TAKE QUIZ
Power Development
for Golf
Scot D. Morrison, PT, DPT, CSCS1 and Eric J. Chaconas, PT, DPT, CSCS2
1
Washougal Sport and Spine, Washougal, Washington; and 2Department of Physical Therapy, University of
St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Florida
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided
in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal’s Web site (http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj).
ABSTRACT
GOLF IS A POPULAR SPORT
ATTRACTING PARTICIPATION
FROM ALL AGE GROUPS. THE
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
PROFESSIONAL WILL OFTEN
ENCOUNTER GOLFERS WHO ARE
LOOKING TO IMPROVE THEIR
GAME THROUGH ROTATIONAL
POWER DEVELOPMENT. BY GAIN-
ING A SOUND UNDERSTANDING
OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROTA-
TIONAL POWER IN THE GOLFER,
THE EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
WILL BE BETTER ABLE TO
ADDRESS THIS NEED. THE PUR-
POSE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO
DISCUSS POWER DEVELOPMENT
PRINCIPLES, ADDRESS GOLF-
SPECIFIC POWER DEVELOPMENT,
AND GIVE SOME SPECIFIC EXER-
CISE OPTIONS THAT CAN BE
IMPLEMENTED.
INTRODUCTION
olf is a sport that can be played
G apply to power development and these
by almost anyone regardless of
age, sex, or skill. Worldwide
there are an estimated 35 million golfers
with approximately 26.5 million partic-
ipants in the United States alone (16).
With the wide appeal of this sport
comes unique demands that must be
met for the golfer to be successful.
During the normal full golf swing, high
levels of force are required to acceler-
ate the club into the downswing
and then again to decelerate during
Copyright Ó National Strength and Conditioning Association
the follow through (21). The golf swing
is considered to be a sequential move-
ment with power development begin-
ning with ground reaction forces
(GRFs) in the lower extremity and
peaking at club head impact (9,14).
Hume describes the kinetic chain
sequence as initiated by the “legs and
hips followed by movement of the
trunk and shoulders, and finally the
hands and wrists” (9). Elite golfers do
a better job of this summation of
power, which is one of the reasons
for their greater club head speed (14).
The literature has established strong
support for the use of physical training
in the sport of golf (1,8,13,20,24).
Because of the nature of the sport
and the correlation between measures
of power and club head speed, an
important focus of training is on the
development of power (18). Although
the golf swing is a unique movement, it
is important to approach the develop-
ment of power in a golfer the same way
one would develop power in other
sports. There are basic principles that
should be adhered to while also
acknowledging the unique demands
of golf.
TESTING FOR POWER
Power for golf can be measured with
a variety of jump tests and medicine
ball throws. The seated medicine ball
chest throw, standing rotational throw,
squat jump, and countermovement
jump have been found to correlate well
with club head speed (5,18). Club head
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
speed is an important means of assess-
ing the intervention’s effect on the golf
game. With all other aspects being
equal, an increase in club head speed
of 5.3 km/h has been shown to result in
10–15 m increased carry distance from
the tee (23). The role of the lower
extremity in the golf swing is to gener-
ate force and transfer it through the
foot into the ground. The force push-
ing back on the foot from the ground
is usually described as the GRF. The
ability to load the rear foot and then
transfer this GRF from the rear foot to
the lead foot during the downswing is
something that skilled golfers do better
than novices which results in increased
club head speed (9,10). In addition to
this weight shift, highly skilled golfers
demonstrate better stability and
increased transfer of force at impact
(14). The initial assessment of a golfer
should include these tests of power and
they should be retested regularly to
track progress. A complete description
of the tests mentioned in this section
has been discussed elsewhere in the
literature (5,18,22).
POWER DEVELOPMENT
PARAMETERS
The 3 main components that interact
together allowing for maximal power
are: muscular strength, rate of force
development, and the amount of force
KEY WORDS:
golf; power; exercise; rotational power;
club head speed
43
Power for Golf

