What Happens When Athletes Actually Train Rotation
Earlier this year, we released a new product called TORQ. If you look at the movements in the program, you would probably say, “Welp...I’ve never done those before.”
And that’s the reason you should probably be interested in this new program.
As a team, we looked (and felt) our aging bodies, and asked what’s missing from our exercise programs that might help us move and feel like a younger athlete again.
The answer was pretty glaring. Bending and twisting were not part of our regular movement routine.
Yet there is another obvious need for this program…
Athletes who rotate their bodies at extremely high speeds (hence the name TORQ)...ahem, golf and baseball seem to stand out.
But does it work? We’ve got some data to show that it does.
Baseball: Exit Velocity Gains in 10 Weeks
Our first study was to determine whether adding the TORQ program improved power at the plate. So we recruited the baseball team at Northeastern Junior College to add the program to their regular preseason training.
The team was already using the CS Shoulder and CS Hip & Core Systems as part of their regular warm-up routine. We just asked them to add TORQ to their warm-up and to include the extra Power Program 3x per week. In total, we’re talking about an additional 5-10 minutes, at most.
Ten weeks later, their average exit velo off the tee (the speed at which the ball leaves the bat) improved from 82.65 to 88.59 mph. That’s almost a 6mph increase.
What does that mean?
That roughly translates to 30 ft of carry-on well‑struck balls. The team was now turning warning‑track flies into home runs and hard grounders into base hits.
I will note that a major limitation of this study was the absence of a control group. Without that, how do we know that every player won’t improve their exit velo during spring training?
And that’s very true, we don’t know, and still need more data.
But I’ll also point out that 100% of the players improved over the 10-week period, and I find that pretty telling that the treatment had an impact.
Golf: A 5-Minute Warm-Up That Changed Everything
Our next study was way more acute. How much better is a brief TORQ warm-up compared to the typical show-and-go that typically happens on the first tee box?
To answer that question, we took the program to a local golf simulator and followed a simple program:
- Warmed up (the typical easy swings)
- Hit ten 7 iron shots, then ten 3 wood shots.
- Then did the CS TORQ program.
- Then hit ten 7 iron shots, then ten 3 wood shots.
The difference in clubhead speed and carry distance was basically unbelievable.
For the 7 iron, a 6 mph increase in club head speed, 12 yards of carry.
For the 3 wood, 7 mph club head increase and 18 yards carry.
That's huge, considering it was only 5 minutes of work.
Again, of course, this little pilot trial has limitations, but the data is also telling.
I don’t think you need a groundbreaking study to prove that a little something to get your muscles firing will help you feel and perform better.
Give it your own trial.
Gift Performance
So give the gift of bombs to your favorite rotational athlete this year. Golf. Baseball. Tennis. Pickleball…they all require rotation at high speeds.
Originally published as Movement #286
