Free Golf Fitness Screen & BootCamp

Just wanted to let every one know, that I once again will be holding free golf fitness screens for any one that is interested. The screenings will be taking place this Friday, April 3 starting at 6:30pm. I will be holding the screens at Summit Health & Fitness, located in Bedford, MA. Even if you don't want to be screened, come by for the wine & cheese event they'll be hosting. Doesn't everyone like something free?

I've also joined forces with Summit Health & Fitness to run a bootcamp class there on Saturday mornings @7am. Early for a Saturday, I know. But a great way to get your weekend started. The first class will be held on Saturday April 11.

If you have questions about the Golf Fitness Screen or the bootcamp or would like to sign up for either, please call me @(617)835-0564 or send an email to rich@richruffing.com.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Band Resisted Single Leg Push Up

Two out of many ways to make a push harder are to either go to a single leg version or add in some band resistance. So what happens when you put both of these methods together? An even harder push up version.

Picked Up Bits & Pieces

Here are some bits & pieces I picked up from the Perform Better Learn-by-Doing Seminar seminar that was in Boston this past weekend. This years was a little bit different in that a couple of speakers went into the business side of things. But it was all great none the less. You might have to excuse me for not being 100% precise. Usually there is so much information thrown the attendees ways at these seminars. And being out late the late night before doesn't help either. Any ways, here's some of the stuff I took away:

• 18% of all U.S. gyms/studios went under in 2008. I wonder what the 2009 number will look like.
• We need to focus more on program design and not just workouts. Programs get results. Workouts get you tired.
• Years ago most people were getting most of their physical activity outside the gym. Now, the gym may be their only physical activity.
  
• If time constraints are one reason you're not getting in much physical activity, body part split training is not for you.
  
• "Don't put fitness on dysfunction." If a movement pattern is already screwed up, fix the pattern before adding load.
• Some poor movement patterns are just the result of improper breathing techniques. Take the time to learn how to breathe correctly.
• The Turkish Get Up exercise has been butchered by just about every trainer on YouTube. No, I do not have a Turkish Get Up video on YouTube. There's more to the exercise than it seems. It's really a high level exercise. If you want to want to learn the get up the right way, call (617)835-0564 or send an email to rich@richruffing.com....a shameless plug.
  
• If you want to know how not to train, watch the Biggest Loser.
  
• Nutrition is easy, it's the doing part that is hard.
• Grain is the root of all fat evil. On a side note, corn is a grain, not a vegetable. It is also the number one source of calories in America . And the only thing worse than corn is....high fructose corn syrup.
• Performing crunches is like bending a credit card. Just like the credit card will break, so to will your spine. Focus on stability, not flexion.
  
• If you really want to ruin your spine, take a yoga class.
  
• Forget all the rotational training that you learned 10 years ago. Think about training anti-rotation. If you do train rotation, rotation should be coming from your thoracic spine, not your lumbar spine.
• Push ups are a core exercise.
  
  
  
  
  

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Alternating DB Incline Press

Shrugs, Curls & Calf Raises

If I wanted to create an effective training program, shrugs, curls and calf raises would be the last three exercises I would base my training program around. I'm not saying these exercises do not belong in an individuals program, because they can can be used to bring up specific weaknesses. But I can't tell you how many guys I see spending the majority of their time doing these three exercises. Yet, I can tell you that these guys are weak, have pot bellies and can barely support themselves on their stick legs. And what's the commonality with these three exercises? They're pretty much single joint movements. These guys would have much greater success with getting stronger or leaner if they built their training program around multi joint movements exercises such as rows, chin ups, deadlifts and squats. Go multi joint or go home.

Dr. John Berardi's Bi-Weekly Nutrition Tip

Tip #4
Revving Up Metabolism
by Dr. John Berardi

I recommend more calories than most do. That's because there's no such thing as a stagnant metabolic set-point. Instead, metabolism chases intake. So, if you want a bigger metabolism, you need a bigger food intake. And if you're worried about fat gain with this approach, just use outcome-based decision making and adjust energy (calorie) intake every two weeks based on your results. Not much 'damage' can take place in only two weeks. So if you end up boosting your metabolism, you'll be thanking me eternally. And if it turns out you're consuming too much, you can just adjust down.

SEE ALSO:
This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Ab Wheel Roll Outs

An Interesting Article...

....even for someone who's not getting in 3-5 servings of fruit or vegetables per day.

Vegetables Aren't as Good for You as They Used to Be

My Top Five....

... things I over heard at the gym this week that just make me shake my head.

1. "I'm doing a toning workout today". This coming from a guy who weighs about 240 lbs.
   
2. "You shouldn't do hamstring exercises. It's makes them tighter". This coming from a trainer. Must be why I see so few people at this gym doing any type of hamstring or posterior chain work.
3. "I've been out on workers comp with a rotor cuff injury". This coming from the guy who then goes and does a "drop" set of about 200 crunches on the ab crunch machine and follows that up with some ugly looking overhead dumbbell presses. And it's not a "rotor cuff". It's a "rotator cuff". It's located within your shoulder, not part of an electric motor.
4. "Use side bends to shape your love handles". This coming from one overweight friend to another. How about dropping the carbs to near normal levels and getting in some high intensity interval training first?
5. "AAAHHHHH......". This coming from the guy who was bench pressing...the bar. No weight on it. All 45lbs of the bar. No need to bring any attenion to yourself when every lady in the gym can out bench press you.
   

What is Golf Fitness?

