Getoffmylawn's Swing Saga: Episode IV, Pride & Punishment

[Getoffmylawn]

So I tracked my non-dominant swings and definitely observed a few oddities.  I have to say, I am really considering scrapping the whole thing and going right back to Level 1, this time with the benefit of the radar.  

The weight workout was a good one:

Med Ball Wall Throws - 10 pound ball, 3 x 5

Dumbbell Curls - 60s, reps at 6, 1

Pinwheel Curls - 50s, reps at 9, 4 (time to go to 55s)

Box Jumps - 3 x 4

Bulgarian Split Squats w/Jump - 50s, 3 x 4

Machine Leg Press Calves - 280, 10 reps

Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - 225, 2 x9 (time to go to 245)

Standing Anti-Rotations - 50, 3 x 12

The combined Level 4/C Club protocol that preceded it was interesting.  On the good, my peak speed or highest number with each club has ticked higher with each workout.  (Emphasis on "ticked"...nothing monumental.)  That said, on all of my heel-stomp swings, my speeds were higher on the non-dominant side than the dominant, and I mean 5-6 mph higher.  Not so for the normal swings or double-step, but on heel-stomp that was the consistent difference on the green, blue, and red.

I think it's a fair conclusion to say I'm not using the ground very effectively and need to work on loading into the ground and pushing off.  So, that will be a point of emphasis moving forward for sure.

And, again, I'm really considering going back to the drawing board and starting at Level 1.  My thought is that when I get back from my family trip and start this new "complex training" program on 1 March, I would start over at Level 1 on Monday, a solely C Club protocol on Wednesday, and then a Single Arm protocol on Friday.  (Of course, I'd have to figure out a smart protocol on my own for that...)

Decisions decisions...

 

[Getoffmylawn]

So, I am into the last week of my size/strength weight training routine.  I've put on and kept roughly 15 pounds of mass and did so at a bodyfat level that I'm still pretty happy with. I've got two more workouts to go (Wednesday and Friday), then a week long break before I start up on a new routine emphasizing complex training for speed.  I'll detail that plan in another post later in the week.

I am concerned I've made some mistakes. One, in my quest for strength I may have trained too slow (if that makes any sense).  It's hard to move explosively with the heavy stuff at low reps.  Two, it's proving to be somewhere between misguided and just plain dumb to not have used a radar with my SuperSpeed training.  It's been incredibly cold here, and I've been doing the training layered up and not terribly warm, so I'm cautiously optimistic of a not-insignificant increase in speeds once the temps climb, but without getting into specifics I'll just summarize that I have not gotten much faster, at all.  My challenges are largely technique in my opinion; I need to do much better at using the ground. So, once I do start complex training, I intend to go back to square one of SuperSpeed and start back at Level 1, with one of the workouts replaced with a C Club protocol weekly.  This time with the radar.

I am however trying figure out how to smartly add single-arm training to the mix.  I did some one-arm swing testing yesterday, with both arms swinging in both directions, and I observed an average disparity of 10 mph between dominant and non-dominant swings with my lead arm versus my trail arm.  In other words, on the green stick for example, I'm right handed, so when swinging left arm only and pulling it through the hitting zone, that motion was 10 mph slower on average as compared to a left arm only non-dominant swing where I'm pushing it through the zone.  My right arm only swings showed no such disparity.

My only concern now is how to program single-arm work.  Add it to Level 1 protocols on Monday and Friday, or do Level 1 on Monday, C Club on Wednesday, and Single-Arm only work on Friday?

[thatgolfguyrob]

I'll start by saying that I'm no expert, but personally, I don't think the strength training has hurt you. Looking at a lot of the information that Fit for Golf, Bill Miller, etc put out, strength is always an emphasis. As you mentioned, a 3 rep max is going to move a lot slower than doing sets with 65%-75% of your max, but both have their place. I think the phases you are using, will allow you to take that added strength and now move the club/weights faster. After this next phase you have planned, have you ever considered a Westside/conjugate style of training? Less so powerlifting focused and more so having a max/heavy day and speed/rep day. Obviously it isn't the most golf focused workout, but looking at people like Joe DeFranco, Chad Wesley Smith, etc, you can easily adapt this style of training. In fact, CWS was a top thrower and I think a lot of throwing style of training carries over to golf.

