Big Trouble
January 21, 2007
I have chosen four of what I feel are the most common trouble shots you may encounter at The Bridges Golf Club. And “Taking the Challenge” at the Bridges involves being prepared for trouble shots. It would be naive of me to think otherwise. Remember, every course has a little different layout and terrain so practice accordingly.
Welcome these difficult situations as a test of your intellect. These shots just take a bit more creativity than others. Besides, if we hit every shot in the fairway and then on the green, we would have nothing to talk about over a beverage after the round.
Trouble shots might be the hot topic of conversation after the round but are less popular at the practice range. There are several reasons why we don’t practice trouble shots. First of all, we never expect to have to play a trouble shot. And there are not many practice areas set up to work on these types of shots. Besides, trouble shots are not the most glamorous shots to practice. Imagine yourself hitting a large basket of practice balls from high rough or under a tree. The way to practice trouble shots is with one golf ball and the competition of others. It’s the difference between practicing for five minutes or two hours.
3 Great Weight Loss Exercises
January 21, 2007
It’s a given that effective weight loss is much more then simply going on a "diet". To really lose weight and (hopefully) keep that weight off, you need to add exercise to the equation. For Most people, weight loss exercise means aerobics ? running, jogging, kickboxing or some other type of routine where you get your heart racing for 30 to 45 minutes.
It’s true, that one hour of aerobic exercise probably burns more calories than one hour of weight training. However, the calories burned during exercise are only part of the story. When you’re finished lifting weights, your muscles need repair themselves; this repair process burns additional calories. Further, the result of this repair process is additional muscle mass, and guess what –muscles burn calories, even if you’re just sitting around. Recently, Curves’ Fitness centers revealed the results of two separate studies that prove just that. The studies showed that participants were actually burning, on average, an additional 265 calories per day, because of the additional muscle mass. Meaning they could actually eat more everyday without gaining weight!
Want to really pack some muscle on? Try adding these three exercises to your fitness routine. All three are "compound exercises" meaning they work multiple muscles simultaneously.
Top 10 Reasons for Buying a Home Treadmill
January 20, 2007
Why are treadmills becoming so popular? Why does everyone have one and not go to the gym as much? What is so great about a home treadmill? Below you will have all of these and many more questions answered as you are given ten reasons for having a home treadmill.
* First, they save time. People say they don’t have enough time to spend at work or with their family, so how could they have time to go to the gym. Treadmills save time because the gym is now brought to you.
* Second, there are no more monthly or yearly gym fees. You have to renew your gym membership at least once a year and a typical treadmill will serve you up to 10 years or more.
* Third, there is the convenience factor. In the time it would take you to get ready and drive down to the gym, you could have already got 20-30 minutes exercising on the treadmill in your home.
* Fourth, it works for whole family. As with most gym equipment that requires age to use some of the heavier stuff, a treadmill only requires that you can walk to use it because it can set speeds for you and your family.
Take Your Eyes Off that Ball!
January 20, 2007
O.k., so you love golf. I know, I know. Me too.
There you are, exhilarated just by being on the course again, away from the worries of real life. Man, this is great.
But come on, underneath all that titillation is - way too often — the pang of frustration. Why? You know the routine. You get all set up and quickly run through the 20-item checklist in your brain. This time, everything’s just right, perfect. And then, wack, off the ball goes, to Slice City or to Hooksville. Or perhaps a dribble or a pop fly.
Dang! Isn’t there a way to end this misery? Well, no, there isn’t, not entirely.
But I do have a suggestion that may help sometimes, and that is to take your eye OFF the ball. That’s right. Let go.
Here’s the idea. First, make every backswing as slow as you can. And keep it low to the ground as long as you can, especially with your driver and woods — whether off the tee or on the turf.
Yoga, Do Not Knock It Until You Try It
January 19, 2007
Are you one of those folks who have never tried yoga? How about one of those grown up teenagers who likes cow tipping and thought you might knock over your sister when she was doing yoga? Yes, I know that is fun isn’t it? I have done this on many occasion and watched the silly looking humans fall right over indeed. Not bad, it is easy too; a little push and see ya, over they go. But really we should be very serious yoga is quite good for the soul, relaxation and de-stressing too. So, do not knock yoga until you try it. Now I have tried it so it is okay for me to make jokes, but if you have not tried it, you are barred from laughing or tipping over your friends who you think are looking quite silly while they do their "Yoga Thing."
