Fit For Golf Training App - 2024 Forum Review

[GolfSpy AFG]

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

[ILMgolfnut]

4 minutes ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

Rypstick is showing I've picked up 7 mph; how much of that is Rypstick and how much is FFG? I don't honestly care. Distance is a little more difficult to say because it also requires solid contact, which is not my strongest suit, but I'm getting 200 yard drives much more frequently than pre-FFG/Ryp. And I reached two par-5s in regulation last week, which I almost never did before.

[JeremyD]

3 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

I come through Pinehurst often enough, we should hit the course sometime. You'll kick my butt, no doubt, but everyone else does too.

Not sure about kicking butt, but if I'm able to get time off I'd be up for a round.

[MaxEntropy]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

To me, the biggest improvement I've seen has nothing to do with my score — when I walk off the course, I don't feel the nagging tightness in my lower back (sometimes it has been actual pain). 

Beyond that, I'm pretty sure I've picked up some speed, too, and it feels pretty effortless. I'm consistently hitting tee balls 260-280 range, which I haven't done in a while. I still need to get new batteries for my radar to get a decent measurement.

[Edgar Posada]

17 hours ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

I purchased the FFG program early this year, let me tell you, it works!
It has definitely helped me feeling a lot better physically than ever, I have lowered 2 strokes in my HCP from 15.5 to 13.3 currently.

Last two weekends I´ve scored lower 90s and last Saturday 85 .

I definitely recommend the program,

Regards, EP
 

[Fit_For_Golf]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I am glad you are seeing benefits from the program. 
Physical training works . 

Tag me with any questions and I will try my best to help. 

Regards,
Mike

[taylorjonasher]

On 5/21/2024 at 4:53 PM, GolfSpy AFG said:

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

I haven't been able to get to the range for any practice sessions (it's baseball season), and have only gotten out to play a few times so far this year outside of a couple of scrambles. I jumped on the Swing Caddy after phase 1 but came up with inconclusive results. My driver was only registering 97 - when I started I was at 105.7. When I bumped down to the 3W, I consistently hit 103 and hit 102 with my 2i. I chalked it up to equipment error and will test again at the end of phase 2 (two more weeks).

Anecdotally, my core feels fantastic and under control throughout the entire swing since starting FFG. Even if my swing speeds DON'T improve, I feel better about the longevity of my game and a perceived resistance to injury as a result of the core strength built using the program. My hips and lower back also feel better with the increased range of motion and flexibility gained. The content is great!

[MaxEntropy]

Confession time....

My upper body is weak enough that I could not do "proper" push-ups when this started. I wasn't going to say anything — just keep doing what we referred to in the old days as "girl" push-ups (sorry if that offends anyone) until I could do real ones in the warm-up. A couple weeks ago, I got to the point I could do them, although no one is allowed to critique my form just yet. Tonight's workout told me to do "band resisted push-ups". I literally lol'd in my basement. Once I get to the point where my form is better and I feel like I am closer to being able to pound out more than is required, I'll try to add them, but tonight was certainly not the time.

[berkeleybob]

Heyo! I’ve started in the workouts. I’m hoping to post first impressions soon. Exercise-wise, things seem to be going well. I’ve got the equipment needed to do the workouts in my home. Where exactly—that’s another story.

 

[berkeleybob]

Reading back what I wrote in my introduction—wow, who is that guy? He seems really motivated to move ahead and get ’er done. With unforeseen delays of getting the app—along with life's ever-changing circumstances and priorities—I now find myself at a different level of energy. Which is a politic way of saying,

So, in a way I’ve set myself up to test the app in its most severe circumstance: How will Fit For Golf help me to overcome exercise inertia? Without further ado, welcome to:

I’m a Complete Novice

Let me be clear:

• I’ve never owned a gym membership.
• Formal exercise has never interested me.
• I’m not one to “workout.”

The last time I used a weight machine was back in 1982 for high school credit, when I was benching a whopping 110 lbs alongside members of the wrestling and football teams. It was both the most boring and the most body-image confrontational class I ever took. I was the proverbial 100-pound weakling. (I was probably 130, but you get the point).

At the same time in those days, I was also on the varsity tennis team with one of the fastest serves, and I skied the local hills in the winter months.

Later, I only ever built strength by working in a cabinet workshop and handling sheet goods eight hours a day for a few years. I don’t avoid physical activity, but I do need to have a purpose or goal. That said, I have lost physical strength and gained some physical issues over the years that have changed my golf game. 

