BMart519

I heard about this product on the Fit for Golf podcast but couldn't find it online, until today... The price is steep, but the app provides 40+ weeks of programs that are sequenced based on your speed outputs in addition to warm-up protocols and pre-round speed priming. Someone was finally smart enough to replace the multiple sticks from SuperSpeed with a single adjustable stick. This could easily fit in my bag to replace the Orange Whip and use pre-round compared to SS. Two of the smartest guys in the sport are behind this product. The app and analysis it provides (along with the lifetime access promo for pre-orders), add enough value for me to consider purchasing this setup to replace my homemade SuperSpeed sticks. My bias as a Canadian may also be helping to justify supporting Sasho Mackenzie. I suspect there will be improvements to the app and additional material added over time as it appears he only mentions the step drill as the only non-standard swing used in the protocols (in addition to 1-arm swings). https://www.thestacksystem.com/

And you get an Adam young subscription...

I would use a yoga mat or area rug or something else cheap. Doesn’t need to be turf just to stand on. Barefoot doesn’t help either, but if it’s already 1” too high another 1/4-1/2” isn’t going to matter. Not trying to ingrain the height either way.

I have one as well... Initial impressions: - the rubber base is thick and sturdy, almost 1" all in unless used on a surface where the rubber spikes can dig in. Given how much Adam Young talks about arc depth (I've bought all 3 three of his subscriptions) I feel you need a stance mat to go along with the Divot Board. - I've began using it for a "9 Box" drill mentioned by Lou Stagner on a podcast: hitting inside/outside edge and center of board in front of, behind, and in line with the ball mark to add some differential practice on ground contact. - getting ground impact location and path direction feedback without a ball is valuable - compact and portable, I throw it on my living room floor and take full swings barefoot in the house. The thick rubber base eliminates any worry of damage to my hardwood floors or hard feedback on the joints. Mine has about 100 swings on it, I was initially concerned as there is visible wear and tear after the first few solid strikes. But after some minor damage it hasn't changed much over the last few sessions. I can see it being useful for thousands of hits even if a few sequins fall off. They all appear to be individually stitched to the board.

I don't understand the mechanics of potentiation and would need a degree in Human Kinetics or similar... I agree with your thought process and was also confused about the clusters when I first learned. I didn't complete them long enough to track progress. I am putting faith into people smarter than me on this topic. I consider it to be similar to overspeed training with a loaded squat followed by a bodyweight jump, maybe you move faster? Or your muscles are still expecting that heavier load and behave differently without added resistance. Mind-muscle pathways, etc. Also, the volume of heavy work is extremely small and you are supposed to rest and recover prior to the explosive moves. It's not a traditional superset or drop set with no rest. If you wanted to be careful to avoid "training slow", you could reference your max speeds or jump heights in the simplifaster article I posted about speed training to make sure you aren't working too far below top speed. (5% drop for club head speed was mentioned for SuperSpeed work). 1RM and (even 5RM in my experience) are reduced after speed work, you've expended energy and muscle output on the speed work which can't be recovered without extended (hours/days) rest. These are advanced techniques geared towards increasing output as opposed to getting your max up on big 3 lifts. (Probably also to bust plateaus on vertical jump, sprint speed, etc.)

People probably thought I was weird sprinting through the gym, especially during COVID with mask requirements. But I guess it balances out all the times I've judged people doing box jumps without using their arms or doing exercises that have no value or using their cell phone for 5 minutes between sets. As long as I don't damage any equipment or hurt anyone I could care less what they think, I'm not in there to make friends and meet people. The courtesy/etiquette thing can be a big issue at beginner gyms for sure.

This methodology is also called post-activation potentiation or just potentiation. You'll have to google and figure out more as I have just learned about this recently and have had limited opportunities to try it. Another potentiation option is a weighted sled push, followed by a 20-40m sprint. You could do heavy DB press followed by plyo pushups, DLs or squats followed by any form of jump. It is acceptable to rest 45-60 seconds between the heavy move and plyo so it doesn't turn into a crossfit or endurance workout. I have only done 1 or 2 potentiation supersets at the beginning of each workout, I think you would see reduced benefit if you had 6 pairs programmed. Superspeed is golf specific and can happen at other times (I would always do this before potentiation unless being done a few hours later). It doesn't need to be an A3 exercise after A1 - DL, A2 - box jump, for example. Don't go back to SS 1 with the PRGR, just start benchmarking where you are now.

If you are indeed “strong enough” for golf. Which a 400lb deadlift arguably is... Let this article be your guide... https://simplifaster.com/articles/strength-strategies-club-head-speed/

Friday after work I went full Spieth and hit putts without looking at the ball. Instead, I used the aim lines at the 2' mark as my target. (Usually a gate or "channel" between the two lines) Directional control was improved and it really freed me up on 5-10' putts, 20-30' was a bit of a struggle, 40-50' were good. My make rate was nearly double during Practice mode with increasing distance compared to my last few sessions. This is definitely a technique I will continue to play with especially at 5&10 feet as I tend to blow 5 footers past the hole and leave the 10 footers short more than I should. During Play 9 in the Summer setting, any of the 2+ foot leaves were virtually can't miss. I think I missed once out of 10+ second putts, including a make from 7' with break. Had 2 or 3 lip outs from 20+ feet. (I always use hints then align the aim to make the putt as straight as possible, the focus is picking a distance based on slope and hitting it there).

