-The Bird Dog Row & Lunge Oblique Twist-
Exercises come and go in programs, but I know I’ve come across one that checks all the boxes I’m looking for (simple, challenging, effective, and safe) when it repeatedly shows up—for years— in my athletes workouts.
The Bird Dog Row and the Reverse Lunge to Oblique Cable twist are absolute stunners of fitness moves, and two of the best golf core exercises I know. They work the core, hips, balance, rotation and anti-rotation (resisting the movement) all in one fell swoop.
Adding them to your program is a must, and you’ll love them both.
Let’s dive in:
Bird Dog Row Set Up and Execution:
With a bench or box, place a weight down to the side. The knee that is down on the bench will be the arm that is working.
Come up to a classic bird dog position, with the leg extended straight back from the hip. I like to think about keeping toes pointed down and that glute (butt-cheek) squeezed.
Pick up the weight, hold for a second to find your balance point, then pull wrist to your bottom rib, or just until the point where the elbow goes just past the torso.
Return to start position.
I generally will program these in sets of 6-10 reps.
Things to Consider:
The further the knee is on the bench, the easier it will be to stabilize. The further back (the more shin that is hanging off the bench) the more difficult it will be to balance.
It’s easy to rotate towards the weight, shoot to stay completely level.
Make sure not to sag the belly towards the ground, fighting to keep the abs taught.
Exhale on the row portion, inhaling as you return the weight down, or at the bottom.
Reverse Lunge to Oblique Twist Set Up and Execution
Start with a cable setup at about waist height. Both hands will be holding the handle, as you face lateral to the machine. Your hands will not be in front of your body, but towards the weight stack in reference to the middle of your body.
Step back with the inside leg (the one closer to the weight stack), dropping that knee directly below the hip, and hovering the knee just off the ground.
Then rotate the hands and torso (thinking of using your abs to drive the movement) around the body until the cable hits you, or comes close to doing so. This will ensure almost full rotation of the torso.
Return the hands to the start position and step back up, bringing the feet back close together.
I generally will program these in sets of 8-10.
Things to Consider
This isn’t an exercise to do as heavy as possible. Make it challenging, but not where you have to compensate quality to get the cable to move.
Make sure and keep the front knee from rotating along with the torso. Once you’ve stepped back into the lunge, we want the lower body to become incredibly stable.
Exhale on the pull-around, making sure not to hold your breath on this one.
There are so many ways to work the core, and I think these two really apply well to the game of golf. I’ve loved them, and I think you will too. If you give them a try, please send me a message and let me know how they went.
Get after it!
-Michael
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