Upon opening the app for the first time, my impression is that it’s a simple layout. I started with the FFG Program Matcher, and I chose the Beginner route and selected exercises that favor the senior/injured, 10 minute sessions. 

I did this for a couple reasons. I pay the senior rate at a golf course—so I suppose that makes me senior? I mean, I’m ecstatic to get the cheaper tee time, and yet I’m not quite comfortable with “senior” status. Perhaps I never will be.  

I also have a repetitive stress issue with my wrist on my right/leading arm, which I suspect is affecting my ability to maintain a consistent stroke. One of the things I’ll be looking for in my exercises is to see how I’ll improving my wrist strength.

Okay. I have my bands, the app, a golf club for support, a step stool and an exercise mat. Let’s get to work.

Welcome to my home gym—er, door.

Starting this week, I’m going through a five-minute band workout. With each exercise there is a demo video explaining what to do. These vids are very clear and easy to follow.

After running these for the first couple days, I realized that I should have been filling out information on the number of repetitions I’m doing, as well as the weight I’m using. There is a default “8” in the reps field, which I took to be a specific direction. In fact, it is not an automatically recorded value. The weight field is blank, and I did fill in those values.

Exercise detail in app

The Dashboard starts as a blank slate, and as an exercise novice, I have no idea how to use it. I’ve been tapping on buttons to see what they do, and I’d say that for me, it’s about 50% intuitive. It isn’t until I’ve done a couple day’s worth of activity to see that apart from the day’s scheduled exercises, nothing shows up automatically.

I tapped on the My Progress setup button, and I found that I can either show days from my Band Row exercises or my Band Pull Through exercises, but nothing else. As I have found out, it’s due to the lack of data that I’ve entered—which is unfortunate because there’s no way to go back and add what I had done in those previous workouts.

Dashboard detail

I can read progress for all of my exercises, I can only choose one set of data at a time to display.

Progress detail

There is a feature that allows me to set goals—but I don’t have a clue as to how to go about setting one. I don’t know what is realistic and what is fantasy. I would have hoped for some guidance or example.

I just turned on some notifications I found in the apps settings, so hopefully I’ll see a bit more interaction with the app.

Frankly, the exercises are good, and from what I’ve seen on the site it’s backed up by true expertise. As I mentioned, the accompanying videos are very easy to follow. The explanation of the muscle groups affected by the exercise is great info.

I think that I’ve chosen the correct exercise path because with these smaller workouts. I can feel that my heart rate is up. There are a variety of sets that I’m doing that are working on different muscle groups. I’ll keep it going for a the full four weeks, before seeing whether I need adjust to something more challenging.

However, as a workout noob, I’m feeling uncertain of what to expect from here going forward. There’s no prompting to tell me whether I’m using the app to its fullest capability.

One of the claims on Fit For Golf’s page in the Apple App Store is that “it is a powerful behavior change app.”

As it happens, I just started reading a book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. It examines our tendency toward resistance to taking on a worthy task from several aspects and how to combat it. 

From what I know of lasting behavioral change, it usually involves training toward some kind of greater self-awareness. Like dieting or quitting a bad habit or pursuing spiritual growth, exercising isn’t easy for me to maintain. And I don’t think I’m alone.

It leaves me to wonder whether there is supporting material from FFG toward that end, whether on its social media platforms, main site or via email reminders and references—and whether communication from FFG is proactive rather than reactive. I’m interested to see what tools will come to bear that will provoke powerful behavior change and break through the inevitable resistance.

First Impression of the App 5/10

First Impression of the Exercise Content 8/10

First Impression of achieving its claim as a powerful behavior change app ?/10

 

Edited May 28 by berkeleybob

[berkeleybob]

Okay, did my 20 minute workout today using bands. It's the easiest workout, and I'm sweating with an elevated heart rate.

What I'm liking about it is that I'm working out my torso and leg muscles, so it'll be fun to see how my swing is affected over time.

Just want to reiterate—the video demonstrations of each exercise is topnotch. They explain very well how to perform each movement and what to avoid doing that is counterproductive to the goal of the exercises. Nice!  

