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Fitness Friday: Beware the double-bogey breakfast

Friday, February 17, 2012 Comments
Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for eating the optimal breakfast before your next round, plus the foods and drinks to avoid. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
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Here's Ron: By now, you've probably had it drummed into your head that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. To reiterate, it is. Most nutritionists will tell you it's a mistake to eat nothing when you get up. Even if it's not the ideal breakfast, it's better to start the day with some food in your belly than not.
 
If you're eating before a morning round, however, what you consume might be the difference between winning rather than losing a match or shooting your personal-best score rather than your high for the season.
 
Amy Goodson, dietitian for the Ben Hogan Sports Medicine clinic in Fort Worth, says many traditional breakfast choices can do more harm than good for someone about to play golf. "People take in far too much sugar in the morning," she says. "From juice to many cereals to syrup on pancakes. If you eat stuff like that, you can count on having an energy crash sometime during the round, and it will impact you physically as well as make it harder to focus."
 
Goodson suggests a meal with complex carbohydrates, some protein, a little fat, and plenty of fresh water. Two examples would be a vegetable omelet with fruit and 16 ounces of water; or a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with nuts (substitute an apple for the brown sugar) and 16 ounces of water.
 
Here is a list of foods and beverages Goodson says you should avoid before you play a morning round.

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
 

Foods you should NOT eat

1.     Sugary cereals: "First, they spike blood-sugar levels in the body. Then, they cause them to drop rapidly and that drop will affect a golfer's energy level and his or her mental acuity."
2.     Biscuits and gravy: "Very high in fat, which can cause gastro-intestinal distress and make players feel lethargic later in the round."
3.     Donuts: "Any fried food is going to be very high in fat. The grease often causes stomach cramping in the heat and can also make you feel tired."
4.     Pancakes, syrup and fruit: "Too many simple carbohydrates, which causes a spike in blood sugar and a rapid decline in energy. Heavy-carbohydrate meals with no protein also can make an athlete feel bloated."
5.     Plain or cheese omelet and bacon: "This meal lacks any carbohydrates, which 

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Fitness Friday: Strengthen your ankles for great golf

Friday, February 10, 2012 Comments
Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for keeping your ankles strong and healthy to support a dynamic golf swing. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: Golfers might complain more about their sore backs or knees, but when it comes to frequency of injury, no joint in the body takes more abuse than the ankles. Sprains, strains and fractures come easy and often for athletes, and weak ankles are a common problem for golfers starting to play again after a long winter's layoff.
 
"When you think about it, your ankles don't seem like they offer enough support for the abrupt and awkward movements of a 200-pound body," says Golf Digest fitness advisor and former PGA Tour trainer Ralph Simpson. "But in reality, the ankles are very durable. Sure, you can twist them and tweak them from time to time. But compared to the amount of stress they endure, they are amazingly durable."
 
Golfers injure their lead ankle (left for right-handed golfers) more often since it serves as the pivot on which the body rotates during the swing. But the uneven terrain of golf courses puts the other ankle in nearly as much peril.
 
Whether you're being reactive or proactive in dealing with an ankle sprain or strain, fitness expert Mark Verstegen offers exercises in Golf Digest's March issue to better prepare for battle. Click on the link here to get Mark's advice.

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
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Fitness Friday: A remedy for lower-back pain

Friday, February 3, 2012 Comments
Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for dealing with the very common problem of lower-back pain. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: Whether you're a once-a-month golfer or one who hit balls every day, there is a good chance you've experienced some kind of pain or discomfort in your lower back as a result of swinging a golf club, sitting at your computer or a combination of the two.
 
The bad news is that lower-back issues, particularly muscle strains/tears or spinal-cord injuries, are common for golfers because the body isn't designed to handle the twisting/torquing action placed on the upper torso when a club is swung at a high rate of speed. Why is the lower back the source of much of the pain? Your lumbar spine--the bottom group of vertebrae--can withstand some degree of twisting in either direction, but the region is not nearly as flexible as the vertebrae in your mid back (thoracic spine).
 
