Rory McIlroy’s Strength And Flexibility Workout

Golf has never been a sport associated with athletic excellence. Sure, it’s tricky to make a small ball go in a hole using only a stick. But swinging clubs doesn’t build abs you can wash your plus fours on. Right?

Don’t tell Rory McIlroy. Since the turn of the decade, the Northern Irishman has snared himself four majors, a glut of tour trophies, 95 weeks in the world number one slot – and a physique you wouldn’t normally associate with a stroll round the links.

Though it’s the big lifts that get Instagram most fired up – especially given McIlroy’s penchant for press-ups sans shirt – his coach credits those improved performances on the course to less photogenic work off it. “It’s about flexibility, strength, speed and power,” says his trainer, Steve McGregor, the man who turned a doughy 20-year-old with a dodgy back into a champion on the greens and in the squat rack.

“That means a lot of stability work, and single leg, single arm exercises.” By loading one side only, McGregor can correct imbalances caused by rotating in the same direction, hundreds of times a day, for two decades.

You body might not suffer the same stress, but the back issues that threatened to curtail McIlroy’s career are universal. Even if you’ve never teed off. Your desk chair is just as bad for your posture, shortening some muscles and stretching others until you’re in a permanent slump.

The fix is core strength, says McGregor, which gets you back into the right position and increases strength all over. If the link between your legs and arms is strong, then you can find more power in both. Which could means an extra 30 yards on your drive, or an extra 30kg on your bench press.

The Rory McIlroy Power Club Workout

Though you can’t have McGregor in your corner, thanks to Nike’s Training Club app, you can get the next best thing: McIlroy’s workouts in your pocket.