Iron & Irons — Lift More, Score Less

Chest

Chest 5 exercises · ~17 sets

Flat Bench Press primary

4 × 6–8

Control the descent, pause at the chest, drive hard. Elbows at 45–75° from torso — never flared. Build the pattern before adding weight. Ask The Caddie for your starting weights based on your profile.

Incline Bench Press

3 × 8–10

Upper chest + shoulder health. Elbows slightly tucked.

Incline Dumbbell Flys

3 × 12–15

Light. Stretch-focused. Protect the pec tendon — no forced depth.

Cable Crossovers golf

3 × 15

High-to-low. Great for chest-to-shoulder connection used in the downswing.

Decline Bench Press

3 × 10

Lower chest finisher. Decline angle reduces shoulder stress. Controlled descent — 2 seconds down.

Hammer Strength Chest Press

3 × 10

Machine option if you need joint relief. Same stimulus, less stabilizer demand. Good sub on high-fatigue days.

Back

Back 6 exercises · ~19 sets

Conventional Deadlift primary longevity

4 × 5

Hip hinge king. Brace hard before you pull, push the floor away, drive hips through at the top. Sumo stance optional if conventional is rough on the lower back. Ask The Caddie for your starting weights based on your profile.

Weighted Pull-Ups primary

4 × 5–8

Bodyweight or light belt. Dead hang at bottom. Don't kip. Lat width = posture in golf.

Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns

3 × 10–12

Accessory to pull-ups, not a replacement. Full stretch at top.

Dumbbell Rows

3 × 10 each

Neutral spine. Think "elbow to ceiling," not "weight to hip."

Cable Rows (close grip) golf

3 × 12

Scapular retraction — critical for thoracic rotation in the golf swing.

Back Extensions longevity

3 × 15

Bodyweight only or light plate. Spinal erectors = back health for life. Non-negotiable.

Legs

Quads / Posterior Chain 5 exercises · ~18 sets

Squat primary golf

4 × 6–8

Bar over mid-foot, brace before the descent, drive knees out. High bar, depth to parallel. Build the pattern before adding load. Ask The Caddie for your starting weights based on your profile.

Leg Press

3 × 10–12

Quad driver with less spinal load. Feet slightly high to keep knees from caving.

Walking Lunges golf

3 × 10 each

Single-leg stability is directly transferable to the golf swing. Unilateral is your friend now.

Stiff Leg Deadlift longevity

3 × 10

Hinge at the hip, soft bend in the knees, feel the hamstring stretch at the bottom. The pattern under load is the priority — not the number. Keep it controlled throughout the full range.

Leg Curls

3 × 12–15

Knee health. Full range. Don't rush these.

Isolation / Finish 2 exercises · ~6 sets

Leg Extensions

3 × 15

Light. VMO finisher. Protect patellar tendon — stop short of full knee lockout.

Front Squat (optional) golf

2 × 8

Sub for goblet squat if wrists are unhappy. Incredible for thoracic mobility and anterior core — both critical for golf.

Hip Stability Finisher golf longevity 4 exercises · ~10 min

Cable Hip Adduction (inner thigh)

3 × 15 each

Desk workers lose these first. Adductor strength = pelvic stability = lower back health and golf hip stability through impact.

Cable Hip Abduction (outer thigh)

3 × 15 each

Glute med. The most neglected muscle for anyone sitting 8 hours a day. Directly transfers to trail leg stability in the golf downswing.

Copenhagen Plank

3 × 20–30 sec each

Hardest adductor exercise you've never done. Also a brutal oblique workout. Build to 45 seconds per side over 8 weeks.

Lateral Band Walks

3 × 15 steps each way

Glute med activation. Do these before squats as a warmup too. The band should be just above the knees. Stay low, don't let knees cave.

Shoulders

Press / Front 3 exercises · ~10 sets

Military Press (seated DB) primary

4 × 8–10

Dumbbells preferred over barbell now — allows natural wrist rotation and shoulder tracking. Less impingement risk.

Arnold Press

3 × 10–12

Full rotational movement. Great for shoulder health and three-dimensional stability.

Front Raises (alternating)

3 × 12 each

Light. Unilateral. Anterior delt — involved in every pressing motion and the golf backswing.

