Part of me is pissed and part of me is sad, so for now I’m both…”pissad” (new word for the day!).

I’m “pissad” because as I was out on my road bike today, I passed two golf courses with about four holes visable from the path I was on. And at both courses, I stopped to watch some swings, but become struck by the fact that of 32 golfers (4 holes x four foursomes on each course = 32 golfers), ALL OF THEM WERE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE, and ALL OF THEM WERE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR GAME because of their weight.

Of course while I was thinking this, I was reminded of the newest overwt and obese numbers that came out about three weeks ago (see the blog that I posted) that stated that more people (~32%) are now obese, and (~31%) are now overweight with kids following behind at close to 25% each obese and overwieght.

As much as what I was seeing is a true representitive of our population here in the United States, I got mad at how people have just “given up” on themselves, and that’s when I got sad.

As my “thought flood” continued, I started thinking about why so many, men in particular, end up playing golf as their “sport of choice,” and I think part of the reason is that it’s easy! Seriously…if you ride a cart, there isn’t much exercise at all! So it still seems that to the public, golf is an easy sport to play and doesn’t take much fitness to play like many other sports do.

Think about how golf is viewed for the most part, especially from a “male” point of view:
1. We try to hit it as far as we can to make ourselves look better or bigger than our opponents = insecurity
2. We miss a putt and cuss and blame the putter = immaturity
3. We move the ball a little bit or change our score = cheating
4. We think our “state of the art” clubs are better than our opponents (even though they don’t equate to lower scores!) = show off
5. We blame our back pain as the reason as to why our game sucks = laziness
6. Then we get hot dogs and a soda at the turn and cocktails afterward, and then players wonder why they have a hard time with the game and life in general!

I mean how pathetic is that! But, if you think about it, those adjectives above describe alot of people and how the run their lives…and that is probably the biggest reason why I think people have just given up.

Golf is a sport of integrity, honesty, precision, patience, skill, talent, love, hate, and athleticism! These are the values we promote, and will always do our best to help you with any of those that you struggle with!

Really my friends, that is why Tyler and I created Golf Fitness Guys, and why we talk about everything in life that could play a role in being a great golfer, because in our opinion, golf just isn’t a sport, it really is a lifestyle and speak a ton about how you look at life. Our goal is to provide you with the latest, most solid- research backed information you can get on:
1. Golf Fitness
2. Body therapy
3. Muscle Activation Techniques
4. Mobility, Stability
5. Strength, Power
6. Nutrition
7. Supplementation
8. Life issues- hydration, sleep, stress reduction, disease prevention, etc.

You see, we see golf and golf fitness as a lifestyle. Our golf fitness programs we make for our clients, including our PGA Tour winners, benefit their lives first, and they get better at golf because there lives begin to change for the better! Like I always say, “Golf fitness is Life fitness!”

So PLEASE, get off your butt, get outiside or into a gym; go to Whole Foods or at least buy as much organic food as you can; and make a change for not just yourself and your game, but for your kids and legacy after them! God gave you a healthy body the day you were born, and the only thing that has made it different since you’ve been old enough to make decisions for your health and fitness is YOU!

Thanks for listening, and I hope that it has stirred some feelings in you that will make you want to make a difference in your life.
You had the power to get where you are now and ONLY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO GET OUT!

If this is you, and you are hopefully not offended, and want come coaching on how to be better, then PLEASE contact us, and we’d be happy to help you get your life and game back!

BTW…did you know that you have absolutely NO reason why you shouldn’t be on a golf fitness program?

Know why?

Because there are over 4000 TPI certified professionals in the world that are ready to help you be a better golfer! Find one in your area.

Ok, the big mistake you are probably making is…stretching random muscles cause your golf instructor or personal trainer, or yoga teacher, or because you read it in Mens Health or Golf Digest! Here’s why:

As golf fitness pro’s, Tyler and I believe in seeking to gain “Mobility” in the body, not just flexibility, which would be gained if you just stretched. The difference is in the definition of Mobility, which states that, “Mobility is a combination of joint range of motion and muscle flexibility.”