When I tell people that I'm a Certified Golf Fitness Instructor it's always greeted with a little chuckle. "How fit do you need to play golf?", they say. I think they have the image of some overweight, middle aged man, riding in a golf cart while holding onto his beer and super sized hot dog. Every now and then he gets out of the cart, takes a hack at the ball and watches it roll for about 50 yards. He's too lazy to walk to it, so he hops back into the cart and drives right up to it to repeat the whole process. Yes, those guys do exist and those guys will always be around. But golf fitness is not about having 10% percent body fat, being able to bench press 225 multiple times or run a 21 minute 5k. Sure, being lean, strong and having a decent amount of aerobic capacity will help with your golf game. But there are other parts that make one fit such as: flexibility, joint mobility, and core stability. And if a golfer is lacking in any of those areas, I'm sure it's going to have some effect on their swing mechanics. They may already be a pretty decent golfer, but if they could bring up their golf fitness they may even become a better golfer. Let's take someone who has tight lats and a lack of mobility through their thoracic spine as an example. Chances are they may be having a problem getting the proper amount of shoulder turn no matter how much work they're doing with the club pro. But if these issues show up during a golf fitness screen, bingo. Address the lack o flexibility and mobility away from the golf course through a well designed training program. Then get back to the golf pro once some improvement in these areas has been made. Plus you might even be a bit a stronger to throw your clubs a lot further.

To learn more about what a Certified Golf Fitness Instructor can do for you, please call me @(617)835-0564 or send an email to rich@richruffing.com.


For a little chuckle, take a look at Charles Barkley's golf swing. Ugly....real ugly.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Barbell Overhead Reverse Lunge

A sure fire way to train core stability is to place an object overhead, whether it's a broomstick, dumbbell, barbell, sandbag or keg...that's all ready been kicked.

Dr. John Berardi's Bi-Weekly Nutrition Tip

Tip #3
Fish Oil Rules
by Dr. John Berardi

I consider fish oil to be an essential supplement for fat loss. Data from the University of Western Ontario shows that fish oil supplementation increases lean body mass (during non-dieting conditions), increases BMR (by up to 400kcal/day), decreases inflammation, and improves the ratio of fat/carb oxidized (sparing carbs, burning fat). Recommended dose: Start with 6-10g per day of total fish oil (assuming 30% EPA and DHA).

SEE ALSO:
This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.

BootCamp Details

As mentioned a couple of posts back, I'll be starting up some bootcamp classes the first week of April. Here are the details:

• When: Tuesday and Thursday mornings starting on Tuesday April 7 and ending on Thursday May 14 (6 weeks). The following Tuesday, May 19 and Thursday May, 21 will be make up dates for any classes cancelled due to weather.
• Time: 6:45am-7:30am (45 minutes)
  
• Where: Lexington Track
• Cost: $240 for the 6 week session

Please pass this info along to anyone you know that may be interested in getting up for an early morning wake up. Or for more information please call (617)835-0564 or send email to rich@richruffing.com. Thanks.

My Training Day

A couple of months back I gave you a glimpse into what foods are usually are on my grocery list. And it seemed to draw quite a few comments:

• "You should really be eating this instead of that."
• "Where's the ice cream? Everybody eats ice cream, right?"
• "Don't you eat more vegetables?".

So, I thought I'd give people a glimpse into my training session and see if it draws any comments. I'll give you my latest workout which just happened to be a lower body day. And like every other chicken legged 32 year old, I hate training the lower body. But it has to be done. So here's a brief outline:

5 minutes of foam roller work (quads, IT band, glutes, calves). Some trainers advocate foam rolling post workout, I like to do it before. I just feel I'm able to move a bit more freely with my major movements if I include a couple of minutes of foam rolling to help release some trigger points.
Movement Prep: Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch, Split squat, Lateral Split Squat, Rotational Split Squat, Squat-to-Stand. My movement prep work is usually going to consist of some type of static flexibility and some dynamic flexibility and joint mobility work. I tend to target the hip flexor area a lot because mine are extremely tight and if not loosened up, I have difficulty getting into the bottom position of a squat or deadlift. I'm also getting myself mentally and physically ready for my workout. Blood flow is increased, my central nervous is amped up a bit and my focus starts to narrow a bit.
Strength Training: For my lower body work I try to include at least three things: 1) a squat or deadlift variation 2) a single leg exercise 3) a posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back) exercise. So today's workout looked like this:

• A) Barbell Deadlift: 2 sets of 5 reps for a warm up and then into the work sets. The work sets were 3 sets of 5 reps and 2 sets of 3 reps. 4 minute rest between each set.
  
• B1) Barbell Reverse Lunge: 3 sets of 10 reps. After a 90 second rest, I supersetted this exercise with the following exercise.
• B2) 45 Degree back Extension: 3 sets of 15 reps. 90 second rest here also and then back to the reverse lunges.
  
• C) Ab Wheel Roll Outs: 3 sets of 12 reps. 90 seconds of rest between each set.
• D) Backwards Sled Drag: 4x30 yards. 2 minutes of rest between each set.

That's it. Done in about 60-7o minutes. What do you think?

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Val Slide Combo

Here's a routine to throw in at the end of your workout as a "finisher". Or you might want to use it as part of your interval training. Just cycle through it a couple times. Or may be you're pressed for time, but still want to get a workout in. Again, cycle through it a couple of times.



Don't have a pair of Val Slides? Click on the link below to get yourself a pair. I highly recommend them. You can take them any where and there's an endless amount of exercises you can do with them taking body weight training to a new level.