club to learn how to use our new On Demand Classes!

Make Your Own Selection or Try One of These:

• Tube Training by CYBEROBICS (32 minutes)

• Single Dumbbell Strength Workout by BOXX ( 28 minutes)

• 30 Minute Energizing Yoga Flow by SWEATFACTOR (30 minutes)

• Total Body by CATHE (30 minutes)

• Low Impact Cardio Sweat by CATHE ( 29 minutes)

• Pilates Core by MOVE 123

“The Tube Training video was challenging in a good way! The class was awesome, a total sweat fest!” -Mary Catherine Urban

“I just finished an On Demand class targeting my core and I will definitely try more of these awesome classes! I really enjoy the workouts by Cathe.” -Diana Llewellyn

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