Lateral / Rear golf focus 5 exercises · ~15 sets

Side Laterals golf

4 × 15

Medial delt width. Carry the weight light — lateral raises are brutalized by ego. Pause at the top.

Upright Row

3 × 12

Cable or EZ bar. Keep elbows wide, weight light. Watch for impingement — if shoulder hurts, drop this.

Reverse Pec Dec longevity

3 × 15

Rear delts = shoulder health and posture. Always neglected, always important. Non-negotiable.

Bent Over Lateral Raises golf

3 × 12–15

Rear delt + rhomboid complex. Everything behind the shoulder blade matters for the golf follow-through.

Side Shrugs

3 × 15

Dumbbell in each hand. Trap/neck junction. Optional — replace with face pulls if available.

Arms

Biceps 5 exercises · ~16 sets

Dumbbell Curls (alternating)

4 × 10–12

Your anchor bicep movement. Supinate at the top. Full eccentric — 3 seconds down.

Preacher Curls

3 × 10–12

Keeps the elbow fixed. Great isolation. EZ bar is fine — easier on the wrists than straight bar.

Seated Isolation Curls

3 × 12

Incline bench, arms hanging — full stretch at bottom. Loaded stretch is where hypertrophy lives.

Crazy 8's

2 × 8+8

Classic finisher: 8 lower half, 8 upper half, 8 full reps. Keep weight honest or it collapses fast.

Sloth Grip Curls

2 × 12

Thumb-side grip emphasis. Brachialis focus. Adds arm thickness under the bicep peak.

Triceps 5 exercises · ~15 sets

Close Grip Bench primary

4 × 8–10

Anchor tricep movement. Elbows tucked in. ~70% of your bench max. Full tricep extension at top.

Weighted Dips

3 × 8–10

Bodyweight first, then add weight slowly. Stay upright to keep it tricep-dominant. Excellent golf strength builder.

Rope Pushdowns

3 × 12–15

Flare the rope at the bottom. Squeeze at full extension. Keep elbows pinned to sides.

Triangle Pushdowns

3 × 12–15

Slightly different angle and emphasis than rope. Pair as a superset with rope pushdowns for a pump finisher.

Kickbacks

3 × 15 each

Full extension, pause at the top. Light weight. Long head finisher — the part that shows from behind.

Golf & Sport

⛳

Play or Practice

Chartiers round, or range + short game. Your primary sport. This is the performance output for everything you did Monday–Friday.

🎾

Optional: Tennis

If you're reintroducing tennis, do it here. Lower body is recovered from Tuesday. Shoulder is two days out from arms day.

⚡

If Not Playing

20-minute mobility circuit: hip flexors, lateral hip, thoracic spine, shoulder external rotation. This directly buys swing speed.

🧠

Performance Note

You'll notice within 6–8 weeks that hip stability work from Tuesdays, and rear delt work from Thursdays, start showing up in your ball-striking.

Active Recovery

⛳

Golf Fitness Work

Range session, chipping practice, putting. Low-intensity. This IS training — your golf game is a priority now.

🧘

Mobility Routine

Hip 90/90s, thoracic rotations, hip flexor stretches, shoulder CARs. 20–30 minutes. The older version of you needs this.

🚶

Low Intensity Cardio

Walk 30 minutes. With the dog, with the baby, doesn't matter. Zone 2. Aerobic base supports recovery and heart health.

🛁

Recovery Protocol

Sleep 7–8 hours, protein target hit (0.8–1g per lb bodyweight), legs up if needed. Your ability to recover IS the training.

Full Rest

😴

Rest Is the Work

Muscle is built on days like this. Nothing heroic. Sleep, eat, spend time with the family. Presence is recovery too.

🍗

Nutrition Anchor

Hit 160–180g protein. It doesn't need to be complicated — eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, a shake. That's the table stakes for this to work at 33.

Custom Workout

Loading…

Steel City Golf & Fitness Iron & Irons

Your Week

Chest

Back

Legs

Shoulders

Arms

Golf & Sport

Play or Practice

Optional: Tennis

If Not Playing

Performance Note

Active Recovery

Golf Fitness Work

Mobility Routine

Low Intensity Cardio

Recovery Protocol

Full Rest

Rest Is the Work

Nutrition Anchor

Custom Workout

How to Run This

Progressive Overload

Rep Ranges

Warm-Up

Session Length

Deload

12-Week Target