Fitness and Golf

[Tim Martin]

Jon -- great story. Congrats!

Tim -- what's your favorite pizza in CT?

Carl-I`ll give you 5 greats:

Frank Pepe`s-New Haven
Sally`s-New Haven
Modern Apizza-New Haven
Roseland-Derby
Zupardi`s-West Haven
My personal favorite by a hair is Roseland. If you grew up in and around New Haven it was called" abeets". I took my wife on one of our first dates to Sally`s and we had to wait in line for twenty minutes. My wife who is from northern New Jersey which has a huge italian population and some awesome restaurants said she never heard of such a thing. After the white clam and bacon "abeets" she was a believer.

[Ronald Montesano]

Same guy (Versteegen) from Mark Schmidt's post in video...

http://www.sportskool.com/videos/training-1

and

http://www.sportskool.com/videos/training-2

and

http://www.sportskool.com/videos/training-3

[Melvyn Morrow]

Now there is Fit and there are carts

I feel this guy misunderstood the topic and the wrong thing has been made fit, but one consolation it will certainly speed up golf for some, might get under the 5 hour mark for a round if it goes into mass production.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yrzsyeVnT0

Or

Is this the normal I can expect from American Cart drivers –  Even with a cart paths some seem to find it difficult to stay on course. See carts can damage your mental wellbeing and totally confuse the driver   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVF5YMYMDxM

Melvyn

[Brian Freeman]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2009-02/coreworkout#slide=1

This golf specific workout doesn't take very long and seems to do the job...won't know if its added any distance until I head south, away from the snow.  I initially started without any resistance bands, and just did the exercises/stretches that didn't require them.

Matt S:  I ran across this as well, and have been doing this, plus a little cardio/elliptical work for the past couple of months.  Early indications are that I've gained back the distance I lost over the last couple of years, hoping with another couple of months I might swing in the other direction.  I'd give a strong endorsement as well, might not be enough for the hardcore trainers here, but it's pretty good for the rest of us.

[W.H. Cosgrove]

At 53 I was overweight, in pain and frustrated with my golf game.  At 55 I am 40+ lbs, lighter, attend yoga classes,  run, and lift some when I get the time. 

I always ran and lifted and as I got older the pain got worse.  After losing the weight, I still had pain in my lower back.  The yoga has given me the ability to play pain free. 

I suggest a stretching and movement program for everyone as a health plan for the nation.  The heck with healthcare reform in Washington.....begin at home!

By the way, my putting is still awful! 

[Tim Bert]

Golf is my fitness plan!

Anyone here that has played with me knows that I'm naturally buff, so I don't really take the time to work out. 

Jordan - I will be pounding it past you, as usual, at Chambers. 

[Bruce Wellmon]

IMO there are 2 schools of golf fitness. Stretching vs a more strengthening program.
The next time you take the family to Disney/Universal in Orlando, spend some time with Kai Fusser at the Annika Academy. He is Annika's trainer among others.

[Jon Nolan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yrzsyeVnT0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVF5YMYMDxM

YouTube.com?

I had you pegged as more of a 9.5mm guy.

[Jordan Wall]

Golf is my fitness plan!

Anyone here that has played with me knows that I'm naturally buff, so I don't really take the time to work out. 

Jordan - I will be pounding it past you, as usual, at Chambers. 

Jerk

[Grant Saunders]

My routine is:
Monday and Thursday - Biceps, Shoulders, Lats, Back
Tuesday and Thursday - Triceps, Chest, and Abs
Sunday - Full body workout, 300 workout (check that one out, brutal !!)
Wednesday and Saturday - Off

Jordan

Was this program designed by someone for you or have you created it yourself? I see a couple of things in there that I personally would avoid.

First off, I am not a big fan of training a body part more than once a week. Full rest and recovery is probably more important than lifting the weight itself. You are currently training muscle groups 2 and possibly 3 times per week including your sunday workout. There is a huge danger of over training and limiting your progress while increasing the risk of injury.

Second, training shoulders the day before a chest workout is going to impact how much you can lift. As the shoulder muscles are smaller they will give out before the larger chest muscles  have been fully worked.

And lastly, make sure you dedicate a session to a leg workout with weights. This is the biggest muscle group in the body and it helps in stimulating the hormones that promote growth and recovery. Also, there are plenty of gyms full of guys with skinny legs who only focus on upper body. Not only do they look stupid but their bodies are unbalanced which hinders their progress.