Exercise The Right Way - Barbell Shrugs
January 19, 2007
Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders’ training regimes.
It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better.
In this article we’ll take a close look at Barbell Shrugs.
MUSCLES TARGETED: trapezius (upper), rhomboids
STARTING POSITION
Adopt a shoulder width stance with the back erect and knees slightly bent throughout.
Grasp the bar with an overhand grip and hands slightly wider than shoulder width.
Hold the bar at arm’s length with a slight bend at the elbows.
The bar should now be resting across the upper thighs.
EXERCISE TECHNIQUE
Lift your shoulders towards your ears and briefly hold the contraction.
Using A Golf Swing Trainer May Surprise You
January 18, 2007
Many amateur golfers start out playing golf for fun. Most would like to keep it that way and that is precisely the reason why the mention of a golf swing trainer, however much that would help them improve their game will not only draw loud groans but for most they will already start feeling tired at the mere thought.
That is absolutely normal. Who wants the rigors of a golf swing trainer, and the sweat and hard physicals that one imagines, must surely go with it? To be perfectly honest, nobody that I know.
Yet a golf swing trainer need not fit the image of what is on most amateur golfer’s minds. More so when they hear that professionals are dramatically improving their games with the help of golf swing trainers.
The truth is that the golf swing training is not only light and very specific for the improvement of the golf swing, but for many who start, it ends up being interesting. Actually the golf swing trainer gets even more interesting when your game improves in great huge leaps and bounds.
The Degradation of Fitness Science
January 18, 2007
The world and our selves evolve and exist in a cyclic fashion; good times and bad? ups and downs? we experience changes that seem to repeat, including everyday cycles of sleep-wake and cell regeneration. History is a broad example of cycles, whereby we enter the “dark ages” followed by an “age of enlightenment.” We now are in an irrational dark age of fitness. Irrational is an ideal term to describe a method of exercise considered dangerous, impractical, unproved (yet implemented when other proven methods exist) and irrelevant (i.e., claiming to do something that cannot be achieved). Below is such an example.
FUNCTIONAL CORE EXERCISE
In an article by a well known “functional/core exercise” proponent, there is an attempt to affiliate the concepts of microscopic life of the amoeba with human cellular processes, and “functional training” when the author claims: “Movement, survival and the optimal functioning of the organism all go hand in hand.” This statement opens a door for the author as he links “movement” with “function,” together with the concept of “optimal.” He then claims that there is a link between functional exercise and survival, as confirmed historically by the “fact” that when exercise needs are not met (too much, too little, an absence or the wrong kind), then “disease lurks!” (exclamation his). Certainly lack of activity or too much activity (excess strain) can pose negative results, but here he links “the wrong kind” of exercise to that of disease or ill health.
Inexpensive Exercise Machine Gets The Results Of A $12,000 Treadmill
January 17, 2007
Whether you’re on a low carb diet or a low fat diet, its important to exercise if you want to accelerate your weight loss while dieting.
Would you be interested, to find a piece of inexpensive exercise equipment that could help you achieve the same results you’d see from a $12,000 treadmill? My answer to that question was sure, but its probably just hype for one of those TV gimmicks that don’t really work. And besides, I’m not a big fan of treadmills either, because of long term knee problems.
Treadmills have been shown in numerous studies to be the best cardio workout around. They use all of your lower body. Quadriceps on the front of your legs,hamstrings to the back, your calves,your butt,and your hips. The more muscle you use at a time, the more fat you burn. And that means more of the right kind of weight loss.
So whats this equipment that works all those areas and doesn’t cost and arm and a leg? An elliptical trainer. An elliptical machine is a low to no impact machine that feels something like cross country skiing combined with cycling.
Why Golf Training Products Don?t Work For Most
January 17, 2007
The mere mention of golf training products is bound to cause trouble for you with many golfers. Garages right across the country are loaded with the stuff and yet the games of those who enthusiastically purchased the golf training products have hardly improved. Maybe they have even gotten worse.
So should you totally forget about golf training products?
Do you give up investing in stocks just because your first few investments went wrong? I think not. So what do you do?
You approach the whole issue a little more cautiously. For starters you look for some experts with track records to show for what they have done for others. Not just mere promoters eager to move a certain type of stock. Then you try again.
I would advice exactly the same approach with golf training products.
It would be a good idea to start with golf training products that are specific to your particular weaknesses in the game. For starters if you are a slicer, the Inside Approach is a good golf-training product to start with.
