2-MINUTE CLINICS

GOLF EXERCISES: CORE AND SHOULDERS

Your core muscles transfer explosive and coordinated energy from your lower body to the upper, and they stabilize the spine. Your shoulder muscles are regulators of how you swing the club. If you want to be efficient and strengthen both at the same time, try my power-plank series. —Jennifer Fleischer, one of Golf Digest's Best Fitness Trainers in America

  • Lie on a mat on your side, resting on an elbow
  • Lift your pelvis off the ground
  • While it's hovering, swing your top leg back and forth
  • Keep your elbow under the shoulder
  • Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides for 30 more
  • Start in a standard plank, resting on your toes and elbows
  • Raise one bent arm up and to the side
  • Do a couple of reps, then switch arms
  • Keep your pelvis from tilting
  • Alternate like this for 30-60 seconds
  • Start in a standard plank
  • Lift one leg and extend it to the side
  • Do three or four swings, each leg, alternating
  • Keep your upper body from titlting
  • Continue for 30-60 seconds
  • Start in a side plank, arm extended above you
  • Rotate into a normal plank, keeping the arm extended
  • Return to start
  • Do 30-60 seconds, each side
  • Start in a side-plank position
  • Touch your ear with your top hand
  • Rotate your torso toward the floor
  • Touch the ground with the top-arm elbow
  • Do 30-60 seconds, each side