Pillar 2: Separate and Load
Power Package Principles · Pillar 2 of 4

Separate and Load

Separation creates coil, and coil creates power. Carl and Andrew break down how the greatest players separate their lower and upper body, what thoracic load potential really means, and how to train your body to store energy for the downswing.

Coil · Thoracic Load Potential

If your hips and shoulders turn the same amount, you have zero separation—and zero stored energy. That’s like the celebrity throwing a first pitch: stepping and throwing at the same time. In this lesson, Carl explains thoracic load potential (TLP)—the degree gap between your shoulder turn and your hip turn at the top—and why players like Rory and Aldrich Potgieter generate elite speed by maximizing that gap. Andrew then walks you through two drills to build real separation: the corkscrew squat with the True Turn Pro and the degrees-of-rotation waist drill with alignment sticks.

In this video:
00:00 Welcome to Pillar 2
00:18 Why disassociation matters
00:36 Thoracic load potential explained
01:00 What zero TLP looks like
01:25 The celebrity first-pitch analogy
02:02 Rory & Aldrich Potgieter examples
02:29 MLB pitcher comparison
03:05 Drill: Corkscrew squat (True Turn Pro)
05:07 The four pillars of movement
05:31 Drill: Degrees-of-rotation waist drill
06:55 Next up: Pillar 3 – Unwind with Power
  • Separation = stored energy. If your upper and lower body can’t disassociate, you can’t create or store power. Period.
  • Thoracic Load Potential (TLP) is the gap between how far your shoulders turn versus your hips. Example: 100° shoulders minus 40° hips = 60° of TLP. That gap is pure power.
  • No TLP = no energy. When the hips and chest turn the same amount you get a reverse-C position and a “lefty finish” on a right-handed backswing—there’s nothing left to release.
  • Elite players maximize the gap. Rory, Aldrich Potgieter (110° shoulders / 40° hips), and long-drive athletes all get their upper body well behind their lower body at the top.
  • Think pitcher, not first-pitch celebrity. A Major League pitcher drives, separates, and slings across the body. The celebrity steps and throws at the same time. Be the pitcher.
  • Rubber-band tension in your core. When you squat and rotate with your lower body quiet, you should feel the left side of your back coil and load—like twisting a rubber band against itself.
  • Trail knee stays inside the ankle. As you rotate into your backswing, your right thigh should not drift outside your right foot. Feel the internal hip rotation loading into that trail side.
  • Space between hip and alignment stick. At address the stick touches your hip; at the top you should see a visible gap—that gap is your hip staying while your torso turns.
  • All four movement pillars firing. Forward flexion of the spine, internal hip rotation, side bend, and thoracic rotation should all be present. If one is missing, the chain is broken.
  • Rise and release. After each corkscrew squat rep, stand up and let the rotation unwind—feel how your body naturally wants to snap back. That’s stored energy releasing.
  • Corkscrew Squat (True Turn Pro): Hold the True Turn flat/parallel to the ground. Get into a slight squat with hip and knee flexion. Rotate into your backswing while keeping your lower body square—trail knee stays put. Squat deeper as you rotate, then rise and release. You can also add an elastic band for resistance to build power under stress.
  • Degrees-of-Rotation Waist Drill: Place an alignment stick on your waist and another on the ground at 45° off your feet line. Rotate until your waist stick matches the ground stick. Feel internal hip rotation in the trail side, knee flexion, and 45° of hip turn—then move away from your trail side to recenter your pelvis. Do not let your trail hip sway outside your ankle.
  • Turning everything together: If your hips and shoulders rotate the same amount, you have zero TLP. Focus on keeping the lower body quiet while the upper body coils.
  • Losing posture / reverse C: When there’s no separation, players tend to lift and extend into a reverse-C. Your backswing should not look like a lefty finish.
  • Trail hip swaying outside the ankle: If your right hip drifts past your right foot, you lose your internal hip rotation and can’t drive back to the left. Stay loaded inside.
  • Skipping a movement pillar: Forward flexion, internal hip rotation, side bend, and thoracic rotation all need to be present. If one is missing, the kinetic chain breaks and you leak power.
  • Rushing through the drills: The corkscrew squat is a range-of-motion exercise, not a speed drill. Go slow, feel the stretch, and let someone assist the end range if possible.