Friday, October 27, 2006

Day 10, October 27: Workout and Food Diary

Day 10 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
20 minutes interval training on stationary bike
1 hour Boot Camp

Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Alternating DB Flys, pullovers and crunches on the stability ball.
  • Rolling stability ball squats – side, straight leg dead lifts. Straight leg dead lifts were done with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Bent over DB Rows, bicep curls and shoulder shrugs.
  • Russian twists for power, alternating flys and ball toss with 8-pound medicine ball.
  • Roll-ins with progressives.
  • Regular extended planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (still no fancy add-ons to the walking lunges) down and down back twice. One trip down (or back) is about 20 yards.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
Food Diary
I haven’t eaten dinner yet, it’s just before 4pm Friday. I was done with this post so I decided to put it up. I’ll add dinner and snack tomorrow.

Breakfast, 5:15 AM: Two pieces of whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter
Snack, 9:00 AM: 1 Pear.
Lunch, 11:30 AM: Grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinegar dressing.
Snack, 3:00 PM: 5 strawberries and handful of almonds.
Dinner, 6:00 PM:
Snack, 9:00 PM:

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 3.0 L of water, 1 diet coke and 1 cup of green tea.

That’s day ten, your thoughts????

PHOTOS
There are 3 photos below for the Russian twists, starting position and right and left sides. You may have notices that in my workouts, I perform these in one of two ways: power development and dynamic flexibility. For power development, perform the side-to-side movements as rapidly as you can. For dynamic flexibility, slow down and little bit, lock your hips in place and allow the weight of the medicine ball to stretch your torso on both sides.





You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Day 9, October 26: Workout and Food Diary

Day 9 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
20 minutes interval training on stationary bike (disclaimer: including 2 minute cool-down, this is actually 22 minutes).
1 hour Boot Camp

Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Russian Twists focusing on dynamic flexibility, ball throws and crunches (center, right and left) on the stability ball with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Rolling stability ball squats – side, straight leg dead lifts. Straight leg dead lifts were done with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Alternating DB flys, nosebreakers, and shoulder shrugs.
  • Bent-over alternating DB rows and bicep curls with 15-pound DBs.
  • Roll-ins with progressives.
  • Regular extended planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (still no fancy add-ons to the walking lunges) down, back and down. One trip about 30 yards, so about 90 yards of walking lunges.
  • Balance on the ball.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
After a 2-minute warm-up on the bike, I went straight into the 120 rpm and 100 rpm 1-minute intervals. I added a fifth interval at 130 rpm today; by tomorrow, all higher intensity intervals will be at 130 rpm. Based on today (and previous workouts), I don’t anticipate any problem with this. To view the interval training protocol I’ve been using,
click here. Overall, this was an 8 on the 0-10 scale.

I didn’t do Boot Camp yesterday so I couldn’t add the progressives to the roll-ins. But I did it today. The shoulder and neck held up well – no ill effects. Overall, this was an 8 on the 0-10 scale.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 5:10 AM:
2 hard-boiled egg whites, 1 yolk and 2 pieces of whole wheat toast.
Snack, 9:30 AM: No snack this morning, I can’t remember why.
Lunch, 12:00 PM: Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta.
Snack, 3:00 PM: Power Crunch bar – chocolate.
Dinner, 6:00 PM: Roasted chicken with avocado and mixed greens salad and balsamic vinegar.
Snack, 9:00 PM: 5 strawberries and handful of almonds

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 2.0 L of water, 1 diet coke and 1 cup of green tea.

That’s day nine, your thoughts????

PHOTOS The photos below show starting and ending positions for the alternating medicine ball flys. This is a great exercise for front shoulder development, balance (stay on the ball and in place), core training and neuromuscular control (you have to learn how to separate right and left sides). For the ending position, go down as far as you can. Allow the weight of the medicine ball to stretch your chest and the front part of your shoulder.






You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Day 8, October 25: Workout and Food Diary

Day 8 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
No workout today. I really wanted to do at least a Boot Camp. I was looking forward to testing myself with the Roll-in progressives. But I was just beat. Hopefully the day off will do me and my body some good.

