You’ve probably heard how important a strong, stable lower body is for golfers. Women in particular need to build strength in their lower bodies to help them generate more power in their swing. So how do you build the strength you need to send it off the tee? 

Squats! 

Take Lexi Thompson’s athletic swing as an example. Her swing is the result of years of training and hours in the gym, but there’s one exercise she almost almost always includes in her workouts — you guessed it, squats. It’s no coincidence that the best players in the game are using this exercise to power up their golf swings. Here’s why you should follow their lead. 

1. Squats train the muscles you use in your golf swing

Stand up and try to squat down as low as you can, then stand back up. Take note of the muscles that you felt working as you performed the squat. Now get into your posture at address and mime your golf swing, paying attention to the muscles you feel working. Did you feel any similarities?

In both movements, you should have felt your quads, hip flexors and glutes working hard to stabilize your body. A strong, stable lower body is crucial for maintaining your posture through the golf swing, as well as for generating power. 

Adding squats to your workouts not only strengthens these muscles, but also improves your ability to perform under fatigue (read: swing a club well for 18 holes of golf). As you are able to squat with better technique and more weight, you will build strength and trust in your body’s ability to perform no matter what. A winning formula on the golf course. 

2. Perfect the high-to-low movement pattern

You start the golf swing standing up. As you come through the downswing, you lower your body to get the clubhead to the golf ball. 

The squat mimics this high-to-low movement pattern, and you know what they say about practice making perfect. 

What’s more, adding weight to your squats trains your body to perform under stress and load. Being able to squat well with added weight means you’ll understand how to move your body through your golf swing in high-pressure situations as well. And we all know confidence can make or break a round of golf. 

3. Learn to use the ground 

Ever hear of using the ground to generate power in the golf swing? In golf, this is also known as ground force reaction and it can help you explode through the ball. 

To do a squat, you lower your body down by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. To lift yourself out of the bottom of your squat, you might think you’re just standing up, but what you’re really doing is pushing the ground away from yourself to force yourself back up. Sound familiar yet? 

Squats are a great way to teach yourself how to push against the ground the same way you would in your swing to generate power. So if you really want to add yards to your swing, you have to add squats to your workout routine.