that can be developed at high veloci-
ties of movement (6). In each of these
domains, the specific exercise, the load
used, the velocity by which it is per-
formed, sets, repetitions (reps), rest
periods, sequencing, and frequency
are all parameters that are important
to consider. A full description of how
to manipulate these variables is beyond
the scope of this article and the reader
is referred to the article by Haff and
Nimphius (6). However, in general,
the load will be submaximal and the
rest periods will be long enough to
allow for complete recovery.
For power development, a mixed
methods approach is often recommen-
ded (3,6). This approach combines
heavy resistance training with ballistic
training to maximize the training effect
to the individual demands of the sport.
A mixed methods program trains
power production across its entire
spectrum compared with strength
training or ballistic exercise alone.
ROLE OF STRENGTH
Strength is closely correlated with the
athlete’s capacity to rapidly produce
high levels of force (2,3,6). A founda-
tion of strength must be in place for the
golfer to develop significant levels of
power (3,6). Strength development can
be sufficient to develop power without
the addition of any specific work (15)
and a stronger golfer will respond to the
addition of specific power-based exer-
cises more optimally (2).
It should be noted that strength is
relative to the individual and sport.
Observed increase in power resulting
from strength work is assumed to
come from increased muscle cross-
sectional area and changes in neural
drive (3). General guidelines for
strength development suggest that
near maximum resistance levels should
be used (.80% of 1 repetition maxi-
mum) with lower repetition ranges
and longer rest periods (19). Exercise
prescription for strength must take into
account a multitude of variables, but
general guidelines suggest significant
gains in as few as 2–3 sets performed
2–3 times per week (3,8,11,19).
ROLE OF BALLISTIC TRAINING
Ballistic training is the second aspect of
the mixed methods approach. This
form of training allows the golfer to
accelerate throughout the entire
movement (6). This is in sharp contrast
to an exercise such as a bench press
where up to 52% of the total duration
of the exercise has been shown to con-
sist of deceleration (3). The full impor-
tance of training at high velocity has
been discussed in depth in prior reports
(6). When looking to train for high
velocity, it is important that the loads
used for the ballistic exercises are low
enough that the golfer is actually able
to perform the movement at high
speeds. Winchester et al. (26) looked
at 8 weeks of ballistic resistance train-
ing performed 3 times per week at

Figure 1. (A) Medial/lateral jump initial position: The golfer stands to the side of the box and goes into a single-leg stance on the
outside leg. The jump is initiated by dropping down on the right leg and then driving into triple extension to jump
toward the box. (B) Medial/lateral jump end position: The athlete will land on the opposite leg from the one that was
jumped off of. The landing on the box should be quiet and controlled with no loss of balance noted. The athlete will
step down and repeat.

44 VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 4 | AUGUST 2014

loads between 26 and 48% of 1 repeti-
tion maximum and found increased
peak power and rate of force develop-
ment compared with a control. The
observed increases in the rate of force
development are caused by adaptations
in neural drive, the rate of activation,
and intermuscular coordination (3).
Both the intent to move rapidly and
the actual rapid execution of the exer-
cise have been shown to have a large
effect on training outcomes (3). Insur-
ing that the golfer maximizes velocity
during the execution of the movement,
while using a load that allows for attain-
ment of these high velocities, should be
a component of the training program.
When performed in this manner,
ballistic exercises allow the athlete to
train at or near performance speed with
a large power output and high rate of
force development that can lead to
increased power at game speed (3).
patterns of movement that are seen
in the sport. Because golf is largely
a sport of frontal plane motion trans-
lated into rotational power, the inclu-
sion of exercises that develop this
frontal power is warranted.
MEDIAL/LATERAL JUMP
The medial to lateral jump is per-
formed with the athlete jumping onto
a box in the frontal plane as described
in (Figure 1A and 1B and see Video,
Supplemental Digital Content 1,
http://links.lww.com/SCJ/A141). This
exercise aids in the development of
explosive power generation from the
hips that can be helpful in the rapid
development and transfer of GRF from
the rear foot to the lead foot during
the downswing. To avoid excessive
loading through the lower extremity,
the athlete is instructed to step down
from the box after each repetition
instead of jumping down. The athlete
should be instructed to perform an
explosive movement from the ground
and land in a controlled manner. As
golf is a sport that is asymmetrical in
nature, it is important to perform an
equal number of reps to both sides.
MEDICINE BALL THROW
The medicine ball throw described in
Figure 2A and 2B and Supplemental
Digital Content 2 (see Video, http://
links.lww.com/SCJ/A142) is a funda-
mental power development exercise.
The medicine ball is one of the most