No, I may need a consult with a physician if improving strength cannot mitigate the discomfort which makes it difficult to sleep on my left side and is impacting quality of life which led to seeking treatment. I would prefer to do surgery and clean it up properly at this point unless I continue seeing significant improvements. Cortisone shot may be the next escalation in treatment in a few more weeks.

Long term issues: some bad falls snowboarding, poor posture/office ergonomics since lockdowns, and a gradual transition away from specific shoulder strengthening of rotator cuff and scapulae. Some amount of rotator cuff tears is probable, physio is concerned there could be labrum damage as well. Seems to be improving with a focus on rehab and strengthening, I had an hour lesson Saturday and hit irons and hybrids 90-100% (180-200 carry) the whole time with minimal discomfort afterwards and nothing during the lesson. Shifted my swing path from 7 deg left to 2-3 right through better use of lower body/side bend and adjusting ball position, which was super encouraging since I have mostly been doing swings with no balls and drills. I only hit balls outdoors once over the 6 weeks since the lesson to see ball flight as there is currently 1 heated range serving a city of over 1 million people LOL. (3 hour wait 2 weekends ago) I have had to put SuperSpeed on pause which is very frustrating as I want to get driver to 105 for this season.

Just listened to that as well... I cannot find the "Stack" swing speed trainer he talks about online. It sounds like it will have a supporting app for analysis and and adjustable weight. I took several notes from that podcast about 1 arm swings and comparing speed on each side and correlating it to 2 hand swings. Also, practicing shorter length swings to force the hips to fire faster to generate speed and improve the transition and sequencing. Mobility (hand path length) could be another area for you to explore...

@Getoffmylawn sounds like you need a vacation somewhere you can hit some bombs and see the fruits of your labour! Preferably somewhere at elevation with dry conditions You may be getting too attached to the outcome, it appears you have increased your strength on all lifts. That is an accomplishment in itself and have helped fight off Father Time for another winter! If your swing speed does not increase, you will have learned that strength is not your limiting factor which also has value. You can then confidently switch your focus to technique, equipment, intention (all-out Bryson swings), and shift towards more SuperSpeed protocols or other speed work. What else did you have planned to do on lockdown in the winter anyway I'm undergoing physio on my shoulder and can't hit balls past 100 yards or about 70% effort. It could always be worse! Especially when the physio gives you a SuperSpeed stick to stretch with during therapy LOL.

I am reading Kelly Starrett's - Becoming A Supple Leopard. You can check out his background... The DL technique he discusses in the book emphasizes keeping the lower leg (tib/fib) close to perpendicular to the ground. Your form looks excellent, this is a very minor coaching point: on the negative portion of reps 1 and 5 your knees come forward more than the rest of the reps. His cue for this is shooting the hamstrings back to start the lift. You can tinker with that on light weight and see how it feels, you knees aren't coming extremely far forward and trap bar has a tendency to bring you more forward without a barbell there and into a hybrid squat/deadlift position. Back and shoulders look great which is key to safe DL with those weights. If grip strength is the limiting factor, try to add some forearm strengthening work, those fat grips to fit over a barbell, or anything with a larger diameter grip. If you have Twitter, William Wayland is a great strength coach and has an article showing split stance variants with trap bar DLs. This will allow you to drop the weight but up the load on each individual leg, while not challenging balance.

If you are training for speed, you want to swing driver as fast as possible with no concern to direction (including without a ball). The net is helpful in this scenario so big slices and hooks don't discourage you. The intention isn't to use these max swings on the course, but by boosting your average speed you will have greater length on controlled swings. Face contact and path should be worked on separately from the speed training to improve dispersion. Hitting into a net all winter 100% has the chance to cause problems when you can't get ball flight feedback. But that can occur with regular swings as well.

Feels can change week to week and month to month. Hopefully this one holds up. Indoor with no ball is a bit of a different situation or doing slow-mo rehearsals to ingrain a new move. I find it's works better to think of a swing type or ball flight that triggers these moves or feels as opposed to focusing on moving a body part in a specific way when you are hitting balls (at range or course). My swing path is left which results in fades and pulls because of downswing sequencing and not enough lower body use. If my swing thought is "high draw or easy draw" that helps shift the path to the right, get the legs moving to start the downswing while the arms hang back, and shallow the club. As opposed to thinking: shift weight to lead leg, drop right elbow to hip, swing out to the right.

In my opinion, the Blue or middle stick is of least importance as its closest to golf club weight which is why I never bothered building one for my set. The green (light) stick is the whole purpose of overspeed training. There are lots of products on the market like the heavy club with extra weight, whether it be other sticks, Orange Whip, weighted clubs, etc. The entire premise of overspeed is to move faster than before, I would be hesitant to reduce emphasis on this portion.

