Life in the Rough» Fitness

Fitness Review: G2 Golf Stretch Fitness Program

Mike Gray — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 02:09:52 +0000

Interestingly, the G2 Golf Stretch Fitness Program by G2 Lifestyles is really a product and a program. The product is an eco-friendly (100% recyclable) stretching mat and the program is a group of stretches meant to maximize range of motion and flexibility for the purpose of increasing stability and swing speed which, obviously, is intended to help play better golf.

We’ve all heard many times how much benefit golfers can receive from a good fitness program, especially one which focuses on flexibility and range of motion. The G2 program aims to fill that role.

According to G2, the golf trainer mat features the following technology:

Eco-friendly (100% Recyclable) material
Physician-certified stretches
Thick-cushion design
Bacteria resistant
Washable, non-slip surface
Long-lasting and durable
Revolutionary, patented material
Instructional videos available online after purchase

Most notably, the stretching program is printed on the mat itself, making it somewhat unique. To augment that, instructional videos demonstrating each of the stretching exercises are available on the G2 Lifestyles website after purchasing the trainer mat.

The mat folds up and includes a tote bag for easy storage and transportation.

Evaluation

I’ve used the trainer mat a handful of times in the last few weeks and am hoping to rekindle a regular stretching program.

I like this product/program for several reasons:

The exercises are printed on the mat. This makes it so easy to do the program that it’s like cheating. There’s no need to print out or memorize the program because it’s right on the mat.
The inclusion of instructional videos is a big bonus. Really, lacking those would have made this a deal-breaker for me. As I moved through the exercises, I found myself wondering several times if I was doing certain ones correctly. The videos were a great help.
The instructional videos can be downloaded and viewed on an iPod. That makes things much easier because you can view exercises as you’re going through the program without having to run to a PC for a little help.
I’m not a fitness expert, but based on my experiments with fitness and flexibility over time, this program seems pretty comprehensive to me. It’s not simply five or six token stretches. The program consists of 29 exercises.

I only have a couple of reservations, and they’re really just unknowns.

First, I don’t know how durable the mat will be over time because I simply haven’t used it enough. I can only compare it to mats I’ve used at my local gym. Those mats give me the impression that they would survive a nuclear war. However, they have to be extra durable because they’re used by tons of people every day. I wouldn’t say this mat is likely to be as durable as those, but I haven’t used it long enough to know. I will say, though, that the G2 mat is more comfortable to use.

Second, I haven’t done the full program long enough to know how much of a positive effect it would have on my game. As I said above, it’s quite comprehensive and includes many of the exercises that I’ve used myself over the years. I just can’t sit here and tell you specific things it has helped in my golf game because I haven’t done it enough.

Overall, I like the program and trainer mat a lot. I feel comfortable recommending it and will continue using it myself.

For photos of the mat that I took during my evaluation, click here to visit the photo gallery.

For more information please visit the G2 Lifestyles website.

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Disclosure

G2 Lifestyles sent me the trainer mat and gave me access to the instructional videos at no cost. I was not compensated for this review in any other way. I do not have any affiliate marketing relationship with G2 Lifestyles.

My Max Golf Workout Experience

Mike Gray — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:30:41 +0000

Recently, 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 already.

To briefly summarize the Max Contraction system (on which the Max Golf Workout is based), it is characterized by these two main points:

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

Right after I began the 100-push up challenge, I mentioned that I was putting it aside temporarily so that I could experiment with a new workout. Well, the Max Golf Workout was it.

I haven’t abandoned the 100 pushup challenge, I’ve just been attacking it from another angle. When I started, my initial push up test was 6 (well, really 5 because the 6th was pretty poor form). Tonight, just before I wrote this, I cranked out a solid 15 push ups, triple my initial test, and triple the number I did at any one point during my one week of the prescribed 100-push up challenge regimen.

I know 15 doesn’t sound like much, but if you look at where I started, it’s a huge gain for me. I should also mention that I’ve only done 5 Max Contraction workouts in 6 weeks and each one takes me less than half an hour in the gym. Most of that half hour is rest. Actual exercise time is no more than ten minutes.

If you really want to boil it down, you could say that I tripled the number of push ups I’m able to do with a total of 50 minutes of weight training done across six weeks.