I also think that the superspeed training will help, especially now that you have a radar and can track all of your sessions. What I will say though, and I am a victim of this all the time, is be careful of paralysis by analysis...in the end, you are training in the freezing cold and haven't stepped foot on a course in a while, so you don't truly know where you stand and the course is all that matters. Sorry for the long post and unsolicited advice - just thought I'd chime in.

[Getoffmylawn]

29 minutes ago, thatgolfguyrob said:

I'll start by saying that I'm no expert, but personally, I don't think the strength training has hurt you. Looking at a lot of the information that Fit for Golf, Bill Miller, etc put out, strength is always an emphasis. As you mentioned, a 3 rep max is going to move a lot slower than doing sets with 65%-75% of your max, but both have their place. I think the phases you are using, will allow you to take that added strength and now move the club/weights faster. After this next phase you have planned, have you ever considered a Westside/conjugate style of training? Less so powerlifting focused and more so having a max/heavy day and speed/rep day. Obviously it isn't the most golf focused workout, but looking at people like Joe DeFranco, Chad Wesley Smith, etc, you can easily adapt this style of training. In fact, CWS was a top thrower and I think a lot of throwing style of training carries over to golf.

I also think that the superspeed training will help, especially now that you have a radar and can track all of your sessions. What I will say though, and I am a victim of this all the time, is be careful of paralysis by analysis...in the end, you are training in the freezing cold and haven't stepped foot on a course in a while, so you don't truly know where you stand and the course is all that matters. Sorry for the long post and unsolicited advice - just thought I'd chime in.

I definitely appreciate the feedback.  You've probably picked up that I'm very disappointed with what the radar is showing me now that I have it, but I'm as confused as I am disappointed.  My last round of last year after I was a month into this training I hit several 300 yard drives and had a club less than normal on a lot of my approaches, so I'm somewhere between hopeful and optimistic that I'll see similar gains on the course this year.  I'm just not understanding why I would see gains on course but not in a training session.  

Not giving up though, going to keep chasing this no matter how slow twitch I might be...

[thatgolfguyrob]

44 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I definitely appreciate the feedback.  You've probably picked up that I'm very disappointed with what the radar is showing me now that I have it, but I'm as confused as I am disappointed.  My last round of last year after I was a month into this training I hit several 300 yard drives and had a club less than normal on a lot of my approaches, so I'm somewhere between hopeful and optimistic that I'll see similar gains on the course this year.  I'm just not understanding why I would see gains on course but not in a training session.  

Not giving up though, going to keep chasing this no matter how slow twitch I might be...

I definitely think swinging in the freezing cold and a bunch of layers will play a role. I think the key thing now is to continue to track the numbers and see if you are progressing. As long as you are progressing, you are on the right track.

[ejgaudette]

1 hour ago, thatgolfguyrob said:

I definitely think swinging in the freezing cold and a bunch of layers will play a role. I think the key thing now is to continue to track the numbers and see if you are progressing. As long as you are progressing, you are on the right track.

I wills second this, I have to swing outside and it has been very cold lately and I have seen speed drops even if I work to warm up. Hopeful warm weather gets things back up as well. Keep up the hard work @Getoffmylawn

[Getoffmylawn]

20 minutes ago, ejgaudette said:

I wills second this, I have to swing outside and it has been very cold lately and I have seen speed drops even if I work to warm up. Hopeful warm weather gets things back up as well. Keep up the hard work @Getoffmylawn

Appreciate the encouragement...

[BMart519]

22 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I definitely appreciate the feedback.  You've probably picked up that I'm very disappointed with what the radar is showing me now that I have it, but I'm as confused as I am disappointed.  My last round of last year after I was a month into this training I hit several 300 yard drives and had a club less than normal on a lot of my approaches, so I'm somewhere between hopeful and optimistic that I'll see similar gains on the course this year.  I'm just not understanding why I would see gains on course but not in a training session.  

