Fit For Golf Training App - 2024 Forum Review

[ILMgolfnut]

Screwed up my back last weekend doing honey-dos at the Casa. Nothing to do with either FFG or Rypstick, but I've decided to let discretion be the better part of valor and take a few days off of both, as well as just not hitting any balls. This will push conclusion of my test until after my Scotland trip next month, and probably close to the August deadline, since I can't do any workouts on the trip either (no access to dumbbells). But @Fit_For_Golf I will get there eventually!

[GolfSpy AFG]

Keep plugging away gents.

I'm curious if anyone has stumbled across any particular exercises that they have come to really love?  Like you can feel it working, get a good pump kind of love? 

On the same token, anyone come across any "oh Lord, not these again" exercises that you truly dread?

@Fit_For_Golfprogrammed "Hex Bar Jumps" into the Velocity program, and while I won't say I dread them...damn.  Not easy.

[ILMgolfnut]

11 minutes ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

Keep plugging away gents.

I'm curious if anyone has stumbled across any particular exercises that they have come to really love?  Like you can feel it working, get a good pump kind of love? 

On the same token, anyone come across any "oh Lord, not these again" exercises that you truly dread?

@Fit_For_Golfprogrammed "Hex Bar Jumps" into the Velocity program, and while I won't say I dread them...damn.  Not easy.

The band workouts which emphasize speed are kinda fun. Single leg hip thrusts with bands aren't particularly difficult, but getting the bands into the right places to do them is literally a pain. Last time I did them there was actually blood on the bands when I finished. Never did figure out where the blood came from, but I cleaned them up.

Edited June 11 by ILMgolfnut

[taylorjonasher]

9 hours ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

Keep plugging away gents.

I'm curious if anyone has stumbled across any particular exercises that they have come to really love?  Like you can feel it working, get a good pump kind of love? 

On the same token, anyone come across any "oh Lord, not these again" exercises that you truly dread?

@Fit_For_Golfprogrammed "Hex Bar Jumps" into the Velocity program, and while I won't say I dread them...damn.  Not easy.

I’m also on the velocity program, and the only things I really dread are the torso rotations for speed and the band rotations for speed. Not because they are difficult, but because I feel like a giant idiot doing them (confirmed by my wife, who observed a couple of workouts). However, I just jumped on the swing caddy tonight and have gained 2.7 mph (107.7) since I’ve started, so I could be doing both movements in back to back all day in a dress and high heels and not care.

[Fit_For_Golf]

On 6/11/2024 at 9:13 AM, ILMgolfnut said:

Screwed up my back last weekend doing honey-dos at the Casa. Nothing to do with either FFG or Rypstick, but I've decided to let discretion be the better part of valor and take a few days off of both, as well as just not hitting any balls. This will push conclusion of my test until after my Scotland trip next month, and probably close to the August deadline, since I can't do any workouts on the trip either (no access to dumbbells). But @Fit_For_Golf I will get there eventually!

Can you bring a band? Dynamic Warm-Up #1 would also be a great daily routine! Enjoy the trip and I hope your back is feeling better!

[ILMgolfnut]

14 minutes ago, Fit_For_Golf said:

Can you bring a band? Dynamic Warm-Up #1 would also be a great daily routine! Enjoy the trip and I hope your back is feeling better!

I think I can take a band or two. Back is feeling better and I hope to resume workouts this weekend. At least light workouts. On top of everything else, I have a huge job-related test on the 26th and some time that could otherwise be used for workouts is going to studying. Worse than being in college.

[MaxEntropy]

On 6/11/2024 at 12:36 PM, GolfSpy AFG said:

On the same token, anyone come across any "oh Lord, not these again" exercises that you truly dread?

I'm not a huge fan of the torso rotations at speed. Firing abs and oblique like that is somewhat foreign to me these days. I feel good when they are done but I definitely don't enjoy the process.

[ILMgolfnut]

On 6/13/2024 at 8:47 PM, ILMgolfnut said:

I think I can take a band or two. Back is feeling better and I hope to resume workouts this weekend. At least light workouts. On top of everything else, I have a huge job-related test on the 26th and some time that could otherwise be used for workouts is going to studying. Worse than being in college.