I used the 100-push up challenge as a comparison for the simple reason that it’s a way to actually quantify my results. I’m seeing several other benefits too.

The Benefits

For the science behind Max Contraction and why it can help you, check out the book and my interview with John. Now, I’m talking about the benefits to me personally. Here are several of the positive benefits that I’ve observed along the way:

I’ve doubled the amount of weight that I can hold in a maximally-contracted position on just about every exercise I do. And that’s in five sessions.
Unlike with traditional strength workouts, I don’t feel nearly as sore the day after a hard workout. I also don’t get a lot of the little nagging aches and joint pains that I get with strength training regimens that have me working through the entire range of motion.
I feel pretty good. I’m hitting the ball as long as ever. My endurance is as good as it’s been at any time in the last few years.
The herniated disk in my back doesn’t nag me nearly as much as it used to. I haven’t done any of my usual rehab exercises in a long while, yet I still feel good enough to practice and play as much as I like. I’m careful, however, not to do any exercises that put stress on my spine, such as overhead presses and the like.
I haven’t done a stretching exercise in well over two months. My golf warm-up consists of hitting some wedges on the range and working up to full swings. Even without stretching, my swing feels as fluid as ever. Is my flexibility the same as it was when I was intentionally working on it? Probably not, but I’m not feeling restricted in any way, so why not stick with my natural range of motion? My joints are likely more stable now, giving me a better chance to avoid injury.
Even with added muscle mass, I don’t feel like my golf swing is impeded in any way.
I’m saving a lot of time on weight training and stretching that I can spend on practice and play.

The Drawbacks

I’ve thought long and hard trying to identify any drawback that I’ve observed over the last six weeks. I truly cannot think of anything I’ve encountered that I’ve been unhappy with.

Well, maybe one thing. I’m gaining strength too quickly. I’ve nearly maxed out the weight capacity of the machines I normally work with. I have one or two plates to go on most of them. After that, I’m going to be in maintenance mode, I guess.

This also leads to one other minor issue: Because the weight is held in a fully contracted position, I can handle more weight than I can easily move through the complete range of motion. So, while I can hold a large amount of weight, sometimes it’s difficult to get it into position. It helps to have a partner to aid in getting fully contracted. So far, I’ve been managing by myself, though.

Conclusion

For me, Max Contraction training has been almost too good to be true. I say almost because contrary what you might think, a 30 minute Max Contraction workout is extraordinarily demanding and it leaves me out of gas for a day or two afterward.

At the same time, it takes a lot less time while giving me larger strength increases than I was previously able to get with high rep/low weight workouts.

If you engage in strength training, I recommend giving it a try. I think you’ll notice an almost immediate increase in strength.

Check out the Max Golf Workout book for more information. Also, have a look at John Little’s home page. If you’d like to see a Max Contraction workout in action, there’s a series of videos on YouTube showing John Little supervising a workout (that link goes to the first of three videos).

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Interview with John Little, Author of The Max Golf Workout

Mike Gray — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:00:41 +0000

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:

Loading a muscle with maximal weight for a brief period in a fully-contracted position until 100% of its energy is drained.
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.

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The One Hundred Pushups Challenge

Mike Gray — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:00:51 +0000

Being competitive by nature, I can’t pass up a good challenge. The Happy Rock knows how to motivate me by pressing my competitive buttons. He laid down the gauntlet and I’m now finding myself embarking on the One Hundred Push ups training program.

Push ups are a great exercise for building strength in the core, shoulders, chest, and arms. The basic premise of the program is that you can work up to 100 pushups (in a row, wiseguy) by doing three 10-minute sessions per week for six weeks.

The program is simple: simply take the initial test which helps you determine your starting level. With that information, you can start with the week 1 program and progress through each week until you get to the end. You then follow up with the final test to see if you can drop and knock out 100 push ups. As you progress through each week’s program, if you’re not making the grade and aren’t ready to advance, then simply repeat that week’s program until you’re ready for the next level.

This is a perfect Monday-Wednesday-Friday routine that only requires ten minutes per day. I’m going to work on it in the mornings before heading to work. It will supplement my normal fitness routine, so I’m not looking to knock anything off the schedule to make room.

As golfers, we should all recognize the value of core strength. Push ups are a great way to make strides in that area, as well as in several other parts of the body. If you can significantly increase your core strength, improvement in your golf game is virtually guaranteed, especially in the area of distance off the tee.

