Bellinghamgolfer.com

The most energy I had exerted in the two weeks between my sixth and seventh workouts was walking down the street in 100 degree temperatures in Alabama. So when Brian asked how I was feeling and whether I was up for the session I hesitated a little. 'I think so,' I muttered.
We moved into the 'in-season' training section of the course. I had expected this might involve far less actual work-out - 30 seconds of jogging on the spot, five wrist curls and a quick touch-your-toes stretch just to remind the body it needed some energy and flexibility to play golf, but not overload it at a time when thoughts turn mostly to technique and practice rather than fitness.
I couldn't have been more wrong. There was the usual ten-minute warm-up on the elliptical machine and the exercises that followed were more or less the same as those for the pre- and off-season. Brian explained the same number of repetitions I had performed in previous weeks wasn't necessary now, but that it would be a mistake to ease off totally during the playing season as the strength, flexibility and endurance I had built up before it began would slowly be lost.
My body started showing signs of its recent inactivity four or five repetitions into the first exercise. Beads of sweat began appearing sooner than they had previously and the muscles in my left side (by far the weaker half) started malfunctioning long before I hoped they would.
Brian, professional as ever, monitored my performance or rather lack of it, and repeatedly modified the nature of the exercises and repetition-count to ensure my body was benefitting from the effort, but not shutting down entirely.
The Oblique Crunches were tough, the Bent-Over One-Arm Row was markedly more difficult than it had been two weeks before, and the Shoulder Press on Swiss Ball with Dumbbell did not pass without a good deal of grunting and grimacing.
Regular readers will recall I have some back problems which make these moves considerably more difficult than they otherwise would be. Most people who worked through a similar routine would wonder why on Earth I find it so challenging at times. That's fine. I just don't want to discourage Bellingham golfers from joining the course. In fact, I hope they'll seriously consider it because there's no denying the benefits of more strength, stamina and flexibility and, perhaps most importantly, a sense of accomplisment and that you're taking a significant step towards playing better golf.
I joined the Lake Padden Men's Club yesterday and am looking forward to re-establishing my handicap this summer and discovering just how effective the Dynamic Golf Training Course at Anytime Fitness is.
Those considering signing up at Anytime Fitness will be interested to know Brian has recently introduced a new health/fitness assessment system which will be used to establish the most effective nutrition and exercise program possible for each new client. Bio Analogic's Health Management System has been available for over 20 years, but with constant upgrading it has now reached a quite remarkable level of accuracy and sophistication. Brian took me through the program which suggests how much protein, fat and carbohydrates each individual client should consume at each meal, and then sets out a very detailed exercise program that seeks to ensure the optimal level of body fat/lean mass. Tri-athletes and professional cyclists have as little as 3% body fat, apparently. The leanest professional golfers (Tiger Woods, Charles Howell, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Will Mackenzie) average about 8%, while those at the other end of the scale (Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie, Boo Weekley, John Daly) have rather more.
I'm at about 10% but I assure you that is the happy result of genetics, rather than a concerted effort on my part to reduce body fat. Truth is, I have one of those metabolisms that allow me to burn off 100 calories just by changing positions on the sofa, or picking the ball out of the hole.
One more session at Anytime Fitness to go.