My routine consists of the following

Monday: Legs and abs
Tuesday: Chest and biceps
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: Back/lats and abs
Friday: Shoulders and triceps
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest

There isnt a one size fits all approach to training and it is important to experiment to find what works for you.

[Carl Nichols]

Jon -- great story. Congrats!

Tim -- what's your favorite pizza in CT?

Carl-I`ll give you 5 greats:

Frank Pepe`s-New Haven
Sally`s-New Haven
Modern Apizza-New Haven
Roseland-Derby
Zupardi`s-West Haven
My personal favorite by a hair is Roseland. If you grew up in and around New Haven it was called" abeets". I took my wife on one of our first dates to Sally`s and we had to wait in line for twenty minutes. My wife who is from northern New Jersey which has a huge italian population and some awesome restaurants said she never heard of such a thing. After the white clam and bacon "abeets" she was a believer.

I was pretty skeptical that a clam pizza could be edible, let alone delicious, until I had the one at Sally's.  Great stuff.

[Andrew Hastie]

Grant,

Don't forget the "Glutes". The King of the muscles when it comes to golf. Your core stability is your single most important thing when it comes to making good golf swings. Any weight training should be combined with at least as much stretching if not more.
Camilo Villegas is well known as the most fit guy on tour. He is pretty dam strong but his flexibility is unbelievable!

Andrew

[Jud_T]

Grant,

Don't forget the "Glutes". The King of the muscles when it comes to golf. Your core stability is your single most important thing when it comes to making good golf swings. Any weight training should be combined with at least as much stretching if not more.
Camilo Villegas is well known as the most fit guy on tour. He is pretty dam strong but his flexibility is unbelievable!

Andrew

Andrew,

I saw some TV show a while back on one of the Long Drive guys.  After hitting the gym, he spent TWO HOURS STRETCHING EVERY NIGHT!

[Andrew Hastie]

Jud
As they say "Strengthen and stretch"!

Andrew

[Joel Zuckerman]

But, if you really want to get your ass kicked, go get P90X.  It's the real deal!!

I will second that comment, which was made in one of the first few posts on this thread.

I am in the 5th week of this 13--week program, and have dropped close to 10 lbs, reducing my body fat from 15% (quite low for a guy closing in on 50) down to probably 12% and dropping.

The thing is you have to be in very good shape to even attempt  P90X, so for those who are heavy or sedentary it's not an ideal starting option.  But if you're most of the way there to begin with, it'll put you over the top.  (Along with the aforementioned good diet, of course!)

[Mark Woodger]

when people say: "i work out 4/5 times a week". how long are these work outs and what sort of average heart rate do you think you are running during the session?

or asked another way. What do you guys consider to be "a workout"?

[Carl Nichols]

But, if you really want to get your ass kicked, go get P90X.  It's the real deal!!

I will second that comment, which was made in one of the first few posts on this thread.

I am in the 5th week of this 13--week program, and have dropped close to 10 lbs, reducing my body fat from 15% (quite low for a guy closing in on 50) down to probably 12% and dropping.

The thing is you have to be in very good shape to even attempt  P90X, so for those who are heavy or sedentary it's not an ideal starting option.  But if you're most of the way there to begin with, it'll put you over the top.  (Along with the aforementioned good diet, of course!)

How much of a time commitment is P90X?

[Joel Zuckerman]

How much of a time commitment is P90X?

Generally speaking, an average of 60--70 minutes, 6 days a week.

The videos are all just under an hour, which includes about 5-10 minutes of warmup and cool down, But--3x weekly you add a 15 minute ab workout.  Also--once a week you do the Yoga DVD, which is 90 minutes.

As started earlier, it's not for the faint of heart, and not a "starter" program.  But it's really quite efficient and provides tangible results.

[Jordan Wall]

when people say: "i work out 4/5 times a week". how long are these work outs and what sort of average heart rate do you think you are running during the session?

or asked another way. What do you guys consider to be "a workout"?

I'm at the gym about 12 hours a week, spread over five workouts.

[Garland Bayley]

I used to work out a lot, and weighed 40 lbs less. I did a lot of Pilates, which are reputed to be good for golf. Since dropping the work outs I have been getting longer off the tee. This is measured by a double blind par 4 at our home course. If you really bomb it, you can crest the second hill and not have a blind approach. In seven years, at my club I had crested that hill once. Then last summer I did it twice, and a week ago in February no less I blew it well over the hill.