Comments:
I can’t comment on a workout that didn’t occur. But I will say this.

Looking back over the previous week I am pleased with my progress, although most of it is mental. I wasn’t quite sure how I would respond coming back from the injury. I didn’t know if my neck and shoulder could / would hold up. I didn’t know if I’d suffer a set back. While I have been held back somewhat, there certainly hasn’t been a set back. For example, my right arm and shoulder are extremely weak. Doing bicep curls with a 15-pound dumb bell is difficult. I still can’t put too much pressure on my shoulder and I still can’t lift anything with it but I feel confident that it’s getting better all the time.

So in one word, I’d say the first week back has been a success. Now if I could just cut out the margaritas and coronas, everything would be alright.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 6:00 AM:
3 egg whites (boiled) and 2 pieces of whole what toast.
Snack, 9:30 AM:
Power Crunch bar – chocolate.
Lunch, 12:00 PM:
Grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce (only) on whole wheat bread.
Snack, 3:00 PM:
½ organic peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread, 1 banana.
Dinner, 6:00 PM:
Grilled chicken fajitas on whole grain tortillas with avocado and HOT salsa.
Snack, 9:00 PM:
Just a banana.

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 2.0 L of water, 1 diet coke and 1 cup of green tea.

That’s day eight, your thoughts????

PHOTOS

Since I didn’t do a Boot Camp workout (or any workout really), there are no photos. But, if you look through this series, you’ll see plenty of examples my Boot Camp program.
You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Day 7, October 24: Workout and Food Diary

Day 7 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
20 minutes interval training on stationary bike
1 hour Boot Camp

Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Russian Twists focusing on dynamic flexibility, ball throws and crunches (center, right and left) on the stability ball with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Rolling stability ball squats – rear, straight leg dead lifts. Straight leg dead lifts were done with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Alternating DB flys, nosebreakers, and shoulder shrugs.
  • Bent-over alternating DB rows and bicep curls with 15-pound DBs.
  • Hip Flexions and Lower body rotations on floor.
  • Roll-ins.
  • Regular extended planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (no twist or overhead press and no medicine ball – still can’t do them) down and back, three times. One trip about 20 yards.
  • Swing holds with 6-pound medicine ball.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
After a 2-minute warm-up on the bike, I went straight into the 120 rpm and 100 rpm 1-minute intervals. I jumped the 120 rpm intervals up to 130 rpm over the last four sessions. I’ll continue adding an additional 130-rpm interval each day until all are at 130-rpm. So don’t expect this to change too much over the next few days. Overall, I rate this as an 8 on the 0-10 scale.

I’m still pleased with the progress. I’ve had no ill effects regarding the nerve in my neck. I’m going to try the added progressives to the Roll-ins tomorrow. Overall, this was a 7 on the 0-10 scale.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 6:00 AM:
Grilled chicken taco with two slices of avocado.
Snack, 9:30 AM:
1 handful of almonds
Lunch, 12:00 PM:
Turkey sandwich with avocado on whole wheat bread.
Snack, 3:00 PM:
1 blueberry yogurt and 1 hard-boiled egg white.
Dinner, 6:00 PM:
Grilled Salmon, sweet potato and mixed greens salad with Balsamic vinegar.
Snack, 9:00 PM:
1 pear.

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 3.0 L of water. One diet coke and one cup of green tea.

That’s day seven, your thoughts????

PHOTOS

The photos below show starting position and one step for walking lunges. These work the entire lower body, promote good balance and help dynamic flexibility of the hips. You can do a couple laps in the gym (or your home) or you can use them as a cardio exercise. Try these for 5-minutes over a 30-yard stretch. I guarantee you’ll be breathing heavy and your legs will be burning!




