Increase Your Swing Speed With These 7 Upper Body Exercises for More Power

Welcome to the second installment in the PGA.com Fitness Series which will focus on strength training for golf. Part 1 explored lower body exercises for more power and now we're moving to upper body.

When it comes to controlling the club's path, the squaring of the club face, and the speed at which the club is delivered into the ball, the primary source of control comes from the upper body and its connection to the trunk. Upper body strengthening is crucial for developing the physicality necessary to maximize these capabilities.

That means making sure you have a balanced strengthening program that includes upper body pushing, pulling, and forearm/grip strength development. I'm honored to again be joined by my friend Scott Shepard, a nationally recognized sports physical therapist and three-time winner of the Golf Digest Top 50 Golf Fitness Trainers award, who brings invaluable expertise to these discussions.

Let's get into it.

Pushing or pressing power comes from strengthening musculature on the chest wall and front shoulder. These groups are important for maintaining width and providing steering forces in the swing. Many gyms have now added a Landmine base for use with barbell training.

A great exercise to improve pressing power is a Landmine Single-Arm Press. From a split stance, perform a one-arm overhead press, driving the bar forward and fully extending the arm. Because this is more of a free-movement exercise, make sure to control the path of the bar safely and use the opposite arm to guide as needed.

The other side of the coin includes pull-based exercises. Strength in this area helps accelerate the club from the top of the swing down towards the ball and assists with steering forces.

One of the best exercises for pulling is a Split-Stance Cable Row. In this exercise, you will focus on one-arm rowing from a slightly forward-hinged position. Focus on maintaining your hinge while you pull into a full-row position. Focus on a smooth tempo, slight pause, and controlled lowering of the weight to improve time under tension.

Another way to work on push and pull is to add a set of Rope Hammer Curls and Rope Triceps Kicks. These are more isolated groups, but the rope attachment helps strengthen the body's ability to pull and push while improving forearm/grip strength.

Improving strength for pulling in a more functional pattern for golf is helpful for transferring your basic strength into sport-specific strength. Performing a cable straight arm chop pattern is a way to improve the body's pulling strength in a pattern that uses the core and stabilizers, similar to the swing movements. Try performing this again with a Rope handle attachment for increased grip/forearm activation.

Lastly, you will want to improve your forearm and grip strength. At higher swing speeds, the body's grip strength might be a limiting factor for transferring energy in proper club face positions to deliver maximal results. It's also helpful to protect against injuries from repeated practice sessions, inadvertent fat shots, or interactions with the turf. Some basics include simple wrist extensions, curls, and hinge patterns with dumbbells. These should be performed slowly in order to strengthen safely and get better results since the loads are generally lower.

By strengthening your upper body, you can help maximize club control and improve speed capacity for the swing. Try to perform each exercise with a weight that challenges you for 8-10 reps and at least 3 sets.

Stay tuned for the next installment in our PGA.com Fitness Series, where we'll explore additional aspects of strength training to elevate your golf game.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his three weekly columns on RG.org, and to learn more about Brendon, visit OneMoreRollGolf.com.