EXERCISE SELECTION
The development of lower-body
strength and power is a key compo-
nent of golf-specific training (25). Golf
is similar to other striking and throw-
ing sports in that the golfers’ power
development originates in the lower
extremities and the resulting GRFs
are expressed through the trunk and
upper extremity into the golf club.
The inclusion of exercises that empha-
size extension through the hip and
knee is therefore important. Exercise
selection should be specific to the
demands of the sport with a focus on
the specific muscles, movements, and
energy systems that are required by the
sport. Lower-body power and upper-
body strength are correlated with all
specific golf performance measures,
most notably distance and overall
score (25).
When used in conjunction with
strength training, plyometrics have
been shown to be beneficial for
improving club head speed in golfers
Figure 2. (A) Medicine ball rotational throw start position: The golfer stands in an
(1). Research suggests that power
athletic stance grasping the ball with both hands and holding it to the side
development is specific to direction of the right hip. (B) Medicine ball rotational throw end position: The throw
(22). Exercise selection, to some extent, is initiated with powerful double extension of the knees and hips with
should therefore emphasize those a weight shift from right to left while simultaneously rotating through the
movements that mimic the same torso and throwing the ball toward the wall.

Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com 45

Power for Golf

general rotational power. Appropriate

verbal cuing would include a phrase
such as “try to throw the ball through
the wall.”

Kettlebell Swing
The kettlebell swing (Figure 3A and 3B
and see Video, Supplemental Digital Con-
tent 3, http://links.lww.com/SCJ/A140)
has been shown to develop power and
strength and has been suggested as
a viable alternative to more traditional
methods, such as the power clean,
when looking for exercise program
variety (12,17). Inclusion of the kettle-
bell swing offers the strength and con-
ditioning professional an alternative
means of lower-body power develop-
ment that may be easier for the golfer
to perform at home or while traveling.
The kettlebell swing is executed with
an emphasis on flexion at the hip, often
called the hip hinge, which biases
toward the use of the posterior chain
for the execution of the exercise. This
emphasizes powerful hip and knee
extension similar what is found during
the golf swing. Verbal instruction in-
cludes “hike” the kettlebell between
the legs on the downswing and “snap
Figure 3. (A) Kettlebell swing bottom position: Set up by standing with the feet the hips forward” on the upswing.
slightly past shoulder width apart with the kettlebell set an arms length
in front and on the floor. The swing is initiated with the golfer pushing EXAMPLE PROGRAM
the hips back while reaching forward to grasp the bell. Flexion at the
An example program is provided in the
knee is minimal but should be enough to allow for a neutral spine. The
kettlebell is then pulled from the floor and swung back between the Table. This program would be imple-
legs to load the hips for the swing. (B) Kettlebell swing top position: mented as the foundational component
From the loaded position extend the hips crisply to swing the kettlebell of the golfers program and likely would
up. At the top of the swing, the golfer will be standing tall without follow-up a block that has emphasized
excessive hip or lumbar spine extension. The downswing is initiated strength development. The warm-up
when the kettlebell reaches the peak of the swing. At this point, the and accessory exercises added to the
weight is actively pulled down and back between the legs. It is program would be specific to the needs
important to keep the arc of the swing close to the hips to minimize the demonstrated by the athlete. The pro-
load through the lumbar spine. gram would be followed for 4–6 weeks
as a power-specific training block and
emphasis should be placed on progress-
versatile exercise tools that allows for from the lower extremity that is ing the intensity of the exercises per-
power development at a velocity sim- expressed in a rotary throwing manner formed without excessive variation in
ilar to sport-specific speed. The rota- both in the backswing and downswing. the specific exercises.
tional throw has been shown to be It is important to use a weight that is The strength exercises chosen compli-
closely correlated with club head speed light enough to allow for high move- ment the power work that the golfer
(18) and programs using various rota- ment velocity. The strength and condi- will be performing. Sufficient hip and
tional throws have been shown to tioning professional should also avoid knee flexion while performing the
improve club head speed for golfers instructing the golfer to attempt to imi- squat is important with deep front
(4,20). The rotational medicine ball tate their golf swing with this exercise. and back squats producing greater
throw reproduces the characteristics The goal is not to interfere with the transfer to the squat jump (7), which
of the golf swing by creating power swing motor program but to develop is highly correlated to club head speed