You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Day 6, October 23: Workout and Food Diary

Day 6 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
20 minutes interval training on stationary bike
1 hour Boot Camp
Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Russian Twists focusing on power development, ball throws and crunches (center, right and left) on the stability ball with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Rolling stability ball squats – side, straight leg dead lifts. Straight leg dead lifts were done with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Alternating DB flys, nosebreakers, and shoulder shrugs.
  • Bent-over alternating DB rows and bicep curls with 15-pound DBs.
  • Hip Flexions and Lower body rotations on floor.
  • Roll-ins.
  • Regular extended planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (no twist or overhead press and no medicine ball – still can’t do them) down and back, three times. One trip about 20 yards.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
After a 2-minute warm-up on the bike, I went straight into the 120 rpm and 100 rpm 1-minute intervals. I jumped the 120 rpm intervals up to 130 rpm over the last three sessions. Tomorrow I’ll jump that to the last 4 intervals. Overall, this was a 7 on the 0-10 scale.

The Boot Camp continues to feel good and I continue to be pleased with how my neck and shoulder are responding. While there are exercises I still can’t do, like front and lateral raises and military press, I feel like those will come along soon.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 5:15 AM:
3 hard boiled egg whites (only one yolk).
Snack, 9:30 AM: Power crunch bar - chocolate
Lunch, 12:00 PM: grilled chicken breast and a bell pepper
Snack, 3:00 PM: No snack this afternoon.
Dinner, 6:00 PM: Turkey chili with a mixed greens salad and balsamic vinegar.
Snack, 9:00 PM: Green apple and one raspberry yogurt.

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 3.0 L of water. 1 diet coke and 1 cup of green tea.

That’s day six, your thoughts????

PHOTOS
The photos below show side stability squats. These are great for your lower body, hips and balance. Some key points when doing these are: try to keep knee of foot on floor above your ankle, in the starting position, place foot on highest point of stability ball and try to roll the ball directly to your side – not in front of or behind you. Go down as far as you can and really stretch the groin of the leg on the ball.





You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Day 5, October 22: Workout and Food Diary

Day 5 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
No boot camp today!
I did a “Field” workout. See below for details.

Cool down: No stretching, just about 10 minutes of walking.

Comments:
Here’s the lowdown on the “Field” workout. I started doing these about twice a month a while back. I got tired of being in the gym all day. The entire workout takes about an hour, including 5-10 minutes of warm-up and 10-15 minutes of walking as a cool-down.

I start by walking 40-yards. After the first one, I walk faster on each successive one until I’m nearly jogging. It takes about 3 or 4 40-yard distances to get to this point. Then, I jog the distance and work up to a full sprint. When I can run a full sprint, I run 10, 40-yard dashes as fast as I can. Although today, I didn’t work up to a full sprint. I didn’t want to test cranking my shoulder like that just yet.

After the sprints, I went through some plyometric drills, including long and quick jumps over a 25-yard distance. The long jumps entailed covering the 25-yards in as few jumps as possible. On these, I get a good, deep knee bend and really engage the glutes. The quick jumps are simply bounces over the 25-yards. I limit knee bend while concentrating on being light on my feet.

Next I did a sprint-jump combination for 50-yards which included a 10-yard sprint with 5 vertical jumps every 10-yards. After this, I was tired. But I did some drills specific to opening up and clearing my hips. These were sideways running drills that involved rotating the hips forward and backward while doing the same with my feet.

I usually run a few 40-yard sprints after this, but I was really worn out. So I didn’t. I rate this workout a solid 10 on the 0-10 scale.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 6:00 AM:
3 scrambled eggs and two pieces of whole wheat toast.
Snack, 9:30 AM: Power Crunch bar – chocolate.
Lunch, 12:00 PM: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread.
Snack, 3:00 PM: No snack – yard work.
Dinner, 6:00 PM: Ground beef taco salad.
Snack, 9:00 PM:
Green apple and one blueberry yogurt.

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 4.0 L of water. I was drenched after the “Field” workout. No green tea and 1 diet coke. Two coronas with dinner.

That’s day five, your thoughts????

PHOTOS
Since I didn’t do a Boot Camp workout, there are no photos. But, if you look through this series, you’ll see plenty of examples my Boot Camp program. You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Day 4, October 21: Workout and Food Diary

Day 4 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
40 minutes of cardio, including stationary bike and treadmill for 20 minutes each.
No boot camp today!