Well it took me another six days to resume workouts, largely because of panic over the looming test. Got to the hotel in Philly, studied for about an hour, then picked up where I left off like 16 days ago. Got through it, but my body is like WTF? Checking now to see if the hotel has the right stuff for Friday's next workout; I believe it does. Although that includes the Band Reverse Fly that set off my shoulder last time. @Fit_For_Golf I think I'm gonna have to find something else or cut the weight back to nothing.

Morning after: My knees are complaining about the Weighted Counter Movement Jump today. They thought I was through with basketball 30 years ago after that sprained ankle.

Edited June 20 by ILMgolfnut

[MaxEntropy]

I started Phase 3 last night and am feeling pretty good. Even though I ate out all 3 meals on Saturday (not exactly healthy choices) and went to a BBQ on Monday (again, not healthy choices), I still managed to lose a fraction of a pound (OK, likely within the error of our scale), so I call it a win.

I'm starting to think the workouts are having a (hopefully temporary) negative effect on my game. Obviously I'm not the expert but it would make sense to me that as muscles are being worked and developed, timing is potentially being effected. At times my swing feels totally foreign to me and I'm struggling to keep longer clubs, especially driver, on the planet. Does that make sense @Fit_For_Golf or am I just in a funk? Whatever is happening, I am playing some brutal golf right now and Driver takes the vast majority of the blame - I am a combined 21 over my handicap in league the last 27 holes.

It is pretty obvious to me that I have picked up some speed, just from how far I am hitting irons. I'm probably ~1/2 a club longer with them than I was. This has created other issues, but they are easier to adapt to. I assume the distance would be there for D, too, if I could hit the center of the face and not spray it everywhere.

[Subdiver1]

I am a little delinquent on my weekly update...maybe because of 

On 6/11/2024 at 9:36 AM, GolfSpy AFG said:

Keep plugging away gents.

I'm curious if anyone has stumbled across any particular exercises that they have come to really love?  Like you can feel it working, get a good pump kind of love? 

On the same token, anyone come across any "oh Lord, not these again" exercises that you truly dread?

@Fit_For_Golfprogrammed "Hex Bar Jumps" into the Velocity program, and while I won't say I dread them...damn.  Not easy.

Single leg broad jumps are 

I've liked dead lifts for a long time and fully believe them to be beneficial to total strength.

I look forward to the cable rotations and band rotations and I think they have helped with that "form" in my swing.

[Subdiver1]

I am a bit overdue for my weekly update, apologies to everyone for that; especially Mike since he gave us this opportunity and I feel that I am responsible for keeping up.  I was scheduled to start Phase 3 of the program last week.  Of all things to happen, I pulled a muscle in my left (front side) lat last week.  Again, of all things to happen, it occurred on the course, not doing a workout or picking a pencil up off the deck.    How *#$%*$& ridiculously stupid is that .  Anyway, I decided that the best part of valor is discretion and refrained from workouts.  I did however, do some of the warmup and stretching routines to try and keep the fluidity and range of motion going. I think, Mike can correct me if I am wrong, that stretching is beneficial to strained and pulled muscles. In my case, I feel like I get relief when I stretch and move, so I am going to stick with it. I can still feel the twinge when I swing or lift, so I am (not normal for me) holding back on the workouts (typically I would take maybe a day or two off, if that, and then push through).  I intend to hold off until next week before starting Phase 3. Unfortunately, I cannot hold off on golf, because, as with last weekend, I have a tournament this weekend 

All that being said, there are a few improvements I would like to see but I believe FFG is in the bag to stay!

[ILMgolfnut]

Another workout at the hotel. I dumbed down the shoulder stuff to really light weight and got through it okay. Single leg hip thrust with bands again drew blood, but this time I know where it came from: My left shin. But the dumbbell RFE (rear foot elevated) split squats gave me a lot of trouble. I lost my balance repeatedly and when I didn't lose my balance I could barely do the exercise even with no weight. I pretty much converted it to RFE dead lift just to have something I could do with a little bit of weight.  @Fit_For_Golf any suggestions?

[Subdiver1]

I came back in today starting with Phase 3 workout B.  The left lat is still a bit sore.  But I think the workout was easy enough that I didn't over do it.  I'll see the next one.  The one challenge that I added to my week was that hornet/wasp wrestling over the weekend made gripping anything a bit of a challenge 

Can anybody tell which one is the "normal" size hand?

