How Bryson Dechambeau gained 45lbs and 45 yards in 9 months
Well that’s it…
In the space of 4 days the golf-world has gone crazy for muscle.
In the annals of history the Charles Schwab Challenge will be known for 2 reasons
- The Return of Golf Post-Covid
- The “Bryson Effect” Taking Full Swing (excuse the awful pun)
American Bryson Dechambeau, standing 6 foot 1 and 240lbs, decked out in Flat Cap and Puma’s swatting at his Bridgestone ball with 126mph of clubhead speed and 189mph ballspeed.
In just 9 months Bryson has gone from a moderate length hitter (Avg 296 yards in 2019) to averaging 345 yards at last weeks event.
The big question, and the one that commentators/reporters have been murdering to death with their limited knowledge of exercise science is…
How has he done it?
The main focus for most has been the noticeable change in his size, going from a svelte 195lbs last year to the 240lbs behemoth stepping onto the tee this year.
Of course this has led to many wrongly assuming that he has “gained 45lbs of muscle in the last 9 months”.
He hasn’t.
SO HOW MUCH MUSCLE HAS HE ACTUALLY GAINED?
It’s safe to say that Bryson could probably have been classed as a novice to proper weight-training when he took to it halfway through last year.
Based off the limited research available it appears that a beginner can gain somewhere between 1.5-2lbs of LEAN muscle mass per month.
Equating that to Bryson it means that he will have added roughly anywhere from 12–18lbs of hard-earned tissue to his frame over the past 9 months.
Alongside this he’s probably holding around 5–10lbs of excess weight in the form of retained water, carbs stored in the muscle and increased food volume from his previous diet stored in his stomach/bowels.
This means that anywhere between 17-28lbs of his weight gain is pure unadulterated fat-mass. Which to be fair is pretty damn noticeable comparing his midrift from then till now.
He certainly didn’t need to gain as much weight as he has, you could make a good argument that he may have actually added even more speed had his weight gain been a little slower and thus improving his muscle:fat ratio.
However what he has spoken about is “feeling more stable” and therefore being able to swing harder under control. This is essentially due to the increased anchoring effect of carrying an extra 3 stone on his frame.
WHAT HAS HE BEEN DOING?
Based off various instagram videos and articles it’s clear to see that he’s been mainly working with a full-body program that emphasises:
- Isolating Muscle Groups (Most of his exercise selection has been movements that take place across 1 joint rather than big multi-joint movements like Deadlifts, Squats and Bench Press)
- Unilateral Exercises (Performing exercises one side at a time)
- Abdominal Work (Both Flexion and Extension and Rotational focuses)
Alongside this he’s also been eating in a HUUUUGE Calorie Surplus, in his words around probably anywhere between 800–1000 calories more per day than he needs to maintain weight based off of his rate of weight gain.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that right now his training is actually pretty general, and not hugely different from your average golfer who likes recreational bodybuilding on the side.
So whilst if you’re new to training pretty much ANYTHING will work brilliantly well short term, you will eventually tap out those newbie gains and start seeing diminishing returns from this kind of program.
Once this happens you’ll need to target your training a little more around the following…
PHYSICAL QUALITIES THAT ACTUALLY MATTER FOR DISTANCE
Before I delve into this I need to explain the difference between ‘Technical’ and ‘Physical’ qualities.
There are plenty of Tour-Pro’s throughout history that didn’t possess many of the bodily attributes that I’ll be talking about but had such incredible technique that they could bust the ball out there a long way regardless.
Previously when it came to training for golf, golfers were taught to be too specific, in that much of their training revolved around swinging or moving with weight in a way that tried to exactly recreate the golf-swing.
It also involved A LOT of namby pampy stretching, soft-tissue and lightly banded work that didn’t create anywhere near enough stress to promote any physical changes.
Luckily sports-science has moved on from there and now there are a few great coaches in the golf realm who are focusing on the structural qualities of a powerful golf swing and not the skill-based ones!
So what are they?
- Aerobic Capacity
Basically you need to be “golf-fit” so that you don’t unduly fatigue at the start of the back 9 and can no longer swing with your potential speed.
Note: That half-way hut beer and burger probably doesn’t count as appropriate fuelling for that drive down the 10th.
- Mobility/Flexibility in your Hips, Thoracic-Spine, Shoulders and Wrists
Step in John Daly…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmJ2CspoFUw
Whilst not really being the epitomy of athleticism, he does display incredible levels of hip and spine separation and wrist mobility in the backswing, enabling him to create a huge arc that gives him plenty of time to create swing speed.
- Be “Strong enough” on Squatting and Pressing movements
Golfers don’t need to powerlifters, they simply need to be strong enough to get the most out of power-based work in the gym.
Strength consists of only one variable, which is Force. It is the ability to generate maximum force against an object regardless of how long it takes to do it.
