Power From The Lower Body

[BobFromAccounting]

I'd like to know how to get my lower body (quads, hams, hips, calves, etc.) more involved into my drives.

Right now, my upper body provides all of the power on my drives. I say that, because after throwing a truckload of drives, the muscles that are sore the next day, are my upper back (lats and traps) muscles. RHBH driver, btw.

If I'm throwing from the floor up correctly, which muscles in my lower half should be sore the next day?

 

[Putt for D'oh]

All those instructional videos in this section? Most will help with this especially the ones from SW22 or Sean Clement.

The best advice is to film yourself and post a thread in the critique section. From there you can get specific advice on what YOU need to do to change up and get the lower body involved. There are goals and from scratch a way to explain the throw but if you've been playing for any time at all you will have some habits that need breaking and fixing and the video analysis can be like a personal pointed advice.

Be sure to read the helpful hints part of that section at the top for best video results.

 

[BobFromAccounting]

You missed my question.

If I'm throwing from the floor up correctly, which muscles in my lower half should be sore the next day?

 

[Grippenripp]

Putt for d'oh is know to something here. But if you need an answer to the question"if I'm throwing from the floor up which muscles should be sore" well then I'd say none. I'd you're throwing correctly (stepping into the throw and following through) you shouldn't be sore. If you wanna figure out how to get your lower body into you drive as the title of this post suggests, I'd say check out a lot of other threads and check out seabas22 on YouTube, he's a knowledgeable guy.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

Ok, I"m not sure i'm qualified to fully answer the question but my feeling is if you are properly getting your power from the ground up there shouldn't be any muscle soreness.

You are leveraging your weight against the ground and using that leverage to brace into the plant leg and whip your arm around ejecting the disc like a trebuchet.
Leg and lower body muscles are so much bigger and stronger than our arms that with what should be minimal effort we can impart a ton of force into the disc, mostly via acceleration.

Now... that is the idea and knowing the concept and doing are different monsters. For me? outer thigh and hip flexor or partial in the glutes. But I think this has to do as much about really trying to get the brace down and stretching those muscles more than using them for power.

 

[pearlybakerbest]

I used to get sore all the time before I cleaned up my form. So much so, that I could not play consecutive days. Now I play daily and only get sore if I play more than one round a day or an obscenely long layout.

 

[sidewinder22]

You missed my question.

If I'm throwing from the floor up correctly, which muscles in my lower half should be sore the next day?

When I first started getting my hips into the throw and bracing, I felt a little sore in my right butt the next day. Sometimes my left calf or groin or hammy will spasm at the end of a long round if I get dehydrated. RHBH

 

[dysmike]

When I first started getting my hips into the throw and bracing, I felt a little sore in my right butt the next day. Sometimes my left calf or groin or hammy will spasm at the end of a long round if I get dehydrated. RHBH

I've had to shift hands recently, I can definitely feel it in my right calf, left butt and hip flexors. So, all of the above.. totally makes sense.

 

[BobFromAccounting]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and experience. I appreciate it!

Based on what you've said here, it sounds like my lower body isn't very involved, and my drives are powered by my upper body. It looks like I have more disc homework and field practice to do.

Thanks again.