Are you ready to take the challenge!? Let’s do it! It’s free and it only takes 30 minutes per week. I was challenged and now I’m challenging you!

If you choose to rise to the challenge, I’d like to know two things: how many push ups you were able to do after the six week program, and how many weeks did it take you to get to 100 (if it was more or less than the standard six weeks)?

A Treadmill Program To Help Prepare for Spring

Mike Gray — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:45:31 +0000

I’m a huge fan of tying fitness and golf together to improve both my play and my life in general. Flexibility is paramount and strength is important. However, not to be ignored is cardiovascular health. Not only will it increase your endurance on the golf course, but it will also help you lead a healthier and happier life.

I’m thrilled to pass on a cool offer to Life in the Rough readers. Anthony over at Better Golf With Fitness has offered up a free copy of his six-week hill interval treadmill program to help get in better shape for golf. The program is inspired by Marc Calcavecchia’s own hiking program that he uses to get conditioned for competition.

Normally, the offer is only available to Anthony’s subscribers, but he’s graciously extended that offer to Life in the Rough readers. All you need to do is shoot him an e-mail at Anthony@golffitnessproducts.net with the subject line “Treadmill for Golfers” and he’ll send you a copy of the program.

Better Golf With Fitness and Golf Fitness Products.net are great resources for golf fitness and are two of my favorites.

I’m planning on giving the program a try myself to get in better golf shape. That, plus my normal flexibility and strength training work should have me working like a machine when spring arrives. Well, maybe that’s getting a little ahead of myself, but in six weeks time, I should see real improvement.

Be sure to check with your physician if you’re not sure you can handle the program. For those of us in cold climates, this is the time! I know it will help you (and me).

A Great New Golf Fitness Resource

Mike Gray — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 02:58:11 +0000

Recently, golf fitness expert extraordinaire, Mike Pedersen launched a new blog. His latest website, Mike Pedersen Golf is, as his subtitle says, all about better golf.

Mike has been a golf fitness professional for over 25 years. He has written over 500 articles on fitness and golf and has been a contributor to GolfOnline.com and GolfIllustrated.com. He has created golf fitness books and DVDs that are available through his websites, along with many training aids for training our bodies to play better golf.

Now, with the launch of his personal blog, his aim is to create a community where golfers can go to learn about and discuss issues related to golf fitness. Mike is extremely active in the comments section at his blog, eagerly interacting with readers. His passion for fitness and golf are contagious.

Stop over and check it out.

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The Steroid “Issue” in Golf

Mike Gray — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 03:00:39 +0000

This summer, Gary Player sparked a huge controversy when he claimed that he knows of steroid use in professional golf. His quote:

“One guy told me — I took an oath prior to him telling me — but he told me what he did and I could see this massive change in him. And somebody else told me something I also promised I wouldn’t tell, that verified others had done it.”

Other than that, I don’t know of any other evidence that a professional golfer on any of the major tours has taken any performance enhancing drugs.

Has it ever happened? Probably. But it’s certainly not turned the sport into an embarrassment like Major League Baseball.

Regardless of that, the PGA Tour stepped up today and created an anti-doping policy. It seems clear that the policy was more a result of the scandals in other sports like baseball and bicycling than a result of whispers about problems on the Tour.

The thing many people don’t realize is that these performance enhancing drugs don’t just create musclebound maniacs.

I think that we kind of had our perceptions shaped, at least in the United States, starting in the 1980′s with steroids in football (the American kind) and in other sports. We were imprinted with the vision of a huge ‘roid rage fueled maniac, frothing at the mouth.

Since then, we’ve seen it in several players, most recently Barry Bonds (allegedly), who looks like he accidentally sat on an air hose.

I’ve read and heard a lot of people saying that steroids won’t help a player make putts or keep the ball in the fairway. That’s true. Steroids are not going to turn an inferior player into a Tour player.

However, there are many performance enhancing drugs that simply allow players to benefit from longer workouts and faster recovery times.

For golfers who, as a whole, are starting to work out more and more each year, it means that they could work out more frequently. More importantly, it also would mean that players could practice more and get less fatigued (or recover faster) from grueling four-day tournaments and long practice sessions.

What kind of advantage would it be to be able to recover faster and not be as worn down on Sunday or even in the latter stages of the season?

