The Official Rory McIlroy Thread

I also enjoy this video from time to time, it's from the final round in the 2014 Open Championship.



That's really cool. Such a great swing!
 
Hi guys, sorry to chime in here a little late - I read the posts more than I comment, but fitness comments and discussions always catch my attention as I'm an athletic trainer and have done personal training for years with all different populations. I think the video of Rory's workout is nice to see because it shows people that you don't have to only work with heavy weights (which many golfers shouldn't do exclusively as you need flexibility along with the power), and you can make the workouts fun and interesting. I love using the physio ball for workouts because there are endless possibilities! You saw him doing and overhead press, which can also be done on a mat or bench and then progress to the ball, and you saw the kneeling ball tosses. This was interesting to read all the comments on as it can be a little deceiving. It appears that he's not doing much in the way of work for most of this exercise because he is in such good shape, but I can guarantee that for those who try this (with or without the vest/harness) will have some difficulty. For this exercise (if done properly), he should be contracting his "core" muscles - which, by the way, don't just involve the abdominals. He's squeezing his abs sure, but he's also using his back, glutes (which are HUGELY important for golfers - just ask Tiger Woods), inner and out thighs, hamstrings, and hip flexors. It may seem this is simple and he's cheating by having the vest on, but if you look closely, there's only one plate on each side hooked to his vest which isn't going to help him balance much. I could go on and on about how you can progress from this exercise and make it more difficult, what it's doing and how, but I won't bore you with more details.
How does lifting heavy reduce flexibility or power output?
 
Generally, the bigger the muscle around a joint, the less range of motion there is and the stronger the muscle, the less flexible it becomes. I'm not saying to avoid heavy lifts, just don't ONLY do that. Any athlete should strive for balance between strength and flexibility. Think of gymnasts and wrestlers...they are strong AND flexible. Based on my experience, I would like to see a golfer who is balanced in workouts. So, some power lifts or heavy lifts, but also exercises that work on balance and proprioception like light weight or body weight exercises (single leg squats for example).

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Mrs#'s dropping knowledge and I freaking love it!
 
Mrs#'s dropping knowledge and I freaking love it!
Lol thanks! I'm happy to contribute. There's never just one way to do things, especially when it comes to working out. Everyone is different and each sport is different, I just want to make sure everyone is safe and getting the most of their sport or activity! Working out can be scary!

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Love the Rory videos, love watching him swing a golf club, and love that he's working out with a purpose. I'm going to wake up every day in February and watch that video. It might convince me to start taking conditioning a bit more seriously as the next step in my game improvement. Maybe I'll get Queen6435 to come down and swear at me a few times as well.

Rory is back to the top of the list for me. Sitting there with a few others, trying to motivate me indirectly.

...and oh my god to have that swing!
 
I also enjoy this video from time to time, it's from the final round in the 2014 Open Championship.



It looks like the same shot over and over and over. I wish I had that consistency, freakin awesome.
 
Generally, the bigger the muscle around a joint, the less range of motion there is and the stronger the muscle, the less flexible it becomes. I'm not saying to avoid heavy lifts, just don't ONLY do that. Any athlete should strive for balance between strength and flexibility. Think of gymnasts and wrestlers...they are strong AND flexible. Based on my experience, I would like to see a golfer who is balanced in workouts. So, some power lifts or heavy lifts, but also exercises that work on balance and proprioception like light weight or body weight exercises (single leg squats for example).

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That is my understanding as well. Just comparing the hip joint to the shoulder. Both are ball and socket joints but much different mobility.

My understanding with flexibikity, especially the squat, performing the lift so the hip travels below parallel every time, flexibility in regards to the range of motio will remain constant. Am I wrong in my understanding?
 
