DeChambeau early years on tour
Bryson DeChambeau is changing the game of golf. He’s literally taking the long drive champ mentality to the PGA Tour, and it’s been amazing to watch.
This is a player who won the U.S. Amateur and was low amateur at the Masters before he turned pro. We all knew he had ability.
We also knew he had a quirky approach to the game… very scientific. As a result, he plays with a set of irons that all have the same length.
Apparently, at the end of the 2019 season, DeChambeau decided he wanted to hit the ball further. He finished that season with an average swing speed just under 119 mph. That gives a player the ability to carry the ball 300 yards.
During the off season he started packing on muscle. In that first off-season, he put on about 30 pounds of muscle, and that translated into an average swing speed of 125 mph for the 2020 season.
DeChambeau in 2021
Not satisfied, he has bulked up even more and is now weighing in at around 230-240 pounds. Again, this has translated into more swing speed, as he is averaging 133 mph this year, and has topped out at about 138 mph.
For perspective, the world long drive competitors tend to top out at about 145-150 mph, so DeChambeau is not too far behind.
Incredibly, he hasn’t lost any ability with the rest of his game, as evidenced by his U.S. Open victory last year and his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year.
How to build muscle
There are two primary keys to building muscle… diet and strength training.
Most people aren’t going to train like DeChambeau, as he has access to some pretty specialized training equipment in addition to top personal trainer, as may be seen in this video.
For the rest of us, we’ll have to add that muscle the old fashioned way… by lifting weights.
In the world of bodybuilding, there are two schools of thought when it comes to adding muscle… high intensity training with light weights (lots of sets, reps and little rest) and the more standard approach of training with heavier weight with fewer reps.
In the world of power lifting, its mainly about very heavy weight and and lower reps.
I personally like to mix things up… one week I focus on training with heavier weights and fewer reps and the next I focus on lighter weights and more reps.
This keeps the muscles confused a bit, which allows you to avoid hitting a plateau, where you experience little gains in spite of your best effort.
So, one week I may do a bench press routine like this…
Warm up set at 10-12 reps, rest 1 minute
80-85% of my max for 4 to 6 reps, rest 2 minutes. Repeat this step for 3 to 5 sets.
Warm down set at same weight as my warm up set, for as many reps as possible, which usually is about 10 to 12 reps.
Training Day Splits
It’s a good idea to train different body parts each day. Some trainers suggest you only need to train each body part one day per week, but you have to be very intense with your training.
Other trainers like to hit each body part twice per week. This is the approach I like.
A typical training day split would involve chest and back on day 1, shoulders and arms on day 2 and legs on day 3. You can either immediately repeat that cyle, then take a day off, or take a day off every after each day 3. That is the approach I prefer.
Basic Exercises
Through the research I conducted, you really don’t need to get too fancy with the exercises you do. Here are a couple ideas for each body part…
Chest
Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Narrow grip bench press
Dumbbell chest flies
Back
Lat pulldowns or pullups
Bent over rows (with dumbbells or barbell)
Upright rows (for upper back)
Shoulders
Barbell military press
Dumbbell press
Standing dumbbell flies
Front lateral raises
Side lateral raises
Arms
Barbell curls
Seated dumbbell curls
One arm concentration curls
Reverse grip barbell curls
Hammer curls
Triceps cable pull down
Easy bar skull crushers
Dumbbell skull crushers
Parallel bar dips
Seated dips
Legs
Barbell squats
Dead lift
Straight leg dead lift
Dumbbell lunges
Balance lunge
Leg curls
Diet for building muscle
If you want to build muscle, you will need to consume a significant amount of protein. The minimum you need to consume is about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
So, if you weight 200 pounds, you would need to consume 200 grams of protein.
You’ll get about 50 grams in eight ounces of cooked chicken breast. Other great sources with fairly similar amounts are lean beef, salmon and tuna.
Most people won’t eat that much protein through these sources alone, so it’s a good idea to supplement with protein shakes and protein bars.
Keep this in mind though… if you are not consuming all your protein through lean chicken or tuna, then your calorie totals are going to add up.
Therefore, you are going to need to cut some calories elsewhere if you don’t want to add FAT as you are adding muscle.
Flexibility training
If you are going to train hard with the weights, you are also going to need to include some flexibility and mobility exercises into your routine as well.
I’ve noticed that DeChambeau’s swing is actually longer now when he wants to crank out a big drive, compared to just two years ago.
So, not only has he added more muscle and strength, he’s increased his flexibility and mobility. It’s really been impressive to see.
Final Thoughts – How to add muscle like Bryson DeChambeau
For a long time, I was skeptical that adding so much muscle was a good idea. Back in the 1980’s a couple tour players, Keith Clearwater and Bill Glasson, put on some decent muscle, but it really didn’t translate into substantial gains in length like what we are seeking with DeChambeau.
Tiger Woods was next to pack on the muscle, as he did just over 15 years ago. Some would argue this led to some of his back issues (not me… I blame that on a swing change).
Rory McIlroy became the next golfer to put on some muscle, and it has not translated into more wins. However, pound for pound, he is the longest hitter on tour.
Brooks Koepka also trains pretty heavy with the weights, but he is dealing with some hip and knee issues.
All of these golfers work with personal trainers who know their stuff, so the injuries are not likely related to their training.
With that said, it is DeChambeau who appears to have taken his game to another level. It will be interesting to see how his body holds up in the long run.
With all this in mind, I do believe that increased strength can be beneficial to your golf game, as long as you know how to train.
As we age, it becomes even more important to continue with strength training. It is possible to maintain significant strength into our 70’s, and if you can keep training into your 80’s, you might still be able to get it out there!
Therefore, I say get to it!