Cool down: General lower body stretch focusing on hips, legs and calves – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
I started on the treadmill. After walking for 5 minutes, I started the intervals with a 2-minute run at 6.0 mph followed by a 2-minute walk at 4.0 mph. The next running interval was also at 6.0 mph. The final two running intervals were at 6.5 and 7.0 mph, respectively. Each running interval was followed by a 2-minute walking interval at 4.0 mph. This was pretty tough, particularly the last interval. I’d rate this as a 9 on the 0-10 scale.

I went straight to the bike after the treadmill. After a 2 minute warm-up, the intervals started. I followed the same protocol as yesterday, although I didn’t increase the intensity at the end. The treadmill wore me out a little too much for that. Overall, this was a solid 8 on the 0-10 scale.


Food Diary
Breakfast, 6:00 AM: Ground turkey breakfast taco with mushrooms and mixed bell peppers.
Snack, 9:30 AM: No snack.
Lunch, 12:00 PM: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread
Snack, 3:00 PM: No snack – too involved with football game (what was Greg Davis thinking?)
Dinner, 6:00 PM: Grilled chicken fajitas, with all the trimmings (basically okay).
Snack, 9:00 PM: No snack – too much for dinner.

Fluids: Throughout the day, at least 3.0 L of water. No green tea and 1 diet coke. Three coronas with dinner.

That’s day four, your thoughts????

PHOTOS
Since I didn’t do a Boot Camp workout, there are no photos. But, if you look through this series, you’ll see plenty of examples my Boot Camp program. You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Monday, October 23, 2006

Day 3, October 20: Workout and Food Diary

Day 3 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate.

Workout:
15 minute interval training session on the stationary bike.
30 minute Boot Camp
Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Russian Twists focusing on dynamic flexibility, pullovers and crunches (center, right and left) on the stability ball with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Alternating DB flys, nosebreakers, bent-over alternating DB rows and bicep curls with 15-pound DBs.
  • Roll-ins.
  • Regular planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (no twist or overhead press and no medicine ball – still can't do them) down and back, three times. One trip about 20 yards.
  • Ball balance on stability ball – 3 sets, 30 seconds each.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
The interval training on the bike felt better today than Wednesday. After about 2 minutes of warm-up, I went straight to 1 minute intervals, alternating between 100 rpm and 120 rpm. Since I felt pretty good, over the last 3 minutes, the higher intensity intervals were at 130 rpm. Overall, this was a solid 7 on the 0-10 scale but the last 3 intervals it was a 9!

This was my third Boot Camp since coming back. It was the shortest one yet, 30 minutes was all I could squeeze in. But I knew that going in so I really moved during the entire session. My neck and shoulder felt good this morning so I decided to keep the roll-ins today. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. My hamstrings weren’t as sore as I thought they would be which helped me push a little harder. Because I was pushing it, this was at least a 9 on the 0-10 scale.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 5:15 AM: No breakfast, running late!
Snack, 9:30 AM:Starving and nothing with me because I was running late! Go to the grocery store and grab 2 Lara bars (Cashew) and a diet coke. I wolfed them down like there was no tomorrow!
Lunch, 12:00 PM: Grilled chicken Caeser salad. .
Snack, 3:00 PM: Power Crunch bar - chocolate
Dinner, 6:00 PM: Chicken fajitas with salsa, jalapenos and avocado.
Snack, 9:00 PM: No snack tonight, too much for dinner.

Fluids: Throughout the day, about 3.5 L of water. One cup of green tea and 1 diet coke. Two frozen margaritas with salt at dinner.

That’s day three, your thoughts????

PHOTOS
The photos below show the beginning and ending position photos for Roll-ins. This is an excellent exercise that promotes core strength and stability while improving strength of the shoulder girdle and increasing balance.

To make this exercise more difficult, try one of these two alternatives. First, when performing the movement phase, rather than bringing your knees toward your shoulders, bring your right knee toward your left shoulder and then do the opposite on the next repetition. Second, you can try doing this with one leg. Simply lift one leg off the stability ball and do the work with the other leg. Caution: I’ve seen only PGA players do it this way
!