[Fit_For_Golf]

On 5/21/2024 at 6:14 AM, MaxEntropy said:

 @Fit_For_Golf has mentioned that he believes if everyone did just the dynamic warmup prior to playing, they would improve. This brings up a question, in my mind: if I wanted to do the warmup at home, how long of a drive negates it? 15 minutes? A half hour? There are times when the grass is damp, and I don't want to get on the ground. Is there a subset that can be (almost) as effective without requiring getting on the ground? If so, what are the recommended stretches? I have sort of developed my own set that I do prior to playing but would love to see Mike's feedback.

Sorry for the delay. I think even with a 30 minute drive you would still see some benefits of the warm-up routine. 
I do it before a 10-15 min drive to the course and think I get all of the benefits. 

 

[Fit_For_Golf]

On 5/26/2024 at 6:43 AM, berkeleybob said:

Reading back what I wrote in my introduction—wow, who is that guy? He seems really motivated to move ahead and get ’er done. With unforeseen delays of getting the app—along with life's ever-changing circumstances and priorities—I now find myself at a different level of energy. Which is a politic way of saying,

So, in a way I’ve set myself up to test the app in its most severe circumstance: How will Fit For Golf help me to overcome exercise inertia? Without further ado, welcome to:

I’m a Complete Novice

Let me be clear:

• I’ve never owned a gym membership.
• Formal exercise has never interested me.
• I’m not one to “workout.”

The last time I used a weight machine was back in 1982 for high school credit, when I was benching a whopping 110 lbs alongside members of the wrestling and football teams. It was both the most boring and the most body-image confrontational class I ever took. I was the proverbial 100-pound weakling. (I was probably 130, but you get the point).

At the same time in those days, I was also on the varsity tennis team with one of the fastest serves, and I skied the local hills in the winter months.

Later, I only ever built strength by working in a cabinet workshop and handling sheet goods eight hours a day for a few years. I don’t avoid physical activity, but I do need to have a purpose or goal. That said, I have lost physical strength and gained some physical issues over the years that have changed my golf game. 

Upon opening the app for the first time, my impression is that it’s a simple layout. I started with the FFG Program Matcher, and I chose the Beginner route and selected exercises that favor the senior/injured, 10 minute sessions. 

I did this for a couple reasons. I pay the senior rate at a golf course—so I suppose that makes me senior? I mean, I’m ecstatic to get the cheaper tee time, and yet I’m not quite comfortable with “senior” status. Perhaps I never will be.  

I also have a repetitive stress issue with my wrist on my right/leading arm, which I suspect is affecting my ability to maintain a consistent stroke. One of the things I’ll be looking for in my exercises is to see how I’ll improving my wrist strength.

Okay. I have my bands, the app, a golf club for support, a step stool and an exercise mat. Let’s get to work.

Welcome to my home gym—er, door.

Starting this week, I’m going through a five-minute band workout. With each exercise there is a demo video explaining what to do. These vids are very clear and easy to follow.

After running these for the first couple days, I realized that I should have been filling out information on the number of repetitions I’m doing, as well as the weight I’m using. There is a default “8” in the reps field, which I took to be a specific direction. In fact, it is not an automatically recorded value. The weight field is blank, and I did fill in those values.

Exercise detail in app

The Dashboard starts as a blank slate, and as an exercise novice, I have no idea how to use it. I’ve been tapping on buttons to see what they do, and I’d say that for me, it’s about 50% intuitive. It isn’t until I’ve done a couple day’s worth of activity to see that apart from the day’s scheduled exercises, nothing shows up automatically.

I tapped on the My Progress setup button, and I found that I can either show days from my Band Row exercises or my Band Pull Through exercises, but nothing else. As I have found out, it’s due to the lack of data that I’ve entered—which is unfortunate because there’s no way to go back and add what I had done in those previous workouts.

Dashboard detail

I can read progress for all of my exercises, I can only choose one set of data at a time to display.

Progress detail

There is a feature that allows me to set goals—but I don’t have a clue as to how to go about setting one. I don’t know what is realistic and what is fantasy. I would have hoped for some guidance or example.

I just turned on some notifications I found in the apps settings, so hopefully I’ll see a bit more interaction with the app.

Frankly, the exercises are good, and from what I’ve seen on the site it’s backed up by true expertise. As I mentioned, the accompanying videos are very easy to follow. The explanation of the muscle groups affected by the exercise is great info.

