How to Get the Benefits of Strength and Type IIa Hypertrophy Without Blunting Speed
You can build strength and size without interfering with speed and power if you manage fatigue and plan your training goals across the year.
When the goal is to get bigger and stronger, like in the and , total training volume and, as a result, fatigue are higher. This extra work builds the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the Type II fibers and upgrades your overall force potential. The trade-off is that these phases can create some short-term fatigue and slightly blunt club head speed while you are in the middle of them. That is completely normal and is not cause for concern. It is impossible to be at maximum speeds while simultaneously trying to maximise strength or hypertrophy.
Strength training and activity in general tend to shift some of the fastest Type IIx fibers toward the slightly slower, but more fatigue-resistant, Type IIa fibers. This may sound like a negative issue, but it is likely a beneficial trade off. As the cross-sectional area of these fibers increases, they can produce more force while still contracting fast enough to help with club head speed.
Club head speed is an explosive activity, a blend of strength and speed, rather than a pure maximum speed activity. Bigger Type IIa muscle fibers play an enormous part in explosive strength. I dug into this further in the Science of Speed article .
The same principle applies in other rotational power sports, like track and field throwing and baseball. Baseball pitchers, for example, often throw dramatically faster as they gain muscle and strength. This is one of the key findings that Driveline Baseball, a premier baseball training facility, regularly reports. The added lean mass and force potential simply allow them to produce more power in the same motion. Golf is no different.
Here is a video of Valerie Allman, the world’s best female discus thrower, performing strength training to support her goal of throwing the discus farther. This type of training is close to perfect for golfers. Her potential for club head speed would be very high.
Short-Term Fatigue, Long-Term Gains
When training volume is reduced and you move into the or programs, fatigue drops, explosiveness and rate of force development are maximised, and those now bigger and stronger Type IIa fibers can then be expressed as high-speed power houses. This is when club head speed typically peaks, especially if combined with specific swing speed training.
During the , the goal shifts to maintaining those strength and power levels with lower volume and minimal fatigue so you can perform your best on the course.
Track and field athletes are a great example. Sprinters and jumpers lift heavy year-round but manage fatigue through moderate volumes, staying far from failure in explosive work, and prioritising recovery between high-intensity sessions.
Golfers can follow the same logic. Build the base in the off season with higher volume strength work, then emphasise lighter, faster, lower fatigue training as you move into peak season.
The sequence of Mass → Force → Velocity → In-Season follows a sequential progression, with one program setting up the next. This is one of the things that separates Fit For Golf from other “Golf Fitness” resources. I am not providing “golf workouts”. I’m providing structured, year round programming, with key physiological adaptations in mind.
You get access to all of these programs with the 7 Day FREE trial on the Fit For Golf App.
If you want to see how these concepts are applied to designing training programs, and learn more about strength training for golf, check out my most comprehensive article on the subject, Strength Training For Golf – The Fit For Golf Guide.