The Loop

Fitness Friday: How to swing like Rory (the sequel)

August 29, 2014

In response to feedback received on my recent Fitness Friday post "How to swing like Rory," I went back to Golf Digest fitness advisor Ben Shear (@ben_shear) for more tips on how to emulate what might be the best power swing in golf. If you watch Rory McIlroy swing in slow motion (see below), you'll note how active his lower body is at the start of the downswing. This activity, as I explained a few weeks back, is independent of the movement of his upper body—meaning that his lower body is rotating toward the target while his upper body is still rotating away from it.

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Now, in fairness to all power hitters, this change-of-direction move is not exclusive to Rory. He just happens to do it better than most. Rory's swing is a model for generating power efficiently. A few weeks back Ben showed an exercise that will help you train your pelvis to rotate independently of your upper body. Some of you struggled with this move and found yourselves letting your arms bend and rotating your trunk in the same direction your were turning your hips. So this week, Ben offers a simpler exercise to help train lower-body dissociation. Click on the video below to watch.

Ron Kaspriske is the fitness editor of Golf Digest.