I think that I’ve chosen the correct exercise path because with these smaller workouts. I can feel that my heart rate is up. There are a variety of sets that I’m doing that are working on different muscle groups. I’ll keep it going for a the full four weeks, before seeing whether I need adjust to something more challenging.

However, as a workout noob, I’m feeling uncertain of what to expect from here going forward. There’s no prompting to tell me whether I’m using the app to its fullest capability.

One of the claims on Fit For Golf’s page in the Apple App Store is that “it is a powerful behavior change app.”

As it happens, I just started reading a book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. It examines our tendency toward resistance to taking on a worthy task from several aspects and how to combat it. 

From what I know of lasting behavioral change, it usually involves training toward some kind of greater self-awareness. Like dieting or quitting a bad habit or pursuing spiritual growth, exercising isn’t easy for me to maintain. And I don’t think I’m alone.

It leaves me to wonder whether there is supporting material from FFG toward that end, whether on its social media platforms, main site or via email reminders and references—and whether communication from FFG is proactive rather than reactive. I’m interested to see what tools will come to bear that will provoke powerful behavior change and break through the inevitable resistance.

First Impression of the App 5/10

First Impression of the Exercise Content 8/10

First Impression of achieving its claim as a powerful behavior change app ?/10

 

Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. It's absolutely great to see the pictures of you doing the exercises from home. 

Thank you for the feedback on including a demo video and making the workout screen and prescribed sets and reps more easy to understand. 

We have a nice list of display and functionality updates in the works, and hopefully they don't take too long to be implemented. 

I will try my best to keep tabs with the posts here, especially if I get tagged. 

I spend most of my time on the support email provided in the app: support@fitforgolfapp.com

The app is brand new, so it is unsurprising the program content is outperforming the ease of use of the app. 
Hopefully we can get that up to par soon. 

Cheers,
Mike

[ILMgolfnut]

On 4/8/2024 at 5:33 PM, Prodigal Duffer said:

Have you started using the Rypstick and, if so, what are your thoughts?

Update on the Rypstick after two months and moving into the second phase. I did a Rypstick session this afternoon. My back was still a little tight from doing a new FFG workout last night, but in spite of that, I hit 93 mph twice in the baseline session and averaged 92. That's compared to 80 mph in my first session in late March. So that's 12 mph, which should equate to roughly 40 yards if I actually caught it flush. Haven't played enough to completely confirm that, but I'm getting 200 yard drives a lot more frequently, and if I caught one flush at 92, it should carry about 220 and roll out near 240.

I'm starting to think just maybe I can get close to triple figures by the time I leave for Scotland in early July.

[taylorjonasher]

@Fit_For_Golf (Irish Mike) - quick question on the actual programming....

During the different phases of the velocity program, there are weeks where the exercises show up with "0" input for the rep count. Does this mean that this exercise is intended to be skipped as a rest day, or is it not being carried forward from the previous workout? I have been plugging in the previous week's reps and weights on the days that the "0's" are present, but am not entirely sure if I should be skipping those movements. 

BTW I'm patiently awaiting your return on Chasing Scratch. Eli's hip could use a little TLC, I hope they reach out!

[Fit_For_Golf]

30 minutes ago, taylorjonasher said:

@Fit_For_Golf (Irish Mike) - quick question on the actual programming....

During the different phases of the velocity program, there are weeks where the exercises show up with "0" input for the rep count. Does this mean that this exercise is intended to be skipped as a rest day, or is it not being carried forward from the previous workout? I have been plugging in the previous week's reps and weights on the days that the "0's" are present, but am not entirely sure if I should be skipping those movements. 

BTW I'm patiently awaiting your return on Chasing Scratch. Eli's hip could use a little TLC, I hope they reach out!

Hey @taylorjonasher, there should not be any weeks where the prescribed reps shows up as "0". 
I just double checked the workouts on my phone and don't have any instances where they appear with "0" in the rep count. 

If you're getting this on your phone it is most likely a bug in the app (how embarrassing ). 

If you could send a screenshot to support@fitforgolfapp.com I will get it looked at ASAP. 

Yeah I'm hoping Eli can get back to full health quickly. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I would be curious to know if he would have run into the same issues if he'd done something like Dynamic Warm-Up #1 Daily. Impossible to say, but I think even that may have helped. 

Thanks.

[berkeleybob]

Heyo!