You might not be able to completely prevent lower-back injuries, but the good news is that you can do some things to greatly reduce your odds. One of the most important is to strengthen your gluteal muscles. The glutes supply power to your downswing, they help stabilize the body and, most importantly, they help alleviate some of the pressure on the lower back, says Golf Digest fitness expert Randy Myers. Myers trains a number of top tour pros and was working just yesterday with Farmers Insurance Open champion Brandt Snedeker on glute strength. Essentially, if you have weak glutes, the lower back is called upon to support the upper torso and supply stability/rotation in your golf swing. That's not good.
 
So every time you do your workout, spend at least a few minutes on glute-strengthening exercises. To see a demonstration of one, click on the video below.

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
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Fitness Friday: Ramping up the plank

Friday, January 27, 2012 Comments
Many of my Twitter followers have been patiently waiting for an advanced version of my 20-in-20 workout. It's coming soon, I promise. But while we're on the topic of advanced workouts, you should know that almost all the exercises in your current program can be amped up in several ways.

Simply increasing the external load or resistance in a movement is the most obvious. A 20-pound dumbbell overhead press can become a 25-pound press. But two other ways that are equally if not more beneficial for golfers are to perform the exercise in an unstable position or challenge more muscles in a similar activity.

The coordinated movement of a golf swing requires not only several muscle groups to function properly, but it also requires several muscle groups to function properly when instability, balance and fatigue become real issues. Things such as making a good swing from an uneven lie or trying to finish strong on a 98-degree day are why golfers should eventually advance from basic exercises to ones that challenge stability and muscle coordination.

Doing exercises in an unstable position could be anything from lying back on a physio ball instead of on a sturdy flat bench while doing chest presses to doing lunges while the toe of your back leg is resting on a platform. If your body feels unstable, it's going to work extra hard to try to create stability while you perform the movement.

Challenging more muscles to work together also is key. If you normally do a push-up with both arms and both legs on the ground, now try doing them with both arms but only one leg resting on the ground. Just don't forget that if you train one side of your body, be sure to train the other.

One of my favorite advanced exercises is adding an internal hip rotation to a plank. Let's face it, planks are great for golfers because they help stabilize the body during the swing by strengthening the abdominal muscles. But they're also boring. And hip hugs are good for golfers because they help with posture and the proper rotation during a swing. Still, they aren't very challenging for an experienced athlete.

But if you put the two together into one exercise, suddenly you have a great golf-training movement. So don't be afraid to try advanced versions of your current exercises. So go ahead and develop your own advanced workout. Just do it safely and prudently.

To see me demonstrate a hip-rotation plank, click on the link below.

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest

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Fitness Friday: For solid contact, keep your hamstrings strong

Friday, January 20, 2012 Comments
Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for keeping your hamstrings healthy so you can stay in your posture and hit solid shots. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: One of golf's most common swing flaws is failing to maintain the posture created at address. Many amateurs rise out of their stance as they swing the club down from the top, and this causes them to make poor contact with the ball. Fat and thin shots are a typical result.
 
Golf instructors will often try to fix this issue with various drills that help keep students from "standing up" when they swing down and through the impact zone. An example would be to hold a golf shaft just over a student's head and have the student make swings trying not to bump the shaft. Another would be to the student maintain the knee flex created at address.
 
Both are effective, and often a golfer with this stand-up problem will immediately start hitting solid shots after using these drills. The teacher and student shake hands and go on their merry ways. Problem solved, right?
 
Not always.
 
It's easy to correct this problem for a swing or two, or even half a round. But without strong, flexible hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your thighs), the problem will come back;  Read more
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Fitness Friday: Protect your shoulder joints

Friday, January 13, 2012 Comments
Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for avoiding injury to your rotator cuff. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: Dave Stockton recently dropped by Golf Digest's offices to talk to the editors about his short-game philosphy. He explained that putting and chipping are the only two facets of the game where right-handed players should let the left hand control the stroke. He was speaking purely about swing mechanics, but the advice Stockton gave is also great from a biomechanics standpoint.
 
Right-handed golfers who rely on their left arm to pull the club through impact are a lot more susceptible to rotator-cuff tears. Just ask Al Geiberger who used to be a left-arm puller and eventually had to have surgery to repair that shoulder's rotator cuff. Dr. Lewis Yocum is the man who performed that surgery back in 1994, and he recently told me that while most people think pitchers are the only ones who injure the four muscles of the rotator cuff, golfers also are at a high risk. Read more
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Fitness Friday: How to avoid injury in 2012

Friday, January 6, 2012 Comments
Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. This first week of the New Year he gives you some advice for preventing injury. Let's hope you stay injury free in 2012 so you can play your best golf ever. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: An often forgotten aspect of strength training is injury prevention. It's great to have a rock-hard abdomen or be strong enough to lift 100 pounds over your head, but your first goal in the gym should be to improve your physical condition to avoid getting hurt. This is especially important for golfers, because the twisting/torquing/explosive action required in swinging a club often leads to pain and injury.

