What Amateur Golfers Can Steal From This Pro Golf Workout

There are some people in the golf business who are just really good at creating content. James Nicholas is one of them.

If you haven’t seen his YouTube channel, it’s worth a look. He’s invested heavily in it and you can tell. Nicholas is a really fun player to watch because he leaves it all out there on the course and I’ve seen him pull off some crazy things when the pressure is on.

In this video, he walks through one of his workouts as he was preparing for the 2026 season and I think this side of golf content is still underserved. Plenty of people want to get into better overall shape but learning how to get into better “golf shape” can have a serious impact on your game.

Here are a few things amateur golfers can take directly from this workout.

Start with glute activation

The first few exercises in the workout weren’t heavy lifts. They were activation drills focused on getting the glutes working properly before loading the body.

Nicholas and his trainer used:

• High plank hip circles
• Single-leg glute bridges
• Band activation work

The trainer explained that a lot of golfers become quad-dominant and stop using their glutes efficiently during movement. If this is happening in your game, you may have lower-back soreness, poor balance in transition and loss of posture through impact.

You don’t need to copy the entire warmup. Even doing two sets of 10 single-leg glute bridges before a range session is a good start.

Add more single-leg stability work

One of the biggest themes throughout the workout was single-leg training.

Nicholas worked through:

• Single-leg presses
• Split-stance movements
• Rotational stability drills
• Single-leg curls
• Lateral jump variations

This is important because the golf swing is constantly shifting pressure from one side of the body to the other. If you struggle with balance, sliding or staying centered in the swing, this type of training can help.

A simple place to start:

• Step-ups
• Split squats
• Single-leg balance holds while rotating your torso

You don’t need heavy weights. Control matters more than load here. Gain some stability with each leg.

Train for speed and power, not just strength

The deadlift section of the workout was interesting because they weren’t just tracking weight lifted. They were measuring power output and movement speed on every rep.

That’s a good reminder for amateur golfers.

Golf fitness is not just about getting stronger. It’s about producing force quickly and efficiently. Nicholas paired trap-bar deadlifts with lateral jumps and explosive movements throughout the session.

That combination matters because speed training in golf usually works best when you blend strength, stability and explosiveness. I even wrote an article last year about how your ability to jump can be a great predictor of the power you can create in your golf swing.

Pay attention to hip rotation

There were several moments in the workout where the trainer emphasized hip positioning and internal rotation. That’s a huge piece of the golf swing that amateur golfers often overlook.

Limited hip mobility can lead to:

• Early extension
• Standing up through impact
• Reduced rotation
• Timing issues

One of the drills in the video focused on controlling knee movement while rotating into the hip correctly. Even basic mobility with controlled lunges and rotation can help with this.

Don’t ignore core endurance

At the end of the session, Nicholas finished with a simple ab circuit that he says he does three to four times per week.

The circuit included:

• Flutter kicks
• Push-ups
• Core endurance work

That’s another thing amateur golfers sometimes misunderstand.

You don’t necessarily need an advanced “six-pack” workout for golf. You need a core that can stabilize your body repeatedly over four hours without your posture or sequencing falling apart late in the round.

Final thoughts

The biggest thing I noticed watching this workout is how much of it focused on movement quality. Nicholas wasn’t just trying to lift heavy weight. Most of the session was about balance, stability, rotation, gound force, mobility and recover.

Getting into better golf shape doesn’t mean training like a bodybuilder. It means improving the specific movements your body needs to swing a golf club more efficiently.