Two weeks in, and I’m still following FFG Training app’s prescribed workout. Well, mostly. I took a couple days off over the weekend. Sometime just before starting the program, I had somehow pulled a muscle at the rear top of my upper leg—upper hamstring, maybe, just below my gluteous Maximus. I might be exacerbating the issue with some of the exercises, so I’ll need to keep an eye on it.

Otherwise, the training has been going as expected.

Video of myself performing an exercise. Had it uploaded correctly, you would see a guy stuck in the past because he sometimes tucks in his T-shirt.

I’ve started to increase the resistance by using heavier-rated bands this week, and I’ve added a new piece of equipment to my home gym.

It seems to be a good height for elevated push-ups. 

So far, the only thing I’ve spent on for equipment has been for the bands themselves. The rest I’ve found around the house. But you never know—after all, I am a bit of a equipment hound.

Edited June 3 by berkeleybob

[Subdiver1]

On 5/21/2024 at 12:51 PM, JeremyD said:

This has been great reading through. As someone who has a free gym membership, but prefers to workout at home, I love having multiple options.

Jeremy,

I'll offer the following. I have put together some moves that I considered "golf specific" in the past; and from perusing the programs, and now going through them, I wasn't too far off the mark with several exercises; but there are other exercises that I would never have considered.  Couple having those I never would have added to a routine with having a scheduled set of exercises, a routine, has been a good thing in some ways; the only detractor is fitting in my other, preferred routines. I am scheduled to start In Season Phase C on June 14th. The more I explore the app and programs, the more I am looking forward to going into another program. I wish I had more of the equipment at home and one of the gyms I have access to does not have barbells so I have to either make the effort to go to the other base (crowded) or end up using dumbbells or machines for certain exercises. I don't know your fitness level or dedication so I cannot speak for you, but from the perspective of someone who values fitness as part of my lifestyle, balanced with good bourbon, wine, and food  I like the programs.  I think I have pretty much identified all my feedback and I have been really happy with the program overall.  If you are looking for something to change your routine up I'd say, give it a shot.

Cheers,

Scott

[Subdiver1]

On 5/21/2024 at 2:53 PM, GolfSpy AFG said:

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

I have not gotten on a monitor, yet, but that is in the plan. 

I have noticed improvements in flexibility and movement.  I also fixed a little rotational issue I was having with my swing that I think doing several of the exercises gave me a perspective on that helps remind me that the hips need to rotate as well as the shoulders.   I've been traveling so I've been away from the super speed sticks and I am wondering how my numbers will look with those this coming week.

[Subdiver1]

On 5/26/2024 at 6:43 AM, berkeleybob said:

Reading back what I wrote in my introduction—wow, who is that guy? He seems really motivated to move ahead and get ’er done. With unforeseen delays of getting the app—along with life's ever-changing circumstances and priorities—I now find myself at a different level of energy. Which is a politic way of saying,

So, in a way I’ve set myself up to test the app in its most severe circumstance: How will Fit For Golf help me to overcome exercise inertia? Without further ado, welcome to:

I’m a Complete Novice

Let me be clear:

• I’ve never owned a gym membership.
• Formal exercise has never interested me.
• I’m not one to “workout.”

The last time I used a weight machine was back in 1982 for high school credit, when I was benching a whopping 110 lbs alongside members of the wrestling and football teams. It was both the most boring and the most body-image confrontational class I ever took. I was the proverbial 100-pound weakling. (I was probably 130, but you get the point).

At the same time in those days, I was also on the varsity tennis team with one of the fastest serves, and I skied the local hills in the winter months.

Later, I only ever built strength by working in a cabinet workshop and handling sheet goods eight hours a day for a few years. I don’t avoid physical activity, but I do need to have a purpose or goal. That said, I have lost physical strength and gained some physical issues over the years that have changed my golf game. 

Upon opening the app for the first time, my impression is that it’s a simple layout. I started with the FFG Program Matcher, and I chose the Beginner route and selected exercises that favor the senior/injured, 10 minute sessions. 

I did this for a couple reasons. I pay the senior rate at a golf course—so I suppose that makes me senior? I mean, I’m ecstatic to get the cheaper tee time, and yet I’m not quite comfortable with “senior” status. Perhaps I never will be.  

I also have a repetitive stress issue with my wrist on my right/leading arm, which I suspect is affecting my ability to maintain a consistent stroke. One of the things I’ll be looking for in my exercises is to see how I’ll improving my wrist strength.