Edited June 25 by Subdiver1
Detail & pics

[MaxEntropy]

Update for this week - nothing to report. I ended up taking the week off. Monday we went out on a friend's boat right after work and got home too late to do the workout. Then I hurt my foot and had to take Wednesday off as walking was very painful. Not quite 100% yet and plan on skipping today to give it more rest. Back at it Monday, I hope.

Edited June 29 by MaxEntropy

[ILMgolfnut]

Back at it today at the hotel in Baltimore. They had a good set of dumbbells and a cable machine which substitutes for most of the band exercises. But not all of them. Today's workout called for band-resisted pushups; nothing here to substitute for that (although I did find a single 60-lb band later). So I did explosive pushups instead, pushing off hard enough to get my hands off the ground/bench. Overall a good workout. Nothing that stressed my sore shoulder, and I was able to bump up reps/weights a bit from the last time I did this workout. Hoping to get in another workout at home before I get on the plane Thursday, and then limited workouts in the UK with bands and bodyweight only.

[Donn lost in San Diego]

On 6/11/2024 at 9:36 AM, GolfSpy AFG said:

Keep plugging away gents.

I'm curious if anyone has stumbled across any particular exercises that they have come to really love?  Like you can feel it working, get a good pump kind of love? 

On the same token, anyone come across any "oh Lord, not these again" exercises that you truly dread?

@Fit_For_Golfprogrammed "Hex Bar Jumps" into the Velocity program, and while I won't say I dread them...damn.  Not easy.

I like doing rows from standing position with a barbell and lifting vertically, elbows higher than hands, more than traditional seated or horizontal with bands or pulleys.  Doing lat pull downs, doing sets both upright AND leaning far backwards for the lower back.  (Never behind the back.)  If your legs and knees are good, doing lunges with trunk rotation into the forward knee (per Trevor Anderson March 2022 Golf Digest). 

[GolfSpy AFG]

Gents, appreciate seeing the progress everyone is making and I applaud the dedication that I'm seeing. @Fit_For_Golfhas created a solid (and continually improving app), and I think you're finding out that the programs are truly fantastic.  I'm seeing gains from the Velocity program, and I can't wait to get to the offseason Mass program.  I'm not sure how to program Stack training in with an offseason Mass program...I workout first thing in the morning but am not awake enough to do speed training first thing...but I'll figure that out when I get to it.

If I may, it does seem that some of us are maybe struggling a bit to make this a permanent habit, whether a question of nagging injuries or just lifestyle issues. Injuries are something that you definitely shouldn't just push through, I get it.  But, if I can offer some perspective and insight, making fitness a permanent habit is NOT about motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is what will make this a habit...the best workouts are the ones that happen when you barely got into the gym and almost hit the snooze bar instead. A great David Goggins quote: "You have to win the negotiation with yourself." Resolve to ask yourself everyday, "Am I willing to do what it takes to achieve my golf/fitness goals?"

I have two daily reminders I've set up on my phone, one that says "Do the work" when I first wake up, and one that says "How bad do you want it?" in the evening when a bad dietary choice is likely to tempt me.

Win the negotiation with yourself!

[ILMgolfnut]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

I'm not sure how to program Stack training in with an offseason Mass program...I workout first thing in the morning but am not awake enough to do speed training first thing...but I'll figure that out when I get to it.

I tried doing both workouts on the same day, but what has worked better for me is FFG on one day, Rypstick on the next.

Did FFG yesterday, Rypstick today, and my last swing this afternoon was 97 mph, 4 mph over my best! That doesn't sound like much, but 4 mph is basically 12 yards. I know people that would kill for 12 yards, and I used to be one of them. 

But then I used to be completely unable to release the club or stop swinging over the top. Blocks, slices, and push slices; a good drive was one off the heel that started left and sliced back into the fairway. When I was about 30 a guy I played with used to offer me $5 if I could even pull a shot, much less hit a draw. Couldn't do it. When I went to the range last week and hit a few draws (and yes, a few pulls too), I thought about how much money I could have taken off Brad if he'd seen me swinging like that. I'm sure the offer would have been withdrawn after the first pull/draw, though.

[yosher]

following along to this post closely!

How did you guys decide which program to do? I see some doing Velocity and others doing Mass. Is there anything wrong with doing "Mass" for a prolonged period of time @Fit_For_Golf?