Obviously in a golf swing your ability to create force fast is basically everything when it comes to hitting the ball a long way.
However by increasing strength early we lay a foundation that will eventually lead to increased power in subsequent training phases.
Strength standards I typically use as good markers to aim for with clients are a Double Bodyweight Squat and a 1.3–1.5x Bodyweight Bench Press (as these 2 exercises seem to correlate most to increased swing speed of the normal gym based routines).
Bigger muscles are usually stronger muscles, and the great thing about strength training and eating some protein and calories is that by doing A (Weight Training) you get B (Increased Muscle Mass) which in turn helps with A and so on and so forth.
But being big and strong is only good up until a certain point when it comes to hitting the ball a long way, Bryson will learn this soon.
After that it becomes a case of how much of your Maximum Force you can tap into in the space of the top of the backswing through impact…
In steps…
- Rate of Force Development through the Legs and Chest
Being strong and having a poor rate of force development would be akin to having a Ferrari with a turbo that only kicks in at 60mph. You put your foot down and not a lot happens until you get into the high gears, by that point the race is over.
By training Rate of Force Development we are trying to tap into as much of our maximum potential as quickly as possible. This is where initially getting “strong enough” allows you to begin focusing on performing heavy loaded squats and presses with the intention of moving as fast as you can without letting fatigue start slowing you down.
This is where training becomes about QUALITY not quantity.
It is also where fancy techniques like plyometric movements, weighted jumps, medicine ball throws and accelerated jumps using some band assistance can start becoming extremely effective.
- Grip Strength
Whilst we aim to start the swing with a light grip, we certainly still need the ability to apply all the power we’ve generated from the ground up through the forearms and down into the clubhead.
It appears that simply performing exercises with a thicker bar can lead to “significant increases in ball speed, carry, drive distance, and left hand grip strength after 8 weeks of RT in a population of low-handicap division I male golfers”. (Cummings et al, 2018)
WHICH MARKERS SHOULD I AIM TO IMPROVE WITH EXERCISE?
The following exercises have the greatest correlation with swing speed when taken across the body of research in golfers:
- Vertical Jump Height
- Seated Medicine Ball Throw
- Chest/Bench Press Strength
- Squat Strength
- Grip Strength
- Rotational Medicine Ball Throws
Simply by taking 2–3 of those exercises and aiming to become better at them it stands to reason that they should translate over well to increased swing speed.
So in short…
Get STRONG on Squats and Presses, become EXPLOSIVE on Jumps and Throws and hold onto some heavy stuff for time and you’ll be on the right track!
COMMON MYTHS AROUND GOLF AND WEIGHT-TRAINING
If you watch golf with any kind of frequency you’ll have heard at least one of the following…
- Strength training will result in messing up your swing mechanics
FALSE!
Trying to recreate your normal golf swing with weighted clubs will mess up your swing mechanics. If you’re currently a “grab 2 clubs and swing them” to warm up kind of golfer, stop that shit right now!
Strength training would only negatively effect your swing if you decide to spend all your time in the gym and none of it on the range.
- Lifting weights will decrease flexibility
On the contrary!
Performing exercise through a full range of motion actually helps us to increase joint mobility and stability. Think of it like turning down the dial on an overly-sensitive alarm, if we’re not strong through a certain range of motion our body will have no reason to hold onto it through fear of injury.
However, by getting stronger using resistance exercise we reduce this sensitivity, open up new levels of active ranges and actually increase our ability to control these positions too.
- An extra focus on strength training will lead to higher chance of injury
“Heavy Weight Training will lead to injuries further down the line, just look at Tiger Woods”.
WRONG
Using Tiger as your argument against weight-training is like using the brutality of training for an ultra-marathon to convince someone they shouldn’t go for a run around the block.
Injury is all about STRESS v RECOVERY.
To avoid injury we need to be aware of how much volume of work and how much loading we can tolerate before we compromise the structural integrity of the tissues of our muscles, tendons and ligaments.
It is true that if Bryson continues to try and train hard 3 hours a day 5–6 days a week whilst practicing and playing tournament golf he will eventually burn himself into the ground.
However it’s also true that NOT performing resistance exercise increases sarcopenia, decreases bone density, reduces mobility and increases our chance of falls and joint related ageing.
TO SUMMARISE
- The reality is that most commenting on the role of weight-training in golf have little knowledge on exercise science and physiology, they are experts in golf.
- Think of PHYSICAL qualities not swing qualities when you are setting up a training program for a golfer.
- You don’t need to become a powerlifter, you simply just have to be “strong enough” to get the most from strength training further down the line.
- Squat, Press, Jump, Throw and Grip things and you’ll probably improve your Driving Distance
- There will always be a sweet spot between time in the gym and time on the golf course and remember that you’re always better off using that time for your actual sport!