The bottom line is, huge muscles aren’t the only symptom.

I applaud the PGA Tour for being proactive in this matter. Golf is supposed to be a game of honor, and in general it is.

At the same time, there’s a lot of money on the line in professional golf. Enough for an up and comer or a player on the bubble to be tempted to cheat. Clearly, the negative long-term health effects alone aren’t enough to stop this kind of cheating in other sports. Maybe this policy will help head off any future scandals that could be harmful to the game.

What are your thoughts?

Fix Your Posture, Save Your Back

Mike Gray — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 06:07:09 +0000

Several times in the past, I’ve mentioned that I’m recovering from a herniated disk in my lower back that kept me from playing for the better part of two years. After some excellent rehab, I’ve been able to play again this year.

However, it’s not all roses. I don’t have a tremendous amount of pain, but after a lot of play and/or practice, I get pretty sore and tight.

Up to this point, I’ve stayed on top of my exercises and they’re like a magic pill. If I want to play and practice several days in a row, then I really need to stay on course. If I falter, then I start to pay with a little more soreness and tightness.

You may remember that I’ve been talking lately about various fixes I’ve been making with my swing. One of the big ones was getting back to the basics: grip, alignment, stance, posture. I started trying to mimic textbook posture as much as I could, and it definitely felt strange, telling me that I was doing something different for a long time.

Well, because of all the swing issues I’ve been having, my workouts have lapsed for over a week. I’ve been spending all my spare time at the range.

After about a week of new posture, I have to say, it’s like night and day. I’m not “cured”, but I haven’t been doing any exercise (don’t worry, that’s changing tonight), and yet, I’ve been able to practice (and now play again), back to back to back (no pun intended) without much discomfort or tightness.

In fact, it took a week to hit me because I’ve been so intensely focused on my swing issues. One day, I realized after a really long session that I felt great and it occurred to me that I hadn’t worked out for several days. Not even my basic stretching.

I’m not an expert in fitness or physiology, so I can’t really explain what’s going on, but something is different.

I intend to fully continue all my exercises, but I have to wonder if bad posture contributed to my original problem. It first happened in winter, so it wasn’t like I took a swing and hit the dirt. But could years of improper mechanics could do it?

Early this year, after my rehab started to work for me, I read up on the issue some. I couldn’t find much online other than a lot of people saying that people with lower back problems should fix their golf posture. At the time, I thought it was fine, so I went looking for more info.

It would be nice if there was some more information out there about how bad posture leads to specific back problems. Like, what exactly about bad posture causes problems? Bending from the waist? Keeping the chin down? Maybe it’s there and I couldn’t find it.

Even if you don’t have back problems, it’s worth checking the quality of your golf posture. If anything, it may help your swing and it may even prevent future wear and tear on your back.

Here’s a great primer on proper setup, including posture, by Michael Lamanna over at About.com. There are some helpful photos there to show you the aspects of correct setup.

As I set up to the ball, I now go through my standard posture checklist:

Bent at the hips
Back not slouching
Arms hanging freely, about a fist-width from my zipper for short irons, a little more for the driver
Chin up a little to allow a free shoulder turn
Knees flexed
Rear sticking out just a bit, indicating a proper bend from the hips, not from the waist

Doing these things makes my swing feel a lot more free, and while I can’t prove it, I think it’s helping my back too. If you have trouble with your back related to golf or if you just suspect your posture might not be up to par (pun intended) try and focus on making it better and see if you have improvement.

If you’re not sure exactly what to look for or would feel more comfortable with someone else helping you diagnose the problem, then it’s a good idea to schedule a lesson with a local teaching professional. He or she will be well-versed on basic setup and should be able to help you immediately.

My Favorite Exercises

Mike Gray — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 06:22:43 +0000

Part of my overall plan is a focus on fitness. I used to work with heavy weights. Now, I’m trying to do more stretching and core strengthening work that is a little more targeted toward golf.

I’m recovering from a herniated disk in my lower back, so I’m obviously concerned with keeping that area strong and flexible. In addition, my hips and shoulders are a problem area that I target regularly.

I wanted to share a few of the stretches and exercises that keep me in golfing form.

Before we start, I want to mention that I’m not a fitness professional. I’m sharing with you what I do, but it’s important that you do what’s right for your own well-being, so consult with a physical trainer and/or doctor to help you decide your own path.