Okay. I have my bands, the app, a golf club for support, a step stool and an exercise mat. Let’s get to work.

Welcome to my home gym—er, door.

Starting this week, I’m going through a five-minute band workout. With each exercise there is a demo video explaining what to do. These vids are very clear and easy to follow.

After running these for the first couple days, I realized that I should have been filling out information on the number of repetitions I’m doing, as well as the weight I’m using. There is a default “8” in the reps field, which I took to be a specific direction. In fact, it is not an automatically recorded value. The weight field is blank, and I did fill in those values.

Exercise detail in app

The Dashboard starts as a blank slate, and as an exercise novice, I have no idea how to use it. I’ve been tapping on buttons to see what they do, and I’d say that for me, it’s about 50% intuitive. It isn’t until I’ve done a couple day’s worth of activity to see that apart from the day’s scheduled exercises, nothing shows up automatically.

I tapped on the My Progress setup button, and I found that I can either show days from my Band Row exercises or my Band Pull Through exercises, but nothing else. As I have found out, it’s due to the lack of data that I’ve entered—which is unfortunate because there’s no way to go back and add what I had done in those previous workouts.

Dashboard detail

I can read progress for all of my exercises, I can only choose one set of data at a time to display.

Progress detail

There is a feature that allows me to set goals—but I don’t have a clue as to how to go about setting one. I don’t know what is realistic and what is fantasy. I would have hoped for some guidance or example.

I just turned on some notifications I found in the apps settings, so hopefully I’ll see a bit more interaction with the app.

Frankly, the exercises are good, and from what I’ve seen on the site it’s backed up by true expertise. As I mentioned, the accompanying videos are very easy to follow. The explanation of the muscle groups affected by the exercise is great info.

I think that I’ve chosen the correct exercise path because with these smaller workouts. I can feel that my heart rate is up. There are a variety of sets that I’m doing that are working on different muscle groups. I’ll keep it going for a the full four weeks, before seeing whether I need adjust to something more challenging.

However, as a workout noob, I’m feeling uncertain of what to expect from here going forward. There’s no prompting to tell me whether I’m using the app to its fullest capability.

One of the claims on Fit For Golf’s page in the Apple App Store is that “it is a powerful behavior change app.”

As it happens, I just started reading a book, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. It examines our tendency toward resistance to taking on a worthy task from several aspects and how to combat it. 

From what I know of lasting behavioral change, it usually involves training toward some kind of greater self-awareness. Like dieting or quitting a bad habit or pursuing spiritual growth, exercising isn’t easy for me to maintain. And I don’t think I’m alone.

It leaves me to wonder whether there is supporting material from FFG toward that end, whether on its social media platforms, main site or via email reminders and references—and whether communication from FFG is proactive rather than reactive. I’m interested to see what tools will come to bear that will provoke powerful behavior change and break through the inevitable resistance.

First Impression of the App 5/10

First Impression of the Exercise Content 8/10

First Impression of achieving its claim as a powerful behavior change app ?/10

 

That is an OUTSTANDING write up sir. Love it. I am still chuckling, in a good way, and looking forward to more of your content.

Keep at it.

[Subdiver1]

On 5/27/2024 at 4:48 PM, Fit_For_Golf said:

Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. It's absolutely great to see the pictures of you doing the exercises from home. 

Thank you for the feedback on including a demo video and making the workout screen and prescribed sets and reps more easy to understand. 

We have a nice list of display and functionality updates in the works, and hopefully they don't take too long to be implemented. 

I will try my best to keep tabs with the posts here, especially if I get tagged. 

I spend most of my time on the support email provided in the app: support@fitforgolfapp.com

The app is brand new, so it is unsurprising the program content is outperforming the ease of use of the app. 
Hopefully we can get that up to par soon. 

Cheers,
Mike

Mike,

I love this feedback. I have been compiling notes, but I found that you and your folks have addressed a couple items already.  I need to compile and get the notes to you, but the fact that you are already looking at improvements and monitoring and responding here is great!  Thanks very much for this opportunity and for staying directly involved.

Cheers,

Scott

[Subdiver1]

11 hours ago, berkeleybob said:

I had somehow pulled a muscle at the rear top of my upper leg—upper hamstring, maybe, just below my gluteous Maximus.

