My Golf Disaster
June 3, 2008
Although I was never picked for sports teams as a kid, I always thought that golf would be far easier than all the others as it required very little physical exertion in regards to chasing a ball up and down a field for 90 minutes while opponents try to take the legs out from under you.
I mean, how difficult could it be? You stand still, look at the hole at the other end of the green, look at the ball and then hit it as hard as you can with a metal or wooden club. Even better, once you do, you don’t have to run as fast as you can to the hole. Instead you take a taxi in the form of a golf cart. How sweet is that!
I had a rude awakening one day when a friend of mine managed to talk me into playing a few rounds down at one of the local courses. For starters there were no golf carts, so we had to walk around all 18 holes. That wouldn’t have been so bad but for the fact there were no golf caddies on that day either so we had to carry the bags of clubs around too. Damn those things are heavy! Golf caddy’s do not get paid enough.
Free Weights Vs Machines - The Battle!
June 2, 2008
It seems like everyone has an opinion on this debate. Which is better- free weights or machines? I asked my trainer friends what they thought and it was pretty much split in half. One group loved free weights and the other loved machines.
Those that are just beginning to strength train, those that are rehabilitating a body part, those who want to isolate a particular muscle, and those that want to lift large amounts of weight would be better off selecting a machine. It is safer for your circumstances.
Here’s why, free weights require users to have a base of strength, balance and coordination. Machines provide that balance for you. Using a machine the strength trainer can lift a weight in a relatively safe manner. The exercise is guided along a pre-set path that does not allow for unsafe movements. With free weights you are left to your own devices. Your exercise path is whatever feels best for you.
If you are setting up your own in-home gym, I would go with a set of dumbbells. They are less expensive and take up less space. Less is good. Buying an all-in-one machine may be what interests you more and that’s fine. Just be sure that all of the cable lines are of strong and high quality material. Otherwise they will wear out over time.
What Are the Best Exercises for the Golfer?
June 2, 2008
With all the talk about the players on tour getting stronger and more flexible, we hear a lot about exercising for golf from television commentators and read about it in the golf publications. But what exactly are the best exercises for the amateur golfer?
A great question that has a good answer, but before we give you the answer let us provide some background so the answer makes a little more sense to you. First of all, discussing the golf swing for the time being will get us rolling.
What exactly is the golf swing? The golf swing is an athletic movement that requires using of the entire body from "feet to fingertips" in order to complete the swing. Realize that the golf swing is not about the club, not just about your grip, or where your head is during the swing. The golf swing is a movement that requires your entire body to move through a sequence of movements with the correct timing. To perform the "athletic movement" of the golf swing requires the body to begin at address, move through the actual phases of the golf swing and complete it with the follow through. In order to perform this activity with efficiency and repetitively, the body must have certain physical parameters.
The Truth About Lactate and Exercise
June 1, 2008
For years exercise scientists and physiologists have preached that lactate/lactic acid build-up in the muscle is the direct cause of muscle fatigue and a decrease in performance. It is proposed that lactate builds up in the muscle cells during intense exercise and literally "poisons" them, essentially shutting down activity biochemically by reducing the pH or increasing the acidity level. Lactate has therefore been dubbed a metabolic by-product or dead end and as the enemy of human exercise and performance. This may be far from the truth as this article explains.
Unfortunately, the information that gave lactate this unearned reputation is outdated and very questionable since the research on which this theory is based was isolated frog muscle experiments from 1910-1914. The experiments were performed and the lactate theory proposed by A.V. Hill and associates. Basically, these investigators took excised frog muscle and continuously stimulated it with electric shocks until failure and then took lactate samples for analysis. Lactate levels were extraordinarily high, and from this finding the scientists came to the conclusion that lactate buildup must have been the culprit for the fatigue and ultimate failure of the muscle. Hill also concluded that since there was no blood and therefore oxygen supply to the muscle, that this condition must have been the cause of the accumulation of lactate.
How to Increase Your Bench Press by Doing Squats
June 1, 2008
My Legs Are Already Big Enough. I Keep Hearing Working Legs Is A MUST. Why Is That So Important?
Believe me? I hated leg workouts. Until I realize the true potential that a simple set of squats could unleash.
Frankly? I see the same people on the leg press machine, leg extensions, doing lunges and doing squats week after week. But for every other muscle group, it’s like a new day. There’s the familiar faces of course, but there’s always new people. It’s like working leg is an exclusive club.
And yet that is 50% of your body! Your entire lower body you will neglect because:
? You don’t like working legs
? You don’t want bigger legs
? Your leg are big enough
But let’s suppose? you do work legs. And without much weight at all. Just enough to stimulate your entire body propelling it into new levels of growth. Do you think that is possible?
How can doing squats increase our bench press? If you are stuck on bicep curls, how can incorporating legs into your routine break you thru those plateaus?
