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Our bodies were designed for One Reason: TO MOVE! Yet our sedentary lifestyle of sitting down so much is robbing us of that one crucial activity. The Good News is that Research has proven that MODERATE and Consistent Exercise is far superior to exercises that ‘punish’ the body over ‘Long’ periods of time. If you’re thinking that I’m saying that the body shouldn’t be stressed, I’m not. The body definitely needs to be stressed – BUT, for short bursts, not for hours on end.
This is called HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. In other words, High Intensity cardio exercises for SHORT DURATIONS, periodically during the day, preferably when you’re going on long walks, is VERY beneficial to your overall health and well being.
One of my personal favorite cardio exercises is Mountain Climbers, which my models Victoria and Keith are demonstrating in today’s video. Just doing a limited number of reps (10 or 20?…your call) of Mountain Climbers periodically throughout the day or on your walks, or in your office or home, will do wonders for increasing your overall fitness and state of well being. Note: Be sure that you do a few stretches before embarking on the Mountain Climbers and especially after.
Probably THE most common mistake I see when people stretch and lift weights is that they’re usually out of proper form and posture, which often leads to not properly stretching or strengthening the muscles that the exercise intended. Not only are they ‘perfecting their faults’ and developing poor posture but being ‘out of true’ can over time, lead to injuries.
Along these lines, I somewhat disagree with the adage that “Practice Makes Perfect”’ and feel that a more accurate phrase is “PERFECT Practice Makes Perfect”!
For this reason, I highly encourage people to use Props as I’m demonstrating here; ie. The Slant Board and PostureFit Bar, which will surely Get you STRAIGHT while you STRENGTHEN!
THIS CAR HAS A DAMAGED WHEEL AND TIRE
WOULD ‘JUST ‘FIXING THE WHEEL GET THE CAR BACK ‘IN SHAPE’?
Back in my early twenties, I had a professional golf career cut short due to TWO Knee surgeries and TWO MAJOR wrist surgeries; after which my golf swing was never quite the same. My story is not unique because for decades, I’ve had people come to me who’ve had multiple surgeries throughout their bodies and limbs – many of them for the SAME injury; and a high percentage of them are still dysfunctional. (On that note, I think the record for the most surgeries I’ve seen was 19 from a guy who came to me last year). Again, It’s not uncommon for me to see people who’ve had multiple surgeries, and as they’ve gotten older, are in worse shape, often times not being able to play golf anymore.
HEY, WAIT A MINUTE, ISN’T THE REASON THAT PEOPLE HAVE SURGERIES TO BEGIN WITH IS TO ‘FIX’ THE PROBLEM?
Then, why do so many surgeries not ‘Fix’ the problem? In fact, the last statistics that I’ve heard is that around 30% of Back Surgeries are Re-Do’s.
In My Opinion & Experience, I believe that despite the incredible new procedures in medicine, that the majority of surgeries address the ‘SITE OF THE PAIN’ (and injury) and not the ‘SOURCE OF IT’.
The fact of the matter is; that if a person’s body is out of proper alignment, there will be friction and load bear pressure applied elsewhere (just like when the misalignment of the chassis of the car blew out the wheel). When the joints of the body line up, friction is then taken off of the joints which will usually prevent and eliminate the pain. This is called JOINT CENTRATION.
Getting your body back into the design that Nature’s gave us will certainly help rehab and restore your body – and get you back on the golf course!
This is why I created THE POSTURE SYSTEM VIDEO SERIES – where you can find out what Posture Type you are; and more importantly, WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
This exercise is great for strengthening your Oblique Abdominals, the muscle responsible for side bend and powerful long drives.
Be sure to leave a comment for Roger below!
“You don’t have to get old the way our society has brainwashed us into believing”, is what my late father Elmer Fredericks (shown below at around 90 years of age) used to always say.
Continue reading There Are Two Ages: YOUR CHRONOLOGICAL AGE & YOUR PHYSIOLOGICAL AGE
One of the questions one hears a lot is that the Golf Swing Motion is bad for your back? And I can assure you that I’ve been asked that hundreds of times.