Talk with any of the top fitness trainers in golf, and they will tell you that injury prevention is No. 1 on their priority list. Let's face it: If it weren't, and one of their clients got hurt, they wouldn't be in the fitness business very long.

Strength coach Ben Shear (@benshear on Twitter), who trains Luke Donald, Jason Day and Webb Simpson, among others, loves exercises that not only will make you stronger, but also will help you reduce the chance of getting hurt while playing. From his training center--Athletic Edge in Scotch Plains, N.J.--Shear shows you two great exercises to not only strengthen your lower body, but also give your body some stability as it rotates during the golf swing.

If you're a golfer and you're about to start a training program with a qualified professional, ask for exercises that will give you better rotational stability. It's paramount to playing the game healthy.

Click on the video below to see Ben's great new exercises using SuperFlex Bands from fellow PGA Tour trainer Dave Herman. And get 2012 off to a great start.

Ron Kaspriske, Fitness Editor
Golf Digest


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Fitness Friday: Music to exercise by in 2012

Friday, December 30, 2011 Comments
Editor's note: Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. He gives you a health and fitness tip or an exercise or stretch to get your body warmed up for the weekend. This week, he gives you some advice for sticking to your workout regimen--including the right music playlist--so you can play your best golf ever in the New Year. Look for Saturday Morning Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: If you're a gym rat, then you probably dread January and February when your training center is overrun with newbies trying to keep to their New Year's resolution fitness commitment. Of course, by spring, many of those people begin to vanish and the gym returns to normal. A recent poll showed that less than 35 percent of the people who make fitness or weight-loss oriented resolutions actually reach their goals.
 
It would be easy to say those people who gave up are lazy and never truly intended to stick with the plan. But I don't think that's always the case. More often than not, the reason they give up, I believe, is they make unrealistic goals, and then get frustrated. If you ever watch the New York or Boston Marathon on TV, you probably have seen a few runners dash out to a big lead early in the race. They are running at a frantic pace, one that they will never be able to maintain for 26.2 miles. Sure enough, sometime in the middle of the race, they fade and are passed by runners who maintained a steady and realistic pace. The tortoise can beat the hare.
 
So my advice for you is that if you're contemplating a workout/weight-loss plan for 2012, make your goals "realistic." Don't pledge to workout for an hour six days a week. Pledge to workout for 20-30 minutes three or four days a week. Don't pledge to stop eating french fries forever (scientists say that's impossible in our culture). Instead, limit your fast-food stops to only a couple of times a month. If you easily fulfill your resolution, then you can make a new, harder goal.
 
This past year, I worked out 312 times (26 a month, six times a week). But to reach that level, I started about seven years ago with a goal of working out three times a week. Then it became every other day. Then it became four times a week and so on. If you're ready to workout, see if you get into one of my clubs: Club 52 (one workout a week); Club 104 (two); Club 156; Club 208; Club 260; or Club 312. I don't have a Club 365 because I don't believe anyone should workout every day. The body needs rest. Keep me posted on your progress in 2012, and I'll do the same.
 
BONUS TIP:
 
To help you reach your goal, I asked my Twitter followers to come up with the ultimate workout playlist. The response was pretty impressive. Studies have shown that the duration of your workout and level of intensity dramatically increases if you listen to music. So in that spirit, I'm giving you two playlists. The first is the "best of" from my Twitter followers. I tried to make it as diverse as my followers, so understand that each song isn't for everyone. The second is my personal picks. Enjoy and remember by motto: "Keep moving."