So what this means to you is that you not only need to stretch, but you need to make sure that the joint that is crossed by the muscle you are stretching is mobile, aka, “free moving.” This is why I posted the tennis ball and foam roller videos, because they help the hip joints’ range of motion AND the muscles flexibility that crosses the hip joint. The result, increase mobility of the hip (and shoulder too since there is a tennis ball therapy video as well!).

To access those videos, just scroll down the page!

So, if you are making the big mistake of just stretching without making sure the joint is being addressed, you are wasting valuable time that could be making you get better quicker!

If you have questions about Mobility and stretching, just email Tyler or I, and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions!

Now go watch those videos (don’t forget to sign up for our you tube channel) and get more mobile!

Ok obsessed golfers! Here is another way to get better shoulder turn which will allow you to separate better, creating more club head speed and distance.
Add this to you golf fitness program and warm up asap!

Dee here with your next video…

Watch this video to find out how to make your shoulders more mobile which will allow you to hit it farther without pain!

Here was the recent email that we received regarding the golf fitness demands of a good backswing.

Fitness Guys,
My name is ____and I am an assistant golf pro in Phoenix and I am having minor issues with my golf swing and I believe they both have to do with fitness/flexibility. I constantly work on posture and I am an avid weight lifter. My two issues are, one, when i get to the top of my backswing i notice two things. One, my head actually drops (dips) a few inches during my backswing. I have studied pro swings and noticed that most will actually move a little away from the ball and then, on the down swing they swat (like tiger) or drive towards the ball. However, with my position I have to come out of my posture, which causes issues. The second problems I feel is related to the first. I can’t get my hand high at the top of my swing. They are not flat, but definitely not in the position like Tiger or Ernie. I think I developed that dip thinking that if I could turn under the ball more then i can get my hands higher, but both moves just suck. What can you recommend?

Well, thanks for the Golf Fitness question. Let me see what I can do. I’m sure you are not alone with your problem of losing posture at the top of the swing. I normally only change a back swing position if it is directly influencing the poor move on the downswing, in this case it appears to be. The most likely issue facing you is that you probably have developed tight lats. As a weight lifter, I’m sure you know how important lat strength is, but for golfers an even bigger factor is lat flexibility. The lat connects the arm to the the pelvis and is highly involved in rotation and in elevating the arm height in the back swing. To test if your lats are tight, stand with your entire back up against a wall or door and try to raise your arms straight up over your shoulders. If you cannot touch the wall with your thumbs while keeping your lower back up against the wall and keeping your arms straight then you most likely have tight lats and this will influence your golf swing.

Usually the golfer with tight lats will keep the left shoulder closer to the left hip by dipping the head down (and sometimes toward the ball) in an attempt to make a larger swing than the body will allow. We have a saying in golf fitness, “shorten your swing or lengthen your lats.” Now, because the lat connects on the upper arm, when it is tight it can also limit the amount of arm height you can achieve.

So assuming you have tight lats here are a few things you can do.
1. Foam roll your lats to remove trigger points
2. Perform lat stretches such as twisted lat stretch found in our free program.
3. Perform core activation exercises.

I have found that often times tight lats will not resolve themselves until you start integrating your abs into movements. Often the lats are overworked because of their ability to act as a core stabilizer in lieu of the deep core.

One final thought. I am not in the business of telling people what to enjoy, but I do like to educate – and you need to know that bench press (any form), pull ups, lat pull downs and any other internal rotation exercise can make your tight lat situation harder to correct. The shoulder external rotators (primarily infraspinatus) are very small compared to the size of the internal rotators (chest and lat). If you constantly stress the internal rotators in the gym it will be very tough to get the flexibility (turn and arm height) that you are looking for.

The top of the back swing only needs to be managed so that it doesn’t lead to problems on the downswing. Good luck golfers and keep sending us those questions.

Do you want your child to play good golf, maybe even get a scholarship and go to college?

