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Get 12 yards in 12 minutes with Belen Mozo
If you watched Justin Thomas over the past two weeks in Hawaii, you might have noticed how well he uses the ground to create power in his golf swing. Aided by a firm, downhill fairway, one of his drives at the SBS Tournament of Champions went 409 yards. Yikes. Justin looks like he's leaping off the ground as the club moves through the impact zone. It's a move others have used over the years (think Laura Davies), especially those who don't have the physique of an NFL tight end.
We bring this up because Thomas' technique is a great reminder that lower-body strength and lower-body power are hugely important if you want to hit the ball farther. The muscles of your legs, hips and butt provide a "turbo boost" to your arm swing. The LPGA Tour's Belen Mozo knows this all too well, and spends a great deal of her gym time training her lower body. At 5-foot-7, 126 pounds, she's not particularly big—especially when compared to the LPGA Tour's Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda or Brittany Lincicome. So in order to compete, especially off the tee, she works on generating more explosive power from her lower-body muscles. Things like lateral and rotational jumps and "mountain climbers" are terrific for this type of training. The added benefit of these exercises is they also meet cardiovascular requirements if you do them with minimal rest. In other words, you won't need to hit the treadmill or an elliptical after doing these moves. Watch Belen demonstrate the ultimate 12-minute workout for 12 more yards off the tee (see video above).
Related: Belen Mozo's Core Workout Is Not For The Squeamish
Belen Mozo can get after it in the gym (see for yourself)