Jul
30
2008

Interview with John Little, Author of The Max Golf Workout

Posted by Double Eagle in Fitness, Interviews

Recently, I told you about a book I read, called The Max Golf Workout.  I was privileged to have an extended chat (see below to jump right in) with author John Little about The Max Golf Workout as well as the Max Contraction system, on which the Max Golf Workout is based.

The two main ingredients to Max Contraction strength training are:

  1. Loading a muscle with maximal weight for a brief period in a fully-contracted position until 100% of its energy is drained.
  2. Longer recovery times spanning from 7-14 days between workouts, or even longer in some cases.

This is quite a revolutionary system and John Little was kind enough to go into great detail.  We covered a variety of topics in the 76 minute conversation.  Some of the highlights include:

  • What Max Contraction is and why it is beneficial to you
  • Why longer recovery times are better for optimal strength gains
  • Why stretching and aerobic workouts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be
  • How strength training aids in weight loss
  • Why three simple strength training exercises, performed infrequently are all you need for basic golf strength
  • How over-training is one of the biggest problems in sports today, including the possibility that it may have led to Tiger Woods’ knee troubles

I also give some of my own impressions after trying out the Max Golf/Max Contraction workout for myself.  I will cover my experience in more detail in a post later this week.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the interview.

Keep an open mind, and please feel free to leave comments discussing your thoughts and feelings.

The interview can either be accessed here (right-click and “Save As” if you wish to save it to your computer),  or feel free to use the inline player below.  Please forgive the few brief periods of jitter in the recording, as we were conversing over the web and clearly the information superhighway had a few traffic jams.

 

———————————–

Further Reading

John Little’s Home Page (maxcontraction.com)
Max Golf Workout Review (Life in the Rough)

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There are currently 5 responses to “Interview with John Little, Author of The Max Golf Workout”

  1. 1

    Book Review: The Max Golf Workout by John Little said:

    [...] Stay tuned this week for a podcast of my recent interview with John Little followed by a post about my experience with The Max Golf [...]

  2. 2

    Greg B. said:

    Wow Mike, great interview, great information.

    Random thoughts as I listen…

    It seems that this type of training has more risk for injury.

    I’m going to be very interested in your results and how this training relates to your golf improvement.

    During my younger years, I worked out with the idea of building mass. I did high weight, low reps, maybe 2-3 times per week alternating muscle groups. I saw great results but with the added mass, I lost range of motion and flexibility (I did do stretching to combat this).

    What about older readers? I feel my joints my be a weak point. Is it safe to try max contraction with max weight for older readers?

    Weight loss? How does this relate to weight loss?

    I had a hernia last year. Again, I’m worried about injury here.

    I think I’m going to have to grab the book!

    -G

  3. 3

    Double Eagle said:

    Thanks, Greg. Glad you’re enjoying it. Let me touch on some of your questions/concerns.

    My understanding is, the risk of injury is actually lower, because you’re not moving the full load repeatedly through your range of motion.

    One thing I’ve noticed is that I’m not getting the little bouts of minor tendinitis in my shoulders/elbows/etc. that I usually get after I’ve been training steadily for a long period.

    As for flexibility, we touch on that in the interview. John is critical of stretching, in general, but also makes the point that stretching is not the only way to have flexibility. The analogy I used in the interview is that while some trainers might ask if you can touch your toes, the question is, do you need to touch your toes?

    The key is strengthening the surrounding muscles to allow the joints to move through a full range of motion. I feel like I’m as flexible as I was before I started, and more than flexible enough to swing the club well. Trying to gain additional flexibility can stress out and weaken joint stability which is actually the opposite of what we want, especially for golf. Now, if your swing is restricted, then obviously that’s something that needs work, but strengthening that area will have a positive effect.

    There’s an entire chapter in the book about the benefits of strength training for seniors, including a study that was done. We didn’t really touch on it in the interview, but his study showed very positive effects in seniors.

    We also touch on weight loss in the interview and it’s in the book. It’s quite interesting actually. Muscle tissue is more calorie-demanding than fat tissue. Adding muscle mass, while maintaining the same diet (assuming you’re not eating more than you burn), will actually put you in a calorie deficit, which will cause fat reserves to be used. John’s study on fat loss showed this.

    I’m not sure about the hernia, so you’ll probably want to discuss that with your doctor. I don’t know how those work with the risk of re-injury.

    Even if you don’t choose a a max-contraction type workout using more weight, instead choosing a traditional approach, the information about longer recovery times is still important.

    Strangely, my strength has increased more than double on most exercises that I do, and I’ve clearly added muscle mass, but I don’t feel more bulky. I mean, I do, because I need to trim down a lot more, but not more bulky than I felt a month ago.

  4. 4

    Daniel Depp said:

    I just stumbled on this website and wanted to congratulate you on your excellent information.

    I play a little golf myself whilst working as a fitness specialist and it is interesting to see what kind of workouts golf players are looking for.

    I also run a weight loss and fitness website which may be of interest for any budding golfers out there who want to improve their physical performance and trim down. You can check it out here – Extreme Weight Loss

    Keep up the good work!

  5. 5

    My Max Golf Workout Experience said:

    [...] I’ve been telling you all about the Max Golf Workout.  If you checked out my interview with author John Little, then you heard a lot about my experience [...]

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