Then do both yourselves a favor and make sure you fully develop your child before making them exclusively play golf!

Here’s what I mean…there are many parents these days who want to create, ”the next Tiger.”

So they think that starting their kid as early as possible will lead to a successful career like Tigers. Well…that’s a bunch of BULL!

Tiger didn’t just play golf his entire young athletic career! He played soccer, track, golf and dabbled in other sports! He also had a golf fitness program along the way!

Let me provide you with some important tidbits of info to think about:

1. Growth changes do not equal developmental gain!
2. Juniors under-train, over-compete and no clue about recovery, oh, and it’s the same with the parents!
3. From a developmental stand point, a 12yr old can be 4 years apart!
4. Juniors need to learn to train and then train to train
5. For the boys, you will not be able tell how good a player he will be until his “nutts drop!” So in other words, until he matures 16+, you cannot make assumptions as to how good they will be, so don’t do it!
6. And lastly, boys will get strong several months after their growth spurt!

So here’s what you need to think about with your junior golfer (or any young athlete!), Let them play at least 4 sports till they are 16 yrs old, then if they are committed, then it is appropriate to be a golf exclusive athlete only.

Focus on “long term athletic development” (aka, a golf fitness program) starting at age 6 playing as many sports and activities as possible. This will fully develop the child’s neurological, neuromuscular, musculo-skeletal, emotional and cognitive skills required to become a good athlete who plays golf, instead of a golfer who has no physically strong characteristics, which will lead to a short golfing career!

Parents, PLEASE don’t make the mistake of thinking you know what is best for your child…you are not an expert! Consult those who are (like us), so your child will fully develop, play what they want, and so your relationship with them is still a great one, and not one that is being pushed by you!

Our modern nutritionists let’s say are “challenged.” A majority of them have been university taught and continue to carry around the old information that has contributed to a majority of the disease, sickness and obesity problems that we suffer from today.

As Americans we are bombarded daily with “crap” information that does only one thing…to keep us in our otherwise “dufus” state of the perpetual “death cycle” of nutrition. That’s right, the “death cycle” of nutrition!

I believe in all my research and the research of thousands of other professionals a lot smarter that me, that our medical, government, food manufactures, chemical companies and drug companies are all “sleeping” with each other! And you know exactly why!

If you are sick, then you must see your doctor, who will prescribe a “medicine” to help you with your symptoms (not the root issue of your problem!), which were caused by your poor diet, which was grown by farmers who are now “commericalized,” who uses BILLIONS of chemicals (pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides) to raise your food, who is funded by the government as “farming subsidies,” all of whom create what…

DEPENDENCY ON THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY to get rid of disease caused by the above “circle of death!” One of the reasons I say this is because the “credo” of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is that “disease can only be cured with medicine!” That’s right! Medicine!

Now please understand that I believe fully in surgeons and some medical specialists as well as those who work in the emergency medicine arena, and I fully support them! But, for a “health care system” to believe that the only way to cure a disease is with medicine, is looney tunes! However, that will explain why we are 37th on the list of “healthiest” societies in the world! For gosh sakes, there are third world countries on this list that are healthier than us! What we need to call our system is a “disease management” system…and guess what? This administration has no clue as to how to solve this crises, and, in fact, only make the system worse than it already is, cause government KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT HEALTH AND WELLNESS!!

Now that I have hopefully shocked you, here is what you can do:
- Support your local independent organic farmer
- Buy organic food- as much as you can! And don’t use the extra cost for a reason not to! That’s just stupid!
- Drink filtered water- half your body weight in ozs each day
- Rest- try to sleep from 10pm-6am each night, and do take naps!
- Stay away from the 4 “white devils,” 1. sugar 2. white flour 3. pastuerized milk and procducts 4. table salt
- Exercise! Crap! Don’t be so dang lazy! God made you to move!
- Seek the truth!

If you do those things on a regular basis, you will live a long life w/o disease and be able to play golf till you die!

Go to http://www.westonaprice.org for more info.