46 VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 4 | AUGUST 2014


Table
Example exercise program
Exercise Sets/repetitions
Medial-lateral jump 336
Rotational medicine 336
ball throw
Kettlebell swing 338
Front squat 335
Single leg deadlift 338
Single-arm bench press 335
Single-arm standing 335
cable row
1RM 5 1 repetition maximum.
(18). The inclusion of an upper-body
pressing and pulling exercise is indi-
cated by the correlation found between
strength in these movements and golf
performance (25). In addition, the sin-
gle arm format trains the core muscles
because of their increased stabilization
activity. A comprehensive program
would include additional exercises that
focus on other aspects of performance
outside the scope of this article. Basic
principles of periodization, load selec-
tion, rep ranges, and rest periods
should be observed in the implementa-
tion of these and any other exercises.
CONCLUSION
The integration of power development
into the golfer’s exercise program
should include both strength and bal-
listic training principles. Following
these training principles and using
exercises that combine the various
power training methods will allow
the strength and conditioning specialist
to design a program that will increase
power in the golf swing which can
potentially result in lower scores.
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:
The authors report no conflicts of interest
and no source of funding
training. Med Sci Sports Exerc 42: 1566–
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 TAKE QUIZ
Exercise Selection to
Develop Optimal
Explosive Lunge
Movements for
World-Standard Squash
Graham Turner, MSc1 and Keith Barker, MSc2
1
Department of Sport Health and Nutrition, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds, England, United Kingdom; and 2English
Institute of Sport, Manchester, England, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT
IN WORLD-STANDARD SQUASH,
THE ABILITY TO PERFORM RAPID
ACCELERATION AND DECELERA-
TION OVER SHORT DISTANCES IS
ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS. THE
EXPLOSIVE LUNGE REQUIRES A
COMPLEX COMBINATION OF
BOTH LOCOMOTION AND STABIL-
ITY IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT
DIRECTION AND DISTANCE FROM
THE BALL, AT THE TIME OF SHOT
SELECTION. THIS ARTICLE DEM-
ONSTRATES THE METHOD OF
FUNCTIONAL EXERCISE PRO-
GRESSION USED AT THE ENGLISH
INSTITUTE OF SPORT TO OPTIMIZE
EXPLOSIVE LUNGE MOVEMENT TO
SUPPORT WORLD-CLASS PER-
FORMANCE AT THE 2013 SQUASH
WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS.
INTRODUCTION
gility is a context-specific ability,
A reliant on both physical and
technical qualities (7). During
an elite squash match, each athlete must
perform frequent lunging and squatting
movement patterns with variable execu-
tion and recovery (4,6,19). Effective court
coverage relies on rapid and forceful
36 VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 4 | AUGUST 2014
change of direction, and the lunge is
a specialized movement component,
critical to the movement repertoire of
the squash athlete (3,9). The lunge pat-
terns performed during squash competi-
tion vary greatly in their direction,
amplitude, velocity, mechanics, and
kinematics (6). The extreme high-
velocity lunge performed during world-
standard squash is best characterized as
an explosive bound or “jump lunge.” This
movement differs markedly from the tra-
ditional lunge pattern and requires the
athlete to leap into unilateral hip exten-
sion before playing a shot (Figure 1).
The jump lunge demonstrates specialist
agility, underpinned by mechanically
efficient, coordinated, and controlled
movement. Movement into and out of
the jump lunge represents a movement
sequence that depends on rapid force
production to maximize velocity (21).
Effective application of impulse is criti-
cal to success; therefore, conditioning
must emphasize maximum strength
and explosive training to enable the
trained athlete to continue to make
physiological gains (11,12).
KINEMATICS
Biomechanical analysis of a traditional
“walk forward lunge (WFL)” and the
Copyright Ó National Strength and Conditioning Association
“jump forward lunge (JFL)” demon-
strates that the quadriceps, hamstrings,
and gastrocnemius remain active
throughout each stage of each move-
ment and all 3 muscle groups perform
eccentric, concentric, and isometric
contractions (8). This underlines the
requirement for program design to be
based around multi-joint and structural
compound exercises, such as the squat
and deadlift.
Examination of the force characteris-
tics between lunge techniques of
trained athletes lunging with maximal
exertion demonstrates that the JFL
consistently elicits higher muscle acti-
vation, and so program planning must
also ensure that exercise progression
develops specific movement dynamics.
Contrary to common belief, the JFL
does not elicit prolonged eccentric
hamstring contraction. Electromyog-
raphy data presented by Jonhagen
et al. (8) demonstrate that eccentric
activity occurs during the approach
phase of the lunge, but even at maximal
exertion, the time spent in eccentric
KEY WORDS:
squash; agility; jump forward lunge;
strength; power