Not giving up though, going to keep chasing this no matter how slow twitch I might be...

I don't know what the climate and course conditions are like in the fall where you play, but the courses here firmed up in September and October. I tag all my shots with Shot Scope and hit a 17 deg hybrid 260 off the tee in my last round which is 10 yards longer than my good shots and 30+ longer than average. My 95-100 MPH swing speed is good for 240-250 carry with driver which works out to about 270 total in normal conditions at Calgary's elevation. It doesn't take much wind or a firm bounce to add 10-20 yards. How was the course overall that day? 

 

[Getoffmylawn]

49 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

I don't know what the climate and course conditions are like in the fall where you play, but the courses here firmed up in September and October. I tag all my shots with Shot Scope and hit a 17 deg hybrid 260 off the tee in my last round which is 10 yards longer than my good shots and 30+ longer than average. My 95-100 MPH swing speed is good for 240-250 carry with driver which works out to about 270 total in normal conditions at Calgary's elevation. It doesn't take much wind or a firm bounce to add 10-20 yards. How was the course overall that day? 

 

Yeah, I hear you and I've considered that, but if anything it was cooler and a bit damp, shouldn't have been a contributing factor...

[Getoffmylawn]

Back at it after a week off.  What a trip that was...drove 14 hours to visit my daughters in Tennessee, then 13 hours to attend a promotion ceremony in Louisiana, then 12 hours back to Omaha.  I don't road trip as well as I used to.

As planned, I've officially gone back to the drawing board and started with the Level 1 SuperSpeed protocol this morning, with the modification of adding Single Arm swings with the green stick only.  This time, I'll be monitoring/measuring swing speeds.

And, the gym work has been radically overhauled as of this morning.  Having achieved size/strength gains, I'm now focused heavily on power/explosiveness using complex training methods.  Today's workout was as follows:

Weighted Sled & Sprints:  300 pounds on the sled, 25 M at a marching pace, then 3 minutes rest, then 60M all out sprint.  3 total circuits (for lack of a better term)

Trap Bar Deadlifts & Overhead Med Ball Slams - 360 pound deads, 3 reps, then 3 minutes rest, then 5 all out slams.  3 total circuits

Golf Posture Cable Rotations & Med Ball Wall Throws - 50 pound rotations, 5 reps each side, 3 minutes rest, 5 throws each side.  3 total circuits

Dumbbell Incline Press & Plyo Push-Ups - 85s, 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, 5 plyo-push ups.  3 circuits

That's it.  Monday and Friday each week I'll do similar pairings (different exercises), with Wednesday focused on Shoulders, Bis & Tris, Calves, Abs, and basic "beach muscle" maintenance.

This morning was taxing but I'm still feeling it out a bit.  I have to do this as the base gym and the trap bar is not a high handle bar, so figuring out my one-rep max is a bit of a challenge.  

Hopefully with the addition of a speed-measuring device and a gym emphasis on power I'll see an uptick in the mph's soon enough.

[Getoffmylawn]

Wednesday's I'll be doing a basic "maintenance" workout with the simple aim of some beach muscle preservation, with the occasional smattering of "golf specific" work.  I'll post that workout below (it will vary week to week in terms of exercise selection) but I don't intend to continue the workout log style posts here...I have the distinct impression that kind of post has worn thin!

So, after a SuperSpeed C Club Level 1 workout, I knocked out the following:

- Landmine Shoulder Press - 55, reps at 8, 3

- Cable Pressdowns - 200, reps at 11, 3

- Preacher Curls - 115, reps at 8, 3

- Pinwheel Curls - 50s, reps at 8, 3

- Machine Leg Press Calves - 280, reps at 10, 2

- Standing Cable Internal Rotations - 20, 3 x 10

- Standing Cable External Rotations - 20, 3 x 10

With the weather changing and snow melting, I'm almost in a position to go and start getting some short-game practice in.  The base course is very close to my office, so 2-3 times a week I'll use my lunch hour to change and get 45 minutes of chipping and pitching practice in.  REALLY looking forward to that.

