Stayin' Loose to Generate More Power

An advantage of playing multiple sports is discovering how sensations can be "cross-applied".   

Let me explain...

Currently, golf and tennis are my favorite sports to play.

I try to do both a lot.

Here’s a secret...

The most effective golf and tennis is played when the body is loose. 

The goal is to eliminate tension.

Tension kills swing speed.

When athletes become obsessed with mechanical execution, this causes the body to tense up.

Zach — my bud and one of my tennis coaches — talks about this all the time.  He constantly pulls up YouTube videos of tennis professionals tryin’ to stay loose.

Assuming you have strong fundamentals with your golf swing and tennis strokes, the goal then becomes to let the body flow…

You want to create a whip sensation where your lower body pulls your upper body along for the ride.  

This explains why smaller athletes in golf and tennis can generate such great swing speed.

They know how to stay loose… use their lower body… and that generates massive torque and swing speed.

It sounds simple, but mastering this is not easy.

The good news is that there aren’t any prerequisites to do this… you don’t have to be a certain body type or have a certain amount of strength.

I recently mentioned how I started boxing. 

My motivation to start was mental…  (Jocko always talks about how it’s great for mental toughness.)

But I soon realized other major benefits...

First, it’s a ridiculous workout, and my shirt is drenched with sweat after.  

Second, the core work involved is off the charts.

Lastly, I never expected there to be a direct correlation to my golf and tennis.

It’s all about stayin’ loose.

Let me explain…

Sula is one of the coaches at the gym.

He’s a professional fighter and an awesome coach.

His classes are absolute killers… 

Anyway, he keeps tellin’ me that my upper body is too tense when I hit the bag.

He stresses that I need to “be loose”.  

I talked to him about it one day after class…

He explained that “stayin loose” is mental… and that you gotta train yourself to stay relaxed.

Breathing during punches… breathing during strokes… is a really good thing to focus on.

By doing boxing workouts, I’m training myself for tennis and golf.

This same concept applies to lacrosse… especially for generating shot speed.

You want to drill the fundamentals.

But then you want to drill those same fundamentals (like stick work and shooting) in a relaxed state.

Let your body flow.

If you are consistent on addressing this, then I guarantee you’ll see results.

Good luck!