Hmmm...I have a piriformis issus that I CANNOT seem to get over. I initially thought it was a hamstring or maybe hip flexors. The pain comes from sitting too long and is exacerbated from some exercises. Once I figured out it was the piriformis, and not the more common issues I was able to find better activities to work on it. A lacrosse ball is the best help in activating the muscle and reducing the pain. The figure 4 stretch, the lying crossover stretch and pretty much anything like that that stretches the gluteus and relieves pressure on the piriformis helps as well.  Glute bridges are the exercise to strengthen that muscle, but they need to be done correctly to help and not hurt the problem. Have that checked and figure out what the real source is so you can address it and get better and not lose progress.  If it turns out to be hamstring, gluteus, or quad, foam rollers are great.  They are T-O-R-T-U-R-E, but man if you have something going on in your hamstrings or quads it will help, if you can get through the pain, but it is a good pain  .  good luck sir.

[berkeleybob]

11 hours ago, Subdiver1 said:

That is an OUTSTANDING write up sir. Love it. I am still chuckling, in a good way, and looking forward to more of your content.

Keep at it.

Hey! I’m glad you liked it. Thanks.

11 hours ago, Subdiver1 said:

Hmmm...I have a piriformis issus that I CANNOT seem to get over. I initially thought it was a hamstring or maybe hip flexors. The pain comes from sitting too long and is exacerbated from some exercises. Once I figured out it was the piriformis, and not the more common issues I was able to find better activities to work on it. A lacrosse ball is the best help in activating the muscle and reducing the pain. The figure 4 stretch, the lying crossover stretch and pretty much anything like that that stretches the gluteus and relieves pressure on the piriformis helps as well.  Glute bridges are the exercise to strengthen that muscle, but they need to be done correctly to help and not hurt the problem. Have that checked and figure out what the real source is so you can address it and get better and not lose progress.  If it turns out to be hamstring, gluteus, or quad, foam rollers are great.  They are T-O-R-T-U-R-E, but man if you have something going on in your hamstrings or quads it will help, if you can get through the pain, but it is a good pain  .  good luck sir.

Ah, this is the kind of info I was hoping for. Thank you, sir. I’ll check into it and see what’s what. 

[GolfSpy AFG]

Looks like some truly solid progress being made by all the testers. Stick with it!

As for me, I just started Phase III of the Velocity program.  Velocity is full of good, quality workouts that don't create a lot of residual soreness, so it's great for in-season training.  That said, I am really really looking forward to getting into the Mass workouts, probably in September or October.

[Subdiver1]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

Looks like some truly solid progress being made by all the testers. Stick with it!

As for me, I just started Phase III of the Velocity program.  Velocity is full of good, quality workouts that don't create a lot of residual soreness, so it's great for in-season training.  That said, I am really really looking forward to getting into the Mass workouts, probably in September or October.

I was just looking at that and wondering if I can squeeze it in, or if it is even advisable,  before going into a post season routine. Tell me more!!!

[taylorjonasher]

19 hours ago, Subdiver1 said:

Hmmm...I have a piriformis issus that I CANNOT seem to get over. I initially thought it was a hamstring or maybe hip flexors. The pain comes from sitting too long and is exacerbated from some exercises. Once I figured out it was the piriformis, and not the more common issues I was able to find better activities to work on it. A lacrosse ball is the best help in activating the muscle and reducing the pain. The figure 4 stretch, the lying crossover stretch and pretty much anything like that that stretches the gluteus and relieves pressure on the piriformis helps as well.  Glute bridges are the exercise to strengthen that muscle, but they need to be done correctly to help and not hurt the problem. Have that checked and figure out what the real source is so you can address it and get better and not lose progress.  If it turns out to be hamstring, gluteus, or quad, foam rollers are great.  They are T-O-R-T-U-R-E, but man if you have something going on in your hamstrings or quads it will help, if you can get through the pain, but it is a good pain  .  good luck sir.

Grab a straw and suck it up! I mash my piriformis a few times a week on the lacrosse ball - also make sure that you are doing plenty of hip flexor stretches if you sit a lot like I do. I find that those stretches compliment the piriformis "massages" and help keep everything loose-ish throughout the week!

[ILMgolfnut]

Training continues. I'm finding that I have to be a little cautious with the upper body exercises because some of them really aggravate my bum right shoulder. Last night I did dumbbell presses and reverse band rows and my shoulder didn't like me for the rest of the night. The purpose is to improve my golf game, not prevent it because my shoulder hurts. I feel I've plateaued a little bit at this point but as I continue the program I hope to make further progress. Perhaps the lower body work will continue to produce results and improvement.