The boot camp workouts listed above are available in The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. It has 24 different workouts like the one listed above. You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Friday, October 20, 2006

Day 2, October 19: Workout and Food Diary

Day 2 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate. Your thoughts?

Workout:
1.5 mile run outside (the weather was great, just a little breezy) alternating between running a ¼ mile and walking for ~ 2 minutes. My goal was to keep the ¼’s under 2 min each and I did that for all but the last two.
1 hour Boot Camp
Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Russian Twists focusing on dynamic flexibility, pullovers and crunches(center, right and left) on the stability ball with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Rolling stability ball squats – side, straight leg dead lifts on aerobic step and calf raises. Straight leg dead lifts were done with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Alternating DB flys, nosebreakers, bent-over alternating DB rows and bicep curls with 15-pound DBs.
  • Hip Flexions and Hip Extensions on floor.
  • Roll-ins.
  • Regular extended planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (no twist or overhead press and no medicine ball – can’t do it yet) down and back, three times. One trip about 20 yards.
  • Ball balance on stability ball – 3 sets, 30 seconds each.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
The interval running outside felt good, although those last two quarters were no fun! I’m sure I’ll be sore. On a scale of 0-10, I would rate this at least an 8.

This was my second Boot Camp since the injury. Like yesterday’s, it felt good. I should not have done the roll-ins. I did not feel pain doing them, but my shoulder girdle is still weak. The stationary nature of the upper body during this exercise put too much stress on my shoulder at this stage of recovery – I’ll have to hold off on those for a while. Those lunges – WOW! – were my hamstrings sore. They were screaming by the time I finished that last lap. On the 0-10 scale, this was about an 8.


Food Diary
Snack / Small Breakfast, 5:10 AM: Power Crunch bar – chocolate. I was running late this morning.
Snack / Small Breakfast, 9:30 AM: Chicken fajita taco (no salsa – too early) with avocado and 1 green apple.
Lunch, 12:00 PM: Grilled chicken salad.
Snack, 3:00 PM: Handful of raw almonds and handful of raisins.
Dinner, 6:00 PM: Grilled chicken, mixed greens salad with balsamic vinegar and sweet potato with cinnamon.
Snack, 9:00 PM: Another chocolate power crunch bar!

Fluids: Throughout the day, about 2 L of water. Two cups of green tea and 1 diet coke.

That’s day two, your thoughts????

PHOTOS

The photos below show the "hold position" for regular planks and extended planks. Regular planks are on the elbows and extended planks are with the arms straight. In either case, these exercises provide great benefit to your core and shoulder girdle - excellent for your golf game!





The boot camp workouts listed above are available in The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. It has 24 different workouts like the one listed above. You too can get in better shape, feel better and (most importantly), play better golf by purchasing a copy of The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM. To see how your game will improve, read testimonials, endorsements, and to get started today – go here!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Day 1, October 18: Workout and Food Diary

Day 1 on the journey. Here is what I did and what I ate. Your thoughts?

Workout:
15 minutes interval training on stationary bike
1 hour Boot Camp
Unless otherwise stated, each exercise was done with 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

  • Spine Extensions, Hip Extensions, Walk out pushups all on stability ball.
  • Chest press, pullovers, crunches (center, right and left) all on stability ball with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Rolling stability ball squats – rear, straight leg dead lifts on BOSU trainer with 10-pound medicine ball.
  • Bent-over alternating rows, bicep curls with 15-pound dumb bells, no shoulder work yet.
  • Regular planks – 3 sets of 30 seconds, obliques on ball.
  • Walking lunges (no twist or overhead press and no medicine ball – can’t do it yet) down and back, twice. One trip about 20 yards.
  • Ball balance on stability ball – 3 sets, 30 seconds each.

Cool down: Golf-specific stretch focusing on hips, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and torso – about 10 minutes.