The truth is that the human body is one of the most remarkable and durable ‘machines’ ever devised and it’s designed to undergo an incredible amount of abuse that our culture places upon it (which includes the amount of junk we put into it for ‘fuel’). One would think that swinging a shaft that weighs less than a pound wouldn’t have any effect – and it shouldn’t.
To answer the question; a person who has a balanced body normally won’t suffer any negative consequences – BUT, the truth is that doing a repetitive motion such as throwing a baseball, swinging a tennis racquet – AND swinging a golf club millions of time with the same right to left motion, WILL over time – develop muscle imbalances. When one side of a person’s body becomes out of balance with the other, friction is placed upon the joints, and eventually the wear and tear on the joint occurs.
THE BEST WAY to prevent injuries, is to get on a Customized Posture and Flexibility Program to balance your body FIRST. And, on top of that, wearing an Alignmed Posture Shirt or a Jelly Expander Shoulder Harness will also get you into proper alignment.
This is one of the many reasons why I encourage people to maintain a ‘proper’ flexibility and posture program so as to keep the body balanced – and then be able to enjoy playing golf for a lifetime.
Be sure to watch the Golf, Posture, and Flexibility Videos through my web site (members have access to all these videos).
– Roger
As I get further along on my life’s journey, it never ceases to amaze me how Mother Nature gives us SO MANY ingenious ways to heal ourselves and solve our problems. Let’s face it, in life – there are times you feel on top of the world, and times you feel under the weight of it.
It’s no secret by now that the mind and the body directly affect one another and that stress is a factor in over 80% of all illnesses and diseases. The truth is that ‘Thoughts are Things’ and ‘How’ we think can affect How we ‘Feel’. For example, when we receive Great news, we’ll tend to feel Great and conversely, when we get Bad news, we’ll tend to feel ‘Bad’ (which will often lead to health problems like ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, blocked arteries, ad infinitum). I love the expression, ‘The body is the dumping ground for our mind’.
I’ve learned that a sure way to feel GREAT (and therefore ‘Think’ Great) is to take a 30-60 second cold shower… Yes, that’s right a Cold Shower! In fact, a REALLY Cold Shower! (I can hear you now…"OMG, are you crazy, that’s Nuts?!") But, the truth is that taking a cold shower will definitely exhilarate you – sometimes to the point of ecstasy!
In case you’re wondering, “Is it hard to do?” – “Is it Scary?” – “Is it Torture?”, etc., I’d be lying if I told you that ‘at first’ it wasn’t easy! However, you’ll notice that after the initial shock and the first few seconds, the shock wears off and the water doesn’t feel so cold – (i.e., you begin to get ‘used to it’); which is simply because the initial blast forces your abdominal breathing to become more dynamic and actually begins to internally warm you up. The warmth that comes from within, then settles you down and the initial shock goes away. In time, I arrived at the point where my initial hesitation of going in the cold shower has been conquered by KNOWING how good I’m going to feel afterward.
I’m going to be writing more articles on some of Nature’s RX Remedies which will all be available to Members in the Library. Members of the Fredericks Golf Instruction & Learning Center can comment in the comment section and let me know their experience.
"Come on in, the Water’s fine!"
Roger Fredericks
Everybody wants to be strong, but the question is: What does “being strong” really mean? Without question, nearly everybody would agree that weightlifters are strong because they can lift a lot of weight.
For a LOT of years, I’ve been very involved in both the golf profession and also the world of physical training, and I’ve learned that most of the problems encountered in both of these activities, are seldom the genesis of the “actual” problems.
Continue reading The Site of Pain is Seldom the Source of Pain
“Hey Roger, I don’t get it? I’ve been stretching my hamstrings for years, and they‘re still tight. Even when I was a kid, I couldn’t touch my toes and I still can’t!” If I had $10 for every time I’ve heard that, or something similar, I’d be in a considerably higher tax bracket! The truth is that many people think…
Continue reading Why Stretching A Muscle…Doesn’t Always Stretch The Muscle!