No, you're not wrong, those two joints are the same type of joints but are pretty different in terms of stability. Yes, doing squats to the proper range of motion will help maintain flexibility (you don't necessarily have to go below parallel- especially if you have joint issues or injuries). However, people obviously have to be careful to maintain proper form and in my experience, the bigger the range of motion and the heavier the load, form tends to be more difficult to maintain. Sorry, I didn't mean to take the focus of this totally back to fitness, I just think Rory's video is a good one specifically for golfers of course because of the "core" work involving glutes and the balance work he does. Some of us not so good golfers know we may not always end up on a flat level surface for our next shot and some balance could come in handy! ☺

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Love the knowledge Mrs.#'s id dropping in here and explaining why Rory is doing it the right way for what he wants to achieve.

Listening to FOL this morning on the way in, I heard the Rory interview recently when he mentioned that in 2010 at the age of 19/20 he started having back problems and that led him to changing his lifestyle to include a workout routine. It has helped him and in 2011 it showed on the course with results of wins and his highest ranking at that point. He mentioned he has a degenerative disk in his back that has not gotten worse because of the workouts he has been doing. Seems like the results are working and a healthy/competitive Rory is what we need to keep growing the game.
 
I always wondered what my iron shots sounded like.

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I always wondered what my iron shots sounded like.

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Like you just added another dimple into the ball.
 
No, you're not wrong, those two joints are the same type of joints but are pretty different in terms of stability. Yes, doing squats to the proper range of motion will help maintain flexibility (you don't necessarily have to go below parallel- especially if you have joint issues or injuries). However, people obviously have to be careful to maintain proper form and in my experience, the bigger the range of motion and the heavier the load, form tends to be more difficult to maintain. Sorry, I didn't mean to take the focus of this totally back to fitness, I just think Rory's video is a good one specifically for golfers of course because of the "core" work involving glutes and the balance work he does. Some of us not so good golfers know we may not always end up on a flat level surface for our next shot and some balance could come in handy! ☺

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To tie this back to Rory, since we agree that form breakdowns while squatting are a concern, the form Rory showed in his squat video is not a movement pattern I believe in. It looks like he's putting a lot of stress on his knees. That's just my opinion and my biggest concern.
 
Again, I'm pretty sure his massive crew of trainers has it covered and aren't going to let their livelihood as well as his be damaged.
 
To tie this back to Rory, since we agree that form breakdowns while squatting are a concern, the form Rory showed in his squat video is not a movement pattern I believe in. It looks like he's putting a lot of stress on his knees. That's just my opinion and my biggest concern.
I don't think he's straining his knees at all. When you watch the video his knees aren't going past his toes and he is sitting back and pushing through his heels. I worry when I see knees going past the toes and when heels are being lifted off the ground. That signals poor posture and definite strain on the knee joints instead of using the muscles for the lift. I know a lot of people aren't a big fan of the hex bar, but by keeping the weight and hands to the side it actually helps maintain too good form. Putting a bar in from of people tends to force them forward automatically which puts your knees at risk.

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I don't think he's straining his knees at all. When you watch the video his knees aren't going past his toes and he is sitting back and pushing through his heels. I worry when I see knees going past the toes and when heels are being lifted off the ground. That signals poor posture and definite strain on the knee joints instead of using the muscles for the lift. I know a lot of people aren't a big fan of the hex bar, but by keeping the weight and hands to the side it actually helps maintain too good form. Putting a bar in from of people tends to force them forward automatically which puts your knees at risk.

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I don't think our understanding of squat mechanics differs a great deal. There's a thread for working out. I would love to have you partake in that discussion there
 
On the Rory shoe news:

Rory back in LC4's today at the Northern Trust Open.

Also birdied his first hole.
 
On the Rory shoe news:

Rory back in LC4's today at the Northern Trust Open.

Also birdied his first hole.

I need more swing videos. That 5 wood control is something worth striving for.
 
I need more swing videos. That 5 wood control is something worth striving for.

It's insane really. The launch alone is impressive.
 
Loving the scarlet and grey sweater he has on, but not digging the no-collar thing.
 
Loving the scarlet and grey sweater he has on, but not digging the no-collar thing.

I think he's got the "roll collar" going on today, but I agree, it doesn't looks great under the sweater.

I'm curious as to why he wore the chukkas for practice and LC4's for the tournament. It doesn't seem to matter too much what shoes he wears, as he's -2 through 2.
 
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