There’s a reason squats are such a popular exercise: they have a lot of benefits, especially for golfers.
Golf Digest Certified Fitness Trainer Ann-Kristin Allen says: “Squats are a great exercise for golfers looking for lower body strength, healthy knees, healthy back, improved posture, and mobility of the knees, hips and ankles.”
Moreover, doing squats can help you learn how to use the ground to generate power in the golf swing. The only trick is, for you to get all of these benefits from squats, you have to be doing them correctly.
Here are the four things Allen says to look for when you’re doing squats:
Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your feet pointed slightly out
“The patella (kneecap) tracks slightly out naturally, so we want to follow that when performing a squat,” Allen explains.
Drive your knees forward over the second toe as you lower yourself down
Allen says during the squat, drive your knees forward the same distance you’re pushing your tailbone back.
Maintain a straight spine angle throughout
You want to feel like your sternum is lifted up and forward throughout the squat, Allen says.
“You can use a golf club to support awareness,” Allen said. Take a club and hold it so the clubhead is at the back of your head and the shaft runs down your spine. Throughout the squat, the shaft should remain in contact with your spine.
Bend from the hips, not the back
Holding the golf club in place can help you realise if you’re bending from the hips, too. If you’re bending your back instead of from the hips, the shaft will leave your spine. Allen has found that when people complain about back pain while doing squats, it’s because they’re bending from their back not their hips.