[Prodigal Duffer]

23 hours ago, GolfSpy AFG said:

If I may, it does seem that some of us are maybe struggling a bit to make this a permanent habit, whether a question of nagging injuries or just lifestyle issues. Injuries are something that you definitely shouldn't just push through, I get it.  But, if I can offer some perspective and insight, making fitness a permanent habit is NOT about motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is what will make this a habit...the best workouts are the ones that happen when you barely got into the gym and almost hit the snooze bar instead. A great David Goggins quote: "You have to win the negotiation with yourself." Resolve to ask yourself everyday, "Am I willing to do what it takes to achieve my golf/fitness goals?"

I have two daily reminders I've set up on my phone, one that says "Do the work" when I first wake up, and one that says "How bad do you want it?" in the evening when a bad dietary choice is likely to tempt me.

Win the negotiation with yourself!

Echo this sentiment. I used to be a (relatively) competitive runner, so motivation was not an issue. Now, I run for fun and lift weights. Motivation ebbs and flows, but the habit of working out is ingrained enough that it feels downright weird to miss a day.

I also think it's important to accept that you'll miss some days, whether for injury or life or whatever, but to also resolve to not let that become a habit.

[Fit_For_Golf]

On 6/21/2024 at 4:40 PM, ILMgolfnut said:

Another workout at the hotel. I dumbed down the shoulder stuff to really light weight and got through it okay. Single leg hip thrust with bands again drew blood, but this time I know where it came from: My left shin. But the dumbbell RFE (rear foot elevated) split squats gave me a lot of trouble. I lost my balance repeatedly and when I didn't lose my balance I could barely do the exercise even with no weight. I pretty much converted it to RFE dead lift just to have something I could do with a little bit of weight.  @Fit_For_Golf any suggestions?

Sorry for the delay with this. I don't think I am getting all notifications of mentions. 

If the RFE Split Squat is too difficult, I would do the assisted version that is provided in the substitution list. This will make the balance and strength elements of the exercise more manageable.

 

On 6/21/2024 at 4:40 PM, ILMgolfnut said:

Another workout at the hotel. I dumbed down the shoulder stuff to really light weight and got through it okay. Single leg hip thrust with bands again drew blood, but this time I know where it came from: My left shin. But the dumbbell RFE (rear foot elevated) split squats gave me a lot of trouble. I lost my balance repeatedly and when I didn't lose my balance I could barely do the exercise even with no weight. I pretty much converted it to RFE dead lift just to have something I could do with a little bit of weight.  @Fit_For_Golf any suggestions?

 

[Fit_For_Golf]

Hello everyone, 

Sorry I have been slow to reply. I hope you are all doing well and let me know if you have any questions. 

Regards,
Mike

[MaxEntropy]

On 7/2/2024 at 10:39 AM, yosher said:

following along to this post closely!

How did you guys decide which program to do? I see some doing Velocity and others doing Mass. Is there anything wrong with doing "Mass" for a prolonged period of time @Fit_For_Golf?

Speaking for myself, by the time we got going, golf season had started. There is a program chooser in the app so I just answered questions about my goals and the fact that we were in season.

I can fairly confidently say the speed gains are there for me. I can't tell you the last time I had drives like these (would have been closer to when I was doing the SuperSpeed test).... It helps that I have started hitting driver solid again.

[ILMgolfnut]

On 7/2/2024 at 5:37 PM, Fit_For_Golf said:

Hello everyone, 

Sorry I have been slow to reply. I hope you are all doing well and let me know if you have any questions. 

Regards,
Mike

Thanks Mike. I've muddled through. Leaving for Scotland tomorrow so did about 80%  of today's scheduled workout (Phase 3 Workout A) because I didn't have some stuff readily available, and because I didn't want to overdo it before spending 10 hours on airplanes tomorrow and Friday. But I am tucking the bands in with my golf clubs for the trip.

[Sphegman]

Hey, thanks for sharing your detailed update! It sounds like you've been really diligent with your swing speed training and tracking progress with Super Speed and Blast Motion. I remember when I started incorporating new routines into my fitness regimen—it took time to see the changes, but the effort paid off. If you're into data tracking and improving performance, you might find Exercise.com helpful for exploring fitness app options that could complement your training goals. It could streamline your progress tracking and give you more insights into your workouts.

