With the rise of Cameron Smith to the World’s Top 30, people are starting to pay attention to what makes the young Aussie so good. Although only a small part of the puzzle, as his trainer I would like to share a key ingredient of his physical preparation for building a better golfing body during the time we have worked together.
Cam’s approach is particularly relatable and applicable to the club golfer because he isn’t the biggest guy, or the most gifted athlete, or even the hardest worker. Cam likes to keep things simple and use practice and training approaches that can be completed in a short amount of time with the minimum of fuss.
It’s extremely simple, easy to apply to any level of golfer and very effective. We essentially aim to load the body in a closed chain or axial load fashion. Think light force being pushed down the line of the limb or spine.
Research conducted by Dr. Carolyn Richardson (founder of GravityFit) and her team has shown that adding this load to the body provokes an activation or stimulus for the deep muscle system. The same set of muscles responsible for holding you in good posture, stabilizing your joints and helping to ensure quality movement in your golf swing.
We look to apply this axial load in 4 different ways:
POSTURAL DRILLS — DAILY
Using The Gravity Cap and TPro, both made by GravityFit. The Gravity Cap gives him axial load on top of the skull and down the spine. This is particularly effective for strengthening the neck and muscles adjacent to the spine.
It really helps Cam’s head and neck posture, which is something he has historically struggled with. The TPro provides that same stimulus on to the hand in the direction of the shoulder girdle. Again helping with a key postural priority, shoulder and mid/upper back positioning.
CLOSED CHAIN GYM MOVEMENTS — 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK
Variations of squats, lunges, jumping and bounding deliver a lot of stimulus for the lower body deep muscles. These are combined with closed chain upper body push and pull movements.
GOLF WARM-UP — DAILY
Postural drills are key part of Cam’s golf preparation. It’s the final part of his warm up before heading to the range, with the aim of getting some last minute activation for that all important posture and deep muscle system.
GOLF DRILLS — DAILY
Here Cam looks to transfer the key axial load and postural feel to his skill practice, this time using the GravityFit TPro to hit shots with. He primiarly uses it during putting, pitching and short iron play but occasionally loads up with something a little longer!
If you would like to know more about how axial load can help activate and strengthen your deep muscle system, check out gravityfit.com/golf for more info.
