Full Torque Fitness (FTF) is a new training facility in Largo, FL dedicated to golf specific training. FTF is managed by Dan Shipman who is certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine. He also has a Bachelor of Science with a major in Exercise Science from Barry University. Dan has been training in the Tampa Bay area since 2011 and has worked with people of all ages and skills, including pro athletes from multiple sports and people needing to rehabilitate after injuries. The training philosophy used at FTF consists of three parts – proper program design, mobility, and core strength.

All new clients will go through a full evaluation including the Titleist Performance Institute Screen. This is a series of 16 tests to evaluate how your body moves. Your swing is analyzed and correlated to the test results. This gives Dan the ability to fulfill the first part of his training philosophy for you, proper program design. Any trainer can put you through a workout. They can make you sweat; they can make you feel sore the next day. But what if the exercises they are doing are counterproductive to what you are trying to accomplish? We discuss your goal(s) and make sure that your program is working towards your goal(s) at all times. Every month we perform the screen again and reevaluate where we are, this ensures that we are always moving in the right direction. Proper program design includes correcting muscle imbalances, correcting muscle firing patterns, building strength, building power, and increasing your mobility.

Mobility is the second part of Dan’s philosophy. All the strength and power means nothing if you do not have the range of motion (or mobility) to get your body where it needs to be to take full advantage of that strength and power. During every workout we work on mobility. It can be built into the warm ups, it can be part of the cool down, or it can be part of both. Mobility doesn’t just mean stretching either. Mobility includes activating muscles that are weak to fight against tight muscles. It could also be active range of motion exercises. The worst thing that Dan sees is a false range of motion being displayed by a weak core.

Which leads to the final part of Dan’s philosophy is core strength. When your core is strong, everything else around it is stronger. In golf you have to transfer energy (power) from the lower body through the core to the upper body. If your core is weak you lose power. A weak core could also mean you are losing posture, and this is where pain starts to come in for most people. A strong core protects your low back.
Dan’s three part philosophy is the foundation from which a pain free round of golf is built. Once you have the foundation you build the strength and power.