Can't help but note a recent GD discussed the scrawny long drive champ that purposely avoids working out, because he believes it would prevent him from hitting it so far.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

http://www.golfstrengthcoach.com/video

My masters degree was in Exercise Physiology, back when I thought I would become the worlds leading authority om golf fitness.
However back in the mid eighties nobody cared which meant no money, so I went back to school.
As such seeing the growth of this within the game has been very interseting.
The site above show you all you need to know.
I have been doing stuff like this functional training for 20 years..mixing it with rountine cardio stuff and some great plyometrics...anybody wants some info let me know.
The functional stuff si hands down the best you can do..it is so golf specific.
I know Tiger's fitness guy as well as this guy who works with Vijay...and programmes dont differ much from player to player.
Glutes and core are number 1...without a doubt hence the concentration of those muscle groups in the various videos of Vijay on this site.

I love this stuff..work out about 300 days a year with sessions lasting from 45 minutes to 90 minutes....usually the 45' are the intense cardio days.....they hurt!

Do not hesistate to get in touch if you want to ask me anything....

[Carl Nichols]

How much of a time commitment is P90X?

Generally speaking, an average of 60--70 minutes, 6 days a week.

The videos are all just under an hour, which includes about 5-10 minutes of warmup and cool down, But--3x weekly you add a 15 minute ab workout.  Also--once a week you do the Yoga DVD, which is 90 minutes.

As started earlier, it's not for the faint of heart, and not a "starter" program.  But it's really quite efficient and provides tangible results.

Do you know of anything similar that takes 30-45 mins? 

[Padraig Dooley]

http://www.golfstrengthcoach.com/video

My masters degree was in Exercise Physiology, back when I thought I would become the worlds leading authority om golf fitness.
However back in the mid eighties nobody cared which meant no money, so I went back to school.
As such seeing the growth of this within the game has been very interseting.
The site above show you all you need to know.
I have been doing stuff like this functional training for 20 years..mixing it with rountine cardio stuff and some great plyometrics...anybody wants some info let me know.
The functional stuff si hands down the best you can do..it is so golf specific.
I know Tiger's fitness guy as well as this guy who works with Vijay...and programmes dont differ much from player to player.
Glutes and core are number 1...without a doubt hence the concentration of those muscle groups in the various videos of Vijay on this site.

I love this stuff..work out about 300 days a year with sessions lasting from 45 minutes to 90 minutes....usually the 45' are the intense cardio days.....they hurt!

Do not hesistate to get in touch if you want to ask me anything....

Michael, I was at a course recently where one of the best golfers in the world spoke on fitness and was very critical of Vijay especially the type and amount of work he was doing. He felt he was spending too much time on the treatment table, too much time in the gym during tournaments and as a result wasn't fresh enough to be playing his best golf. He noted that when Vijay had his great season a few years ago, he didn't practice that much, only spent a small amount of time in the gym and as a result seemed extremely fresh all the time. Any thoughts on his observations?

 

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

There is no doubt that as age advances...I hate to admit it..the need for reat is as important as the sessions in the gym.

Indeed there is alot of reasearch coming out of Europe that suggests that rest is essential for optimal muscle growth and endurance.

I think Vijay was hitting the gym a little too hard, the exercises shown are great , just not all on the same day!
Camillo noticed the same thing and is visibly smaller this year than at the same time last year.

Resting individual muscle groups is important...dont do two heavy legs on succesive days etc...but the good thing about the functional golf stuff, is that it gives you the opportunity to vary the amount of weight on any given pulley on any given day....for most of us fifteen reps is the magic number....low reps at high weight creates too much stress on the attaching ligaments and tendons and really is not worth the extra pain!

Workimh with low weights and suspending on swiss balls...balance plates..etc is great for lowering the strwess on the joints whilst optimising core engagement.
For example while bench pressing...lower the weight by 50% and place a balance ball under the small of your back...to lift the weight you will have to full enagage the core to lift the weight

[Joel Zuckerman]

Do you know of anything similar that takes 30-45 mins? 

Another program from this company is called "Intensity," and it is almost all cardio, from what I gather, and well named, from the looks of things.  I think those DVD's are shorter in length that the P90X videos.  Go to www.beachbody.com for all the info.