Open Books

This exercise I picked up from the Titleist Performance Institute. I lie down on my side with my knees somewhat bent and both arms straight out in front of me, with my palms together. The back of one hand is on the floor. Then, keeping my knees on the floor, I rotate my top arm across my body until the back of my top hand is touching the floor on the opposite side of my body. I hold for 20-30 seconds, then repeat. I then roll over and repeat for the other side. This is great for adding flexibility in the chest and shoulders. I also feel a nice stretch in my core.

Press Up

This exercise was part of my initial physical therapy regimen for my back, but I like it so much that I continue doing it. To begin, I lie on my stomach. Then, keeping my pelvis on the floor, I gently press up with my arms, feeling a nice arch in my lower back. I stop if I feel any discomfort, but generally I’m able to press up to the point where my arms are straight. I do ten of these, holding the stretch at the top for a few seconds.

Russian Twists

I really like this one for core stability and some stretch in my back. I start by sitting on an exercise ball and rolling out, so the ball is under my middle back. Then, I hold a ten pound dumbbell at arms length over my chest. From there, I rotate my upper body to one side, lowering the dumbbell to my side. Then I rotate from there to the opposite side with the dumbbell by my opposite side, all the while making sure my lower body stays stable. I do two sets of 20.

These are a few of my favorites, but there are many others that I typically do. I’m really finding that it’s helping me with my golf game and with feeling better, in general. I have a long way to go before I’m even approaching being in decent shape. But I’m definitely getting there with a well-defined fitness plan.

HIIT it!

Mike Gray — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 06:01:04 +0000

I’m talking about High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), of course. It’s time for a little fitness around here and I’m dragging you with me!

I’ve been hearing about interval training for a while now as an alternative to a traditional cardio workout. The “traditional” workout might consist of 30-60 minutes of moderate intensity cardio on something like a treadmill or a stationary bike.

Now, studies are showing that the old way might not be the best way. It’s now coming to light that actually, short bursts of intense cardio followed by longer rest periods is actually more beneficial. These sessions might consist of a minute on a stationary bike, treadmill, outdoor sprints, etc. at maximum effort, followed by a few minutes of rest. Then, the cycle is repeated.

Do this three times a week and you’re getting a more beneficial cardio workout, and doing it in about 12 minutes.

Anthony over at Better Golf with Fitness had a great podcast yesterday where he chatted for a while with Dr. Mark Smith, an expert in interval training. I recommend checking out the podcasts regularly. They’re a great source of fitness information that’s applicable to golf and really to general fitness. But today’s was especially informative.

Dr. Smith had some great information to share explaining why our current notion of the “proper” cardio workout is wrong (or at least not as beneficial). I was surprised to learn that while a traditional cardio workout might burn more calories overall, a typical HIIT workout will actually burn more fat. Hey, that’s just what I need!

On top of the actual physiological benefits, another big one is the time factor. You can accomplish more in 15 minutes (if you include the rest periods) than you’d be able to do in 30-60 minutes before.

Since I was scheduled for a gym workout last night, I decided that I’d be giving HIIT a try. I haven’t gotten in a cardio workout for a while because I’ve been spending time working on core strength and flexibility as well as spending time at the range and on the course. I decided that I’d give the recumbent bike a shot. My plan was to do two minutes warm up, followed by alternating cycles of one minute maximum effort with the bike set to the highest difficulty, followed by three minutes of rest with the bike set to a very low difficulty. I did each cycle four times, for a total of four minutes at maximum effort.

I have to say, that was a real kick in the butt. I got through each segment and could really feel that I had worked out at the end. After the workout, when I got home, I felt great. I’m obviously a little fatigued, but I’m invigorated. That could be because it’s my first cardio session in a few weeks. I’ll know more as time goes on.

If you work out, think about giving HIIT a try. If you’re skeptical, do a few rounds with Google. There’s a ton of great information out there. Definitely check out the podcast, and Better Golf with Fitness, in general. Also, I can’t post a fitness article without plugging the Titleist Performance Institute again. Those guys know their stuff and their web site is a top-notch resource for anything related to golf fitness. In fact, there’s an article about HIIT written by Dr. Smith on there (which you have to sign up to read, but it’s free).

Now, HIIT it!