 

[Getoffmylawn]

Level 1 SuperSpeed, with green stick Single Arm work, this morning, then my second Complex Training workout that looked like this.

Squats & Box Jumps - 365 pound squats for 3 reps, 3 minutes rest then 4 box jumps.  3 total circuits

Lat Pulldown - 200 pounds for 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, then Overhead Med Slams with an 8 pound ball.  3 circuits.

Hammer Strength Wide Chest Press - 270 pounds for 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, then Med Ball Chest Slams, 8 pound ball.  3 circuits.

Golf Posture Cable Rotations - 50 for 5 reps each side, 3 minutes rest, Med Ball Wall Throws, 8 pound ball.  3 circuits.

These workouts are going to take some getting used to, which I suppose is a good thing.  Never really trained like this, which I suppose is part of the problem.  As @BMart519recommended, I am mindful of the need to measure the explosive work and did time the sprints from Monday.  I plan to sprint every Monday so I'll at least have a stop watch to make sure I'm pushing to get faster.  Measuring med ball power output is tough though...at the moment I'm resorting to trying to get the damn thing to bounce higher than the last rep.

Snow is nearly gone and some courses are opening...won't be long now for me.

[BMart519]

If you're going stir crazy waiting around for 3 minute rest periods, you can do mobility work for other parts of the body during that time. You also may be able to reduce rest down to 2 minutes. 

[Getoffmylawn]

11 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

If you're going stir crazy waiting around for 3 minute rest periods, you can do mobility work for other parts of the body during that time. You also may be able to reduce rest down to 2 minutes. 

Definitely stir crazy, although light warm up work for the next exercise scratches the itch a little bit.  Good point though, thanks.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

5 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

Level 1 SuperSpeed, with green stick Single Arm work, this morning, then my second Complex Training workout that looked like this.

Squats & Box Jumps - 365 pound squats for 3 reps, 3 minutes rest then 4 box jumps.  3 total circuits

Lat Pulldown - 200 pounds for 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, then Overhead Med Slams with an 8 pound ball.  3 circuits.

Hammer Strength Wide Chest Press - 270 pounds for 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, then Med Ball Chest Slams, 8 pound ball.  3 circuits.

Golf Posture Cable Rotations - 50 for 5 reps each side, 3 minutes rest, Med Ball Wall Throws, 8 pound ball.  3 circuits.

These workouts are going to take some getting used to, which I suppose is a good thing.  Never really trained like this, which I suppose is part of the problem.  As @BMart519recommended, I am mindful of the need to measure the explosive work and did time the sprints from Monday.  I plan to sprint every Monday so I'll at least have a stop watch to make sure I'm pushing to get faster.  Measuring med ball power output is tough though...at the moment I'm resorting to trying to get the damn thing to bounce higher than the last rep.

Snow is nearly gone and some courses are opening...won't be long now for me.

So whats your SS these days?

[Getoffmylawn]

12 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

So whats your SS these days?

Honestly, I'm embarrassed to have put all the previous effort in and not have much to show for it, to the point that I don't intend to post any kind of green/blue/red statistics until they are more respectable.

Last time I got on a monitor I was consistently around 105-106 with driver, which is about a 3 mph gain.  Worth it, but not exactly what I'd hoped for and certainly not where I feel I should be.

That said, not giving up by any means.  Hoping this new training style makes a difference.