[MaxEntropy]

I have a question for @Fit_For_Golf: When I was doing the SuperSpeed review in 2020, we had a Zoom call much like the one you had. They told us there would be periods where ball-striking would not be good (usually right around a jump in speed), but to keep plugging along and it will come back. In your experience, should we expect something similar doing "in-season" training? I guess I'm looking for an excuse as to why I have been struggling so badly with driver, in particular, the past couple weeks.

In other news, I stepped on the scale this morning and am now down about 8 lbs from the start, so at least that is good.

[berkeleybob]

On 6/4/2024 at 11:21 PM, taylorjonasher said:

Grab a straw and suck it up! I mash my piriformis a few times a week on the lacrosse ball - also make sure that you are doing plenty of hip flexor stretches if you sit a lot like I do. I find that those stretches compliment the piriformis "massages" and help keep everything loose-ish throughout the week!

Unfortunately, there’s no lacrosse out here, but it turns out my wife has a ball she got from her physical therapist to deal with her issue with the bottom of her foot.

Also, judging from the location of my pain and description of symptoms, it’s starting to look like sciatica. I’ll try the prescribed stretches and see if that deals with it. 

On 6/5/2024 at 1:41 PM, MaxEntropy said:

In other news, I stepped on the scale this morning and am now down about 8 lbs from the start, so at least that is good.

Nice job!

On 5/21/2024 at 11:53 PM, GolfSpy AFG said:

So I’m curious testers, who has hit the course or range after a few weeks into @Fit_For_Golf’s programs, and do you perceive any changes or improvements?

And more than perceive, anyone gotten on a launch monitor with anything to report from that?

Only a couple week’s in and perception-wise, I don’t have much to report, since I’m using my irons on the 9-hole course—but that’s definitely a story in the making since my 7-iron is outperforming the distance I’ve been expecting from it. In other words, I’m overshooting the green! It’s a nice problem to have I suppose.

However, I did a couple hours at the sim range. I haven’t been doing any swing speed training, and yet swinging my driver does feel noticeably more stable.

• In previous sessions my clubhead speed usually averages 87.5 mph, with a bit of variation.
• Yesterday during initial warm-up, my driver’s clubhead speed average is 91 mph with a very little variation.

I’m pretty sure that swing speed increased during the rest of the session with a round of 18-holes, but next time I’ll try and get a little more data.

So far, that’s exactly the result I was hoping for—stability and speed.

Edited June 7 by berkeleybob

[Subdiver1]

Weekly update (about a week late)

There has been some discussion on whether anyone has seen a change in swing speed.  I would suggest that part of a successful increase might include both the workouts AND some swing speed training.  I feel better, flexibility-wise and the exercises are, while not anything super new, smoother than when I started and includes some ups and downs in weight; but that is mostly due to equipment and venue.  In April I started getting back into a schedule with Super Speed, then travel kicked me back off a steady diet of that protocol. Regardless, one might expect to see a change in swing speed from the workout alone so I grabbed the sticks and the Blast Motion tag this afternoon and ran through the initial light, medium, heavy, 3-swings in each direction, step swings, and 3-final light stick swings.  I pulled data form this year and charted it all (see below).  I still need to get the SC300 out and hit some balls using that to see what actual club head speed is (the SC300 is inconsistent picking up the Super Speed sticks).

Summary: I can measure a slight increase with Heavy and Light sticks in both directions, but a slight decrease in speed with the Medium weight stick.  Unfortunately, I am working on isolating the last 3 swings of each session from the first three and step swings to see if there is the data, but I figured the aggregate data was good enough for a big picture response to the question posed.  I think I am at a point where I need to wipe all the data from the Blast Motion and SC300 and start over to see where I am today moving forward.  I started the FFG protocols on April 19th.  While I cannot expect to see any immediate change, the first two data sets here are from April 8 and 10. While I'd like to see what the change is from past performance, say 2023 vs. post FFG, I think bringing data from prior years introduces too many variables (was I doing Super Speed? was I lifting and running or just doing HIIT/Cross-Fit?).  Anyway, the short answer is, some increase with sticks and Blast Motion. I'' provide the launch monitor numbers when I get them, possibly this weekend.