Power gets talked about a lot in golf training, but training it properly is more specific than just choosing an exercise that looks explosive.
As we covered in the previous article, power is your ability to produce force quickly. That means good power training needs both force and speed, and the way we choose exercises, loads, reps and rest periods should reflect that.
Intent matters
If an exercise is being used to develop power, the athlete needs to be trying to move as explosively as possible.
Take a jump or medicine ball throw. The goal is not just to complete the repetition, it is to produce as much output as possible. That means setting up properly, attacking the movement and making each rep look like it matters.
The same principle applies to loaded jumps, push presses and Olympic lifting variations. If the intent drops, the quality of the power work drops with it.
Load needs to match the goal
Heavier is not automatically better.
If I keep increasing the weight of a medicine ball, eventually the athlete can no longer throw it quickly. The same thing happens with loaded jumps. Add some resistance and you can increase the force requirement, but keep adding weight and eventually the movement becomes too slow.
Power can be developed across a range of loads, depending on the exercise and the athlete. The important thing is that the load still allows the athlete to move with the speed and intent we are aiming for.
Sometimes that means bodyweight, sometimes it means a light medicine ball, sometimes it means a moderate external load. The load should serve the adaptation.
Reps and rest matter
Power training is not where we chase fatigue.
For jumps and medicine ball throws, sets might only contain three to five high-quality reps. If the early reps are fast and explosive but the later reps become noticeably slower, the set has gone on too long.
The same applies to rest periods. If we want someone to produce high levels of force quickly, we need enough recovery for them to do it again properly.
This is where power training often gets confused with conditioning. A circuit of jumps, throws and other explosive-looking exercises with very little rest might feel hard, but if movement quality and speed are dropping, it is no longer producing the same stimulus. You are no longer focusing on power and are basically now just doing conditioning.
Power training is about maintaining output, not simply creating exhaustion.
What does programming power look like?
There isn’t one perfect set and rep scheme for power training, but as a general guide, the volume is usually fairly low and the rest periods are long enough to maintain good output. Some examples are below
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Countermovement jump | 3 × 3 | 60–90 sec |
| Medicine ball rotational throw | 3 × 5 each side | 60–90 sec |
| Loaded jump | 3 × 3 | 90 sec–2 min |
| Push press | 3–5 × 2–4 | 2–3 min |
| Olympic lifting variation | 3–5 × 2–3 | 2–3 min |
These aren’t hard rules. The athlete, exercise, load and training goal all matter. The main thing I am looking for is whether the quality stays high.
If jump height, throwing distance, movement speed or general explosiveness starts to noticeably drop, that is usually a sign the athlete needs more rest, fewer reps, or that the set should finish.
For a golfer, something as simple as 3 sets of 3 jumps followed by 3 sets of 4 rotational medicine ball throws each side can be a perfectly useful power block before the main strength work.
Exercise selection still matters
There are plenty of ways to train power.
Jumps and loaded jumps can develop lower-body power. Medicine ball throws give us options for upper-body and rotational power. Push presses and Olympic lifting variations can also be useful when the athlete has the technical ability and training experience to perform them well.
For golfers, medicine ball rotational throws are an obvious example because they involve producing force through rotation, but that does not mean every power exercise needs to look like a golf swing.
A countermovement jump has very little visual similarity to golf, yet it can still help develop the ability to produce force quickly through the lower body. The goal is to train the physical quality, not copy the sport in the gym.
Where should power training sit in a session?
If power is a priority, I generally want it performed while the athlete is fresh.
That usually means after the warm-up and before the heavier strength work. There is little point asking someone to produce maximum explosiveness after they have already completed heavy squats, lunges and conditioning.
For a golfer, a power section might include a few sets of jumps and medicine ball throws before moving into the main strength work. The exact exercises and volumes will depend on the individual, but the principles stay the same.
The practical takeaway
Good power training comes down to a few things: high intent, appropriate load, low enough reps to maintain quality, enough rest to recover, and exercises that suit the athlete.
The goal is not to make the session look explosive. The goal is to actually train power.