[Getoffmylawn]

Another complex training workout today.  The plan is to have four separate workouts with unique pairings over a two week cycle, although some of the med ball and sprinting once a week will be staples.  So, my third complex workout (after the garage Level 1 work) looked like this:

Weighted Sled & Sprints:  300 pounds on the sled, 25 M at a marching pace, then 3 minutes rest, then 60M all out sprint.  3 total circuits (for lack of a better term)

T-Bar Rows & Overhead Med Ball Slams - 200 pound rows, 3 reps, then 3 minutes rest, then 5 all out slams.  3 total circuits

Hammer Strength Incline Press & Plyo Push-Ups - 270, 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, 5 plyo-push ups.  3 circuits

Golf Posture Cable Rotations & Med Ball Wall Throws - 50 pound rotations, 5 reps each side, 3 minutes rest, 5 throws each side.  3 total circuits

The sprints are proving to be touch, not so much in the workout but later in the day...my groin and hip flexors start letting me know they don't like sprints, which I suppose I should expect having not trained like that in over 20 years.  Not sure how much I should warm up for portion of the workout especially, but I suspect I didn't warm up enough.  Tight hip flexors is not a problem I want to have going forward...

 

[BMart519]

9 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

Weighted Sled & Sprints:  300 pounds on the sled, 25 M at a marching pace, then 3 minutes rest, then 60M all out sprint.  3 total circuits (for lack of a better term)

The sprints are proving to be touch, not so much in the workout but later in the day...my groin and hip flexors start letting me know they don't like sprints, which I suppose I should expect having not trained like that in over 20 years.  Not sure how much I should warm up for portion of the workout especially, but I suspect I didn't warm up enough.  Tight hip flexors is not a problem I want to have going forward...

 

- Need at least 5-10 minutes of mostly dynamic warm-up prior to sprints. You can google specific warmups for sprinting. 
- 1-2 sprints at 60-80% effort will only help for warm-up
- If you have not done max effort sprints in months, you should avoid going 100% for a couple sessions and work up through the 60-80% range and then towards full speed. 
- Hamstrings is another area to monitor, especially if spending a lot of time seated. 
- The worst part about speed training is you spend as much or more time warming up compared to "working sets"

[Getoffmylawn]

Did my last complex training protocol of this 2-week cycle, or Complex Workout D, however you want to look at it.

I ended up pairing leg presses with Box Jumps, largely because I definitely tweaked the hip flexors a bit so I stayed away from the single-leg work I really want to get to...I'm 95% sure I have some strength imbalances between my right and left leg.  Once I feel fully healed and then some I'll likely drop leg presses in favor of that.

So, after a Level 1 SuperSpeed session, I did...

Leg Press, 925 pounds (yes, good ROM...I'm no half-repper), 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, then 4 box jumps.  3 total circuits

Hammer Strength Wide Pulldown, 270, 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, then 5 Med Ball Overhead Slams.  3 circuits.

Dumbbell Press, 100 pounds, 3 reps, 3 minutes rest, 5 Med Ball Chest Slams.  3 circuits.

Golf Posture Cable Rotations, 50 pounds, 5 reps (both sides) 3 minutes rest, 5 Med Ball Wall Throws.  3 circuits.

So that's the plan...I'll do these two week cycles for the next 10 weeks, take about 2 weeks off for more a maintenance "cruise" period and then get back at it.  I won't be posting anymore "here's today's workout" posts...think I've done plenty of that...but I will check back in as the temps rise here and I'm able to see how the game is doing overall after a pretty intensive offseason.

[Getoffmylawn]

Still keeping at it...got out for one round so far and it was not pretty from a ball-striking standpoint, plus it was 20 mph winds and in the 40s, so I can't say I have any real feedback concerning on-course payoffs for this little experiment.  This Saturday is supposed to be great though so I'm looking forward to getting back out.

I did want to pass on that the most recent Fit for Golf podcast had really some good info, and I was particularly interested in the conclusion.  The podcast was a distance roundtable with 4 different guests, and it made it a bit hard to track who was talking when, but the podcast concluded with Mike Carroll asking each guest to recommend a speed drill that didn't rely on golf implements...basically describe an exercise.  I think it was Steve Furlonger who recommended a medicine ball drill wherein you take the ball back only to what would be shaft parallel if you had a club in your hands, feel the load into your right side, and then use entirely lower body power to explode and extend and throw the ball into the wall.  It'd be easier to follow along with a video, but I tried it this morning and I really like it...might make it a staple of the program.