Comments:
The interval training on the bike really snapped my quads back to reality! The intervals started at 2- and 1-min, with 2-min being at 100 RPM and 1-min at 120 RPM. Over the last 5 min I switched to 1-min intervals. On a scale of 0-10, I would rate this about a 7.

This was my first Boot Camp since the injury. It actually felt really good, even though I couldn’t do shoulder or triceps exercises. As I get better, those will be added. But working hard and breaking a good sweat never felt so good. On the 0-10 scale, this was about a 6.

Food Diary
Breakfast, 5:15 AM: Free-range ground beef taco on whole wheat tortilla with peppers (green and red bells).
Snack, 9:30 AM: Power Crunch bar – chocolate.
Lunch, 11:30 AM: 1 chicken breast with mixed greens salad and balsamic vinegar.
Snack, 2:30 PM: 1 banana, ½ organic peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread.
Dinner, 5:30 PM: 2 chicken fajita tacos on whole wheat tortilla with avocado and fresh HOT salsa and a mixed greens salad with balsamic vinegar.
Snack, 9:00 PM: 1 green apple and 1 raspberry yogurt (4 oz. serving).

Fluids: Throughout the day, about 3 L of water. One cup of green tea and 1 diet coke.

PHOTOS
The 2 photos below show the starting and ending position for the obliques on stability ball exercise. This is a great core exercise that will help you develop power in your torso. Because you are on the ball, you are also working on balance.




This is the starting position. Note my side is directly on the stability ball and my top leg is forward.

This is the ending position. Note how far I have lifted my torso off the ball. The higher you lift, the greater the benefit. To increase the difficulty of this exercise, add a twist at the top. As you lift your torso off the ball, slowly rotate your chest toward the wall. If you can rotate until your chest is parallel to the wall, you have excellent torso rotation for golf.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Prepping for the Video Shoots

I haven’t posted to the blog as much as I had intended over the last few days. There are a myriad of very good reasons. I was slightly overwhelmed getting ready for the radio show last week. My wife was out of town for half of the week and all of the weekend, leaving me as Mr. Mom. And to top it all off, there was a birthday party right in the middle of the Texans-Cowboys game! There is nothing quite like a Dad taking two girls to a princess birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I felt so out of place! What time was left after training clients was spent filling out application upon application for continuing education credits for The BKS Golf Fitness Boot Camp TM Instructor’s Course.

The best reason however was that I finalized plans to begin shooting videos for the Boot Camp and 2 Balls programs. This will begin just before Thanksgiving and be done the first week of December. This means two things for you. First, DVD’s of these programs will be available by Christmas. Second, my online Golf Fitness Boot Camp will really start to take off. So if you’re looking for a Christmas gift for you or someone else, this will do the trick!

Something else this means for you is the following. Since my neck injury I haven’t been able to workout. I’m still not 100%; I can’t lift anything overhead for example. But I’m getting better all the time. Since I haven’t been able to workout (much less play golf), I’ve really felt like a slug.

That is all about to change.

With the video shoot looming and me wanting to represent myself on film respectably, I’m beginning a 5-week trek to get myself back in the groove. I’ve got to be able to perform those advanced exercises, right?

Each and every day I will post my food diary and workout routines to this blog, which means I will post at least one entry every day. The food diaries will contain every morsel of food that I consume, including the times and whether it was a meal or a snack. The workout logs will include my workout routine for the day and will include select exercise pictures. I will also dialogue a bit regarding the workout to give you a sense of my perceptions regarding intensity and feel of the session.

So I’m going to encourage you to do two things. First, take this 5-week trek with me. Take note of the foods I’m eating (it dovetails nicely with the new nutrition series in the newsletter) and make some changes in your diet, too. You won’t have to eat what I’m eating but if you get close, you’ll get better. Also, incorporate some of the routines that I do into your own fitness regimen. Again, you don’t have to work as hard as I’ll work or do the same things but if you get close, you’ll see results.

As we go through the next 5-weeks, I encourage you to post your comments and thoughts along the way. It will keep me going and help those reading.

See you later today when I post my food diary and workout routine.