Figure 1. (A) Example of a squash jump lunge. (B) Squash jump lunge end position.
hamstring contraction is short (18 6
8%) relative to the whole movement.
Hamstring muscle activation during
approach is determined by the force/
time characteristics of the movement,
and analysis demonstrates that in the
WFL, eccentric contraction is quickly
followed by hamstring lengthening.
This contrasts with the pattern of mus-
cular contraction found in the hamstring
in the JFL where stability in stance re-
quires a higher degree of muscular con-
trol and underlines the need for good
form and posture. In the JFL, increased
force correlates with increased eccentric
activation but instead of lengthening,
the hamstrings then utilize an isometric
contraction to control the higher forces
absorbed at foot strike. Analysis of mus-
cle activation for both the WFL and the
JFL demonstrates that at all speeds
eccentric contraction predominately
occurs in the gastrocnemius (61 6 3%
during approach and 63 6 12% during
recovery) (8).
Jumping into the lunge changes the
kinematics of the movement and re-
quires the athlete to control force
while using a greater range of motion
at the hip, knee, and ankle. During this
movement, the length of the ham-
strings is influenced more by the angle
at the hip than the angle at the knee
(5). In squash, world-class performance
relies on the ability of the athlete
to combine explosive lunging with
dynamic trunk flexion to support shot
execution. In these “jump lunges,” the
athlete leads the movement with an
extended knee before striking the floor
with the heel and rolling onto a full
foot contact. Frequently in these move-
ments, on striking the floor with the
heel, the athlete then immediately
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
flexes at the hip to lower the trunk into
a position approaching horizontal to
play the shot (Figure 1B). After playing
the ball, the athlete is then required to
rapidly recover into a ready position
for the next movement sequence. The
development of sport-specific explo-
sive ability therefore necessitates an
integrated training program to under-
pin dynamic correspondence for explo-
sive exercise progression (16).
STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT FOR
FUNCTIONAL TRANSFER
In squash, the loser of the rally will usu-
ally cover more distance than the winner
(18). During performance, fatigue will
induce changes in lower limb muscle
activation and muscle co-activation
ratios that threaten to compromise
multi-joint coordination (13). Strength
and conditioning coaches must therefore
prioritize functional loading, to ensure
that physiological capacity is developed
in synergy with motor competence, to
support technical performance (2).
Examination of lunge forces and tech-
nique reveals that more experienced
squash players learn the ability to sup-
press impact loading forces following
coordination of high initial impact
force. Kinematic analysis of the tech-
nique of developing players demon-
strates that in comparison, junior
players tend to land with a slightly
straighter leg, causing foot placement
to produce a flat foot strike in advance
of knee flexion (20). Performance
enhancement therefore necessitates
coaching that emphasizes motor con-
trol as the athlete learns to exert and
absorb greater force (10). Exercise pro-
gression must be underpinned by safe
and effective movement competence,
and the Y Balance Test offers a validated
movement screening protocol to objec-
tively assess dynamic balance (14).
THE EXPLOSIVE LUNGE
DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
CONTINUUM
The explosive lunge development exer-
cise continuum (Figure 2) presents an
evidence-based model for functional
exercise progression that has been dem-
onstrated to be effective in the support
37
Explosive Lunge Movements for World-Standard Squash
Figure 2. Explosive Lunge Development Exercise Continuum 5 SL; single-leg.
and development of world-class squash
performance.
The continuum dictates that explosive
training is preceded by strength training