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
 
 
ULTIMATE WORKOUT PLAYLIST (Twitter followers)
 
L'Estasi Dell Oro (remix), by Ennio Morricone (@amolyajnik)
 
Teeth, by Lady Gaga (@laurenwald)
 
Connected, by Stereo MC's (@alliparker1)
 
Wolf Like Me, by TV on the Radio (@ronster221)
 
Girlfriend is Better by Talking Heads (@Ben_Shear)
 
Higher Ground, by Red Hot Chili Peppers (@marionshoward)
 
Cochise, by Audioslave (@b_upton)
 
Lovething, by ZZ Top (@silverstargolf)
 
Good Feeling, by Flo Rida (@NinaJBosse)
 
Bring the Noise, by Public Enemy vs. Benny Benassi (remix) (@s_hennessey)
 
 
 
RON'S ULTIMATE WORKOUT (I cheated and picked 15)
 
The Hand that Feeds, by Nine Inch Nails
 
Thunderstruck, by AC/DC
 
I Like the Way, by Bodyrockers
 
Feelin Hypnotized, by DJ Colette
 
mOBSCENE, by Marilyn Manson
 
The Way I Are, by Timbaland
 
The One Thing, by INXS
 
I Will Follow, by U2
 
She Sells Sanctuary, by The Cult
 
You've Got Another Thing Comin', by Judas Priest
 
The One, by Sharam
 
Discipline, by Nine Inch Nails
 
Magnificent, by U2 (Dave Aude' Club Remix)
 
Shot Down in Flames, by AC/DC
 
Sex Type Thing, by Stone Temple Pilots
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Fitness Friday: Injured? How to speed up recovery

Friday, December 16, 2011 Comments
Editor's note: Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. He gives you a health and fitness tip or an exercise or stretch to get your body warmed up for the weekend. This week, he gives you tips for getting back to the golf course after an injury. Look for Saturday Morning Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: Play golf long enough and you're going to get hurt. That's the sobering reality of playing a sport that the body isn't designed to play. The twisting and torquing of the body and the repetitive impact of hitting the ground take their toll on your joints, muscles and tendons.
 
So what do you do when you suffer from joint inflammation, small muscle tears and/or tendon strains? Your first options for a speedy recovery are always going to be rest, ice and heat.
 
The first part is easy--rest. It's like the old Marx Brothers joke about the guy who tells his doctor that it hurts when he "does this." And the doc says, "Then stop doing that." It's actually good advice. Trying to "play hurt" as they do in the NFL will likely make an easily correctable problem turn into a much bigger issue. So shut it down for a while.
 
The second part of the equation is a little trickier. Heat and ice are both proven methods to help alleviate pain and heal faster, but most people don't know which one to use and when. In January's Golf Digest, I delve into this topic. To find out when and how to use ice and heat, click on the link here.

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
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Fitness Friday: Is cardio good for your golf?

Friday, December 9, 2011 Comments
Editor's note: Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. He gives you a health and fitness tip or an exercise or stretch to get your body warmed up for the weekend. This week, he examines whether or not a cardio workout will benefit your golf. Look for Saturday Morning Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: I recently visited with Annika Sorenstam's longtime fitness trainer, Kai Fusser. He has a new book called Weight Training for Women's Golf, The Ultimate Guide ($16.95, Price World Publishing). Fusser thinks differently about fitness than many of his peers, but I was still slightly surprised at his response when I asked him how much cardio he recommends.
 
"It's not a big part of what we do," he said. "Spending 30 minutes on a treadmill is a waste of time." In his book, he continues, "I'm not saying that doing slow and long cardio is all bad and that you should never do it. I know many people feel they get a great deal of mental stress relief [from it], and I can't argue with that. But from a purely physical standpoint, it is not at all efficient and might harm you more than it will do you good."
 
Fusser is not the only trainer who steers his clients away from the elliptical, the stationary bike and the treadmill. Chris Noss, who trains many tour pros, including Camilo Villegas and Zach Johnson, combines a cardio workout with his strength-training sessions simply by shortening the rest between sets. I've seen Chris' workout up close and I can assure you, it will turn you into a pile of goo.
 
Whether you want to try high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or Noss' strength-training speed circuit, the bottom line is that you're using your time in the gym more efficiently and training your heart and muscles to function properly under duress. Let's not forget, golf is a "burst sport," meaning you're asked to alternate between generating a lot of energy in a short period of time and then resting for longer periods. You need to prepare your body to be on alert at all times, and steady-state cardio simply won't do that.
 
I know that some of you simply love the treadmill. So if you must keep that in your workout regimen, click on the video below to see how too use it and get a better workout.



Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor


Related: A golfer's guide to the treadmill
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