I made my own sticks, but stopped at the light and heavy. I see minimal need for the middle stick, so that reduces my reps by 33%. During my Protocol 4 session yesterday that resulted in 3 swings with 2 sticks at 6 reps per side = 72 swings plus 3 max out at the end. You could probably knock that down to 4 or 5 reps with the same benefit to reduce down to 48 or 60 total. 90+ swings at full speed is like 5 rounds worth of tee shots or at least 2 rounds worth of full swings, which seems like overkill. I have continued left hand swings, my technique is terrible and I get a lot of no-reads which is discouraging. I only do SS 1X week, so I plan on continuing both sides. The new material from Fit For Golf with 1 arm swings using the light stick has me intrigued. If I incorporate these, I am likely to drop non-dominant swings to keep the reps down or cut the reps in half.

Don’t get too hung up on it, I watch a couple of their videos on YouTube then pick 1-3 swings other than the normal swing. It’s all about getting reps in with heavy and light sticks. Some sets I do 5 reps, some times it will be 6-7 if I don’t get reads.

I really like Super Speed level 4... first session in 4 weeks as my shoulder has been killing me. The heel stomp swing was a great cue for me. My normal swings to start with heavy club swings were 1-2 mph slower than the beginning of my training 2-3 months ago. Heel plant boosted speed 5-8 mph compared to normal swings. Ended the session with 4 mph (102) higher swing speed hitting a ball compared to 2 months ago. No ball swings were +2mph and max score it swings with light stick were +3 mph.

Throws first. Heavy work always after speed. If you are trying to max out or set PBs on lifts, that should be done on a day with minimal speed work. Similar idea to the speed concept. A bench press PB after Super Speed and med balls throws is a different PB than a bench right after warm up while fresh with no speed work.

Look into Controlled Articular Rotations for shoulders, hips, and torso. Shaking is a strength/stability issue, not mobility. It's also not realistic to expect that you can reach full rotation in the backswing and hold that position with zero movement. If no motion is your goal, uncoil 1-2" and you'll notice a large difference. If you are exerting yourself to reach max rotation it will require more effort in slow-mo because there is no momentum of the golf club. Pushing the limit of your body to it's end range will result in shaking at some point, otherwise you aren't pushing far enough.

The jumps/slams are your explosive work and should be done with max speed/output as opposed to when recovering. The only exception would be when using them with a superset of a loaded variant for "post activation potentiation" programming. Doing them when you are "tired" is either training your body for slower speeds or an endurance focus. Jumps/med ball throws can be alternated since they mostly split upper and lower body, which is how I start lifting sessions before moving on to free weights. Either do those first then the free weight sets, or do antagonist pairs if you are looking to save time on the workout. (Incline DB/T-Bar row)

This is similar to what I found this winter and switched from FB to an ER2.2. The toe-hang helps better match my face to path as measured on Trackman. My path was 2-4 degrees right with a closed face, I now push the ball more often than pull because the toe-hang didn't fix my path just the release of the face. My instructor had me make strokes over top of a Visio Mi putting template to groove the feel of a proper arc and less push out across the target line on the follow through. I used the parameters from my CAPTO putter lesson with the Visio measurements to find which arc radius is best suited to my stroke and picked up one of the Mi templates to help groove stoke. The templates can be used to hit putts off and you can put tees through the holes to make gates for the putter head and balls. Excellent piece of kit I would recommend. There is still likely some technique things to address or focus on if you are pushing the putter out past the line. This usually relates to the elbow coming away from the body. The thought/feel from my lesson was to keep the left elbow tucked closer to the body since I went outside on follow through. Could be a similar issue with your right elbow on the backswing.

I'm not a dietician, I believe there are general recommendations for macros you can Google online. Individual metabolism will have some effect on this. The general advice is to start by calculating your daily caloric needs for target body weight (base metabolic index) and energy output (workouts, etc). Protein intake target of 1.5g per pound of target body weight. Then calculate your remaining calories and balance carbs/fat according to dietary preferences. Continue to mix in single leg work on the compound moves (lunges, lateral squats, box jumps) in addition to bilateral work. Same with upper body - pressing and rows with one arm using DBs or cables activates the core for stability which helps resist some of the rotary forces in the golf swing. Ballistic/explosive work with med ball throws would help, you can get trampolines/pads for med ball targets. I just ordered a landmine attachment from Amazon for $80 that mounts in the center of a 45lb plate, then insert your barbell, and load with whatever you want. For the cost, I think this is one of the most flexible add-ons for a home gym if you have a barbell and some plates. I also got a set of resistance bands ($40) that you can connect in parallel for a total of 150 lbs of resistance. I clip these on to barbells, wrap under my power cage, adjustable bench or feet, to induce progressive loading in the top half of lifts where it's easier to overcome the weight of what's on the bar. For example, I can dead lift 225 off the ground with medium effort, comfortably for sets. As I progress closer to lock out with bands, the load exceeds 300 pounds. But I am far from pulling 350+ off the floor. This also helps working at max/speed intent as you have less inertia to overcome at the start of the lift. As the bands begin to resist you have built some momentum and are moving fast as the bands reach their maximum.