Edited July 12 by Sphegman

[ILMgolfnut]

Checking in from Scotland, where I have two bands and no dumbbells. Have only done the FFG warmup while I was here, but I'll get out the bands tonight and see how much of a workout I can do. I can definitely say that so far, FFG has not made it where I can play golf three days in a row without back pain, although I have improved in upper body strength and driving distance. Maybe 3 in a row would be possible if life had not intervened so forcefully in recent weeks. Planning to attack the workouts with a vengeance after I return home Sunday. If the airline can get me home Sunday.

[ILMgolfnut]

4 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

Checking in from Scotland, where I have two bands and no dumbbells. Have only done the FFG warmup while I was here, but I'll get out the bands tonight and see how much of a workout I can do. I can definitely say that so far, FFG has not made it where I can play golf three days in a row without back pain, although I have improved in upper body strength and driving distance. Maybe 3 in a row would be possible if life had not intervened so forcefully in recent weeks. Planning to attack the workouts with a vengeance after I return home Sunday. If the airline can get me home Sunday.

Got the workout done. Phase 3 Workout A lent itself nicely to not having any dumbbells. The only exercise I couldn't do was heels elevated squats, since I had neither dumbbells or anything to elevate my heels on (I suppose I could have done plain bodyweight squats and rolled up a towel under my heels or something). I was able to do single leg deadlifts using bodyweight only and felt that in my thighs and back. Hopefully not enough to give me problems during tomorrow's tournament, for which I will do the Dynamic Warmup beforehand.

Thursday's workout will be 3-B, for which dumbbells are essential for the second superset. Oh well. Do supersets 1 and 3, I guess, or try to figure out some way to use bands for the dumbbell exercises in the second one. Which I think could be done.

[berkeleybob]

Heyo!

It’s quick note. As I mentioned on the Good Morning thread, we ran into a bit of a whirlwind on the family front (my wife’s company closed down her entire department). June became pretty stressful getting us back on track, and in the process, golf and golf-related activities got pushed to the back burner.

I will say that it didn’t help that I was feeling some pain in some areas of my body—and not in a good way—and taking a short break seemed a likeable choice. It’s possible that I got a little too ambitious adding some weight to my workout.

Fortunately with July’s arrival, the dust is settling and golf in earnest is back on the menu. 

We’re a week on holiday, and I’ve brought my bands. I’ve restarted my Fit For Golf regime, and I’m glad to say that I’m enjoying it. 

Next week, I’ll get back in front of a launch monitor and find out how my swing speed is doing.

[berkeleybob]

On 7/1/2024 at 5:56 PM, GolfSpy AFG said:

If I may, it does seem that some of us are maybe struggling a bit to make this a permanent habit, whether a question of nagging injuries or just lifestyle issues. Injuries are something that you definitely shouldn't just push through, I get it.  But, if I can offer some perspective and insight, making fitness a permanent habit is NOT about motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is what will make this a habit...the best workouts are the ones that happen when you barely got into the gym and almost hit the snooze bar instead. A great David Goggins quote: "You have to win the negotiation with yourself." Resolve to ask yourself everyday, "Am I willing to do what it takes to achieve my golf/fitness goals?"

I have two daily reminders I've set up on my phone, one that says "Do the work" when I first wake up, and one that says "How bad do you want it?" in the evening when a bad dietary choice is likely to tempt me.

Win the negotiation with yourself!

Thanks for putting that out there. I remember a few years ago, a report came out to say that if everyone who had a gym membership actually used it on a regular basis, the gyms would go bankrupt trying to keep up with the machine maintenance. 

I can say with certainty that making working out a permanent habit is a big ask for me. I know that when I can recognize and name the there there, it’s easier for me to go for it.

To be clear, the discipline to get it done is on me. One hundred percent.

That said, I think that there are things an app can do to nudge it along.

Bluntly, I suck at non-native languages and I easily become anxious whenever I falter in front of strangers. I’ve started using an app to help with that, and I’ve been surprised by the strategy it’s been implementing to keep me on track to using it daily, or at least, as often as possible. 

That’s pretty much the benchmark I’m using as a comparison for FFG’s app, since both are dealing with the same thing—developing new habits to get what you want—how good the learning content is, and how effective the app is itself.

[MaxEntropy]

Even though I am seeing some results, there are days that it is SOOOO hard to motivate. I am still able to do it because I told everyone here I would. Monday was one of those days. The stupid thing is that I usually feel pretty good when I finish. Why is it so hard?