Brian

Thursday, October 05, 2006

The fallacy of "fat-burning" zones and low-intensity exercise

Press Release 1: Walking not enough for significant exercise benefits.
Press Release 2: "No time to exercise" is no excuse, study shows.

By most publications, walking is the most popular form of physical activity. And why not? It's easy to incorporate walking into your daily routine. You can make a concerted effort to take the stairs rather than the elevator, walk down the hall to speak with a colleague rather than emailing or phoning them, or even take a quick 10 minute walk on your lunch hour.

For the longest time, many health-related organizations trumpeted the healthy effects of walking on cardiovascular disease, chronic disease, mental disorders and weight control. In fact, Shape Up America has dedicated a large part of their mission to their 10,000 steps a day program. The main message of this program (and others like it) is to accumulate 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) each day and your health will improve.

But are we missing something?

"Generally, low-intensity activity such as walking alone is not likely to give anybody marked health benefits compared to programs that occassionally elevate the intensity," says Dr. Vicki Harber, lead author of the study in the first press release.

Their study compared traditional exercise (using treadmills and stationary cycles) at a moderate-intensity with the 10,000 steps a day program, where subjects accumulated 10,000 steps per day.

The most significant finding was that fitness levels in the traditional exercise group improved at a rate 2.5 times that of the 10,000 steps per day group.


A separate study confirms these findings.

One group followed an interval training protocol while the other performed continuous, moderate-intensity stationary cycling. Over the study period, the interval training group trained for a total of 2.5 hours while the cycling group trained for 10.5 hours.

The results?

No significant differences in health or fitness markers between the groups.

"The most striking finding from our study was the remarkably similar adaptations induced by two such diverse training strategies," says Martin Gibala, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University.

My thoughts
People in the service side (personal trainers, coaches, instructors, etc...) of the fitness industry have known for a long time that harder exercise provides better results. Those doing research on physical activity and health (I used to be one of them) realize this too. However, those doing research also understand that a continuum between the benefits of exercise and the intensity of exercise exists.

So much of the American population is completely inactive that getting up and following the 10,000 steps per day program will provide health benefits, which explains the major campaigns. But it's important to realize too, that once you leave the "couch potato" behind, increasing the intensity of exercise will do more (and in a shorter period of time) than simply walking. So the continuum is getting people off the couch to doing something and then getting them to do more.

All of this leads us to walking and "burning calories." Earlier I mentioned a few of the reasons why walking is the most popular form of exericse. I intentionally did not mention fat loss (although I mentioned weight control, which is a completely different issue). You can readily verify the tie-in between walking and fat-burning zones by reading magazine headings, talking with any un-informed trainer or reading the "charts" in the fitness center or on the treadmill.

What do the headlines, trainers or chart say (or show)?

That fat-burning zones are of lower intensity than "cardio-training" zones. This may be true for "in-the-moment" metabolism, but completely off the mark in every other regard. Higher intensity exercise burns more calories, can be done in a shorter period of time and provides better health benefits than "fat-burning" zone exercise.

There is a ton of research to suppor this claim but the health conditions that receive the most benefit from higher intensity exercise are cardiovascular diseases. These include hypertension, type II diabetes, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome and obesity.

Your take home message
Don't give up on walking!

Instead, replace some of your walking with higher-intensity exercise. Make your body huff-and-puff a little. You'll be better off in the long run.

Isn't it better to get the same (or better) results in a shorter period of time?

Of course it is. That's why working out harder is better than the alternative.

I'm going to be on the radio!

Saturday, October 14th, 2006 from 8-9am, I'll be a guest on the radio show "From Tee to Green" with Doug Pike of the Houston Chronicle. We'll be discussing golf-specific fitness, taking questions from listeners and talking about my new golf fitness CD: 2 Balls and Better Golf Fitness.

You can listen to the show, broadcast on ESPN 790 at 790 AM on your radio dial. If your not in the Houston area, you can listen via live streaming at ESPN790.com. When the page loads, just click the "Listen Live" link at the top of the page.

Call in and ask your question(s). After the show, come back here and post your comments. I'd love to know your thoughts on anything I said or how the show went.

Brian