with exercise selection and loading deter-
mined by individual needs analysis. Dur-
ing general preparation, low speed-high
force exercise predominates, whereas
during specific preparation and compe-
tition phases, increased emphasis is
placed on high speed-high force move-
ments. Exercises on the continuum
increase in velocity (low to high: left
to right) with the corresponding
increase in musculoskeletal stress indi-
cated by progression through colored
zones, from green through amber to
red. The green zone contains low
speed-high force program components
used to enhance muscle force produc-
tion and develop movement-specific
strength. Exercises in the amber zone
emphasize mechanical specificity to train
peak power, rate of force development,
and acceleration. The red zone contains
exercises for speed strength training that
use ballistic muscular actions to promote
successful performance adaptation. Exer-
cises from the red zone must be used
selectively and programming requires
38 VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 4 | AUGUST 2014
careful periodization, integrated planning,
and qualified supervision (17).
PERFORMANCE PROGRESSION
The following section presents 4 lunge
pattern exercises from the explosive
lunge development continuum to exem-
plify how exercise selection supports
program design to enhance sport-
specific movement mechanics, force
production, and velocity. Used within
a periodized program, the featured ex-
ercises target the neuromuscular factors
involved in strength production to effect
performance adaptation to develop
explosive lunge performance (Figs. 3–6).
TRADITIONAL (WALK FORWARD)
DYNAMIC LUNGE
The traditional gym-based WFL
(Figure 3) requires the athlete to
maintain an upright trunk, and the
knee of the lead leg is flexed on contact
with the floor. This exercise can provide
relatively high external loading at moder-
ate movement velocities. Requiring the
athlete to drive up and out of the lunge
as explosively as possible increases the
sport specificity of the movement in rela-
tion to perceptual and decision-making
factors, velocity, and neuromuscular
recruitment (15). The moderate move-
ment velocity, flexed knee on ground
contact, and upright trunk mean that
for squash, this exercise is best suited to
the general preparation phase of training.
EXTENDED DYNAMIC
FORWARD LUNGE
When the squash player is challenged
to perform an extended dynamic for-
ward lunge over an increased distance,
the coach should instruct the athlete to
extend the knee of the lead leg toward
ground contact (Figure 4A–C). This
exercise targets both the amplitude
and the mechanics of sport-specific
movement dynamics to develop high-
velocity lunging ability for squash.
Unlike the traditional WFL, progres-
sion requires that external loading on
the bar is reduced and amplitude and
velocity of movement are increased.
REAR FOOT ELEVATED
SPLIT DEADLIFT
In this exercise, the ascent of the rear foot
elevated split deadlift (Figure 5A–C) is
executed by extending the knee of the
lead leg before extending at the hip. To
descend, this sequence is then reversed in
a smooth controlled movement. The ath-
lete should maintain a flat back with
shoulders retracted throughout the
movement. The benefit of this exercise
is that it provides loading in an extremely
relevant position in relation to trunk for-
ward lean and disassociation at the hip.
Coaches should recognize, however, that
the relatively low velocity of the move-
ment and the position of partial hip and
knee extension attained at the top of the
exercise may also threaten to limit func-
tional transfer. This example underlines
the need for coaches to integrate a bal-
ance of exercises in program design to
ensure that each of the neuromuscular
factors involved in strength production
is targeted.
EXPLOSIVE FORWARD BOUND
TO REBOUND
The forward bound to rebound
(Figure 6A–C) provides an extremely
specific stimulus for training to improve
high-velocity lunging in squash. The
Figure 3. (A–C) The traditional walk forward lunge.

athlete is instructed to leap as far as they position. Coaching emphasizes active enable the athlete to rebound back
can from one foot to the other, before pre-activation around the ankle, knee, toward the start position as quickly as
rebounding back toward the start and hip to brace the landing and thus possible. Contact time at the extent of

Figure 4. (A–C) Extended dynamic forward lunge.

Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com 39

Explosive Lunge Movements for World-Standard Squash

Figure 5. (A–C) Rear foot elevated split deadlift.

the movement should be minimized. explosive ability, demonstrating high Explosive rebound to rebound repeti-
This exercise exemplifies the perfor- velocity—high force movement, aug- tions can be used to successfully pro-
mance of sport-specific power and mented by strength development. mote performance adaptation through

Figure 6. (A–C) Explosive forward bound to rebound.

40 VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 4 | AUGUST 2014

an overload application that conditions
the athlete, to mitigate fatigue-induced
reductions in performance (13,21).
PROGRAMMING
Squash players who, according to the
Long Term Athlete Development
model (1), are still within the Train to
Train stage must learn to perfect coor-
dination of strength and movement to
control impact landing (6). Program-
ming to develop the JFL must therefore
be supported by a range of reduced
force exercises. The same exercises are
used by the elite squash player to com-
pliment high-force work undertaken to
help improve JFL performance. Rather
than having a strength or power
emphasis, these “assistance” exercises
provide the athlete with either a stability
Example of assistance stability-strength and mobility-strength exercises
Assistance exercises (lower forces)
Stability-strength
Mobility-strength
or range of motion (mobility) challenge
to elicit a positive impact on the overall
performance of explosive lunging
movements. Examples of relevant assis-
tance exercises are provided in Table 1.
CONCLUSION
When working to develop the ability
of the squash athlete to perform high-
velocity lunges, the strength and con-
ditioning coach must take a strategic,
need-based approach underpinned by
a clear understanding of the direction,
amplitude, velocity, mechanics, and
kinematics of the lunges performed
during competition. Maturation,
movement competence, training age,
and phase of training should all be
considered when selecting exercises
to support and develop explosive
Table 1
Single-leg squat off box
Single-leg pistol squat
Single-leg hang clean
Single-leg push jerk
Single-leg dumbbell squat touch down
Single-leg wood chop
Split squat with imbalanced or unstable load
Single-leg medicine ball catch-throw
Bungee lunge and medicine ball catch-throw
Overhead lunge with twist
Hop and stick
Single-leg stiff-legged deadlift
Overhead split squat changeovers
Split squat wood chop
Overhead split squat
Lateral sumo squat
Dumbbell sumo squat off blocks
Split squat good morning
Overhead rear foot elevated split squat
Overhead squat
Stiff-legged deadlift
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
lunge movements. The explosive lunge
development continuum (Figure 2)
presents an evidence-based model for
functional exercise progression, which
in careful combination with assis-
tance exercises enables the strength
and conditioning coach to select rel-
evant exercises, to support perfor-
mance progression to attain and
sustain world-class performance.
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:
The authors report no conflicts of interest
and no source of funding.
Graham Turner
is a senior lec-
turer in the
Department of
Sport, Health
and Nutrition at
Leeds Trinity
University.
Keith Barker is
a senior strength
& conditioning
coach with the
English Institute
of Sport, and
National Lead
Strength & Con-
ditioning Coach
for England
Squash.
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