It’s springtime.  The days are longer.  The sun is brighter.  And the world is becoming more alive all around us.  Makes me want to get physical and start teaching my girls how to throw a softball (or baseball), ride our mountain bikes and horses. 

(photo courtesy of foxypar4)

The problem is that although my mind is willing, my body may not be ready – (No! – that is not me in the photo). 

How to avoid stupid injuries

What else would you call them?  I mean, once you hit middle age it’s time to do a little prep work before you do something stupid.  Bruce Mandelbaum (a frequent guest on “The View” and “The Today Show”) wrote an outstanding “get ready for physical activity” article entitled Spring into Spring (but not too hard): A Guide to Avoiding Injuries. 

It’s all about using common sense.  You didn’t get out of shape in a couple of days and your shoulder won’t be ready to throw a fast ball (hard or soft) in a couple of days either.  Take it slow and warmup.  Your kids may make fun of you and be a little restless, but that’s a small price to pay for a pain free shoulder.

How long should you wait to train following a Shoulder Separation?

For me, it was a long time before I went back to hitting the iron.  There are all sorts of issues to deal with.  Some physical and some mental.  You don’t want to start too soon and destroy your orthopedic surgeon’s hard work.  But for a physical person it’s hard to get out of the habit of being physical. 

Dave Draper, the bodybuilding legend was asked a similar question on his web site – davedraper.com.  His advice on this topic it great, but I really love his closing quotes:

“Overall training will bring you back to full power and speed in time. Injury and recovery have a weird way of complementing the musclebuilder….Confidence will grow with exercise-injury understanding and muscle strength and shoulder health.”

The Effect of Ergonomics on Shoulder Pain

It’s no longer a secret – you should be somewhat comfortable when you work.  Now the words “work” and “comfort” are seldom used in the same sentence, but for a person who spends a great deal of their time working from a desk, this concept is important. 

I have been sitting in what I thought was a comfortable chair – but I’m not comfortable.  My shoulders and neck ache and my arms hurt.  After watching the video below that I found in an article posted by Dr. Edward Gould entitled “Pain at Work”, I think there may be a better way. 

Watch this video – I’ll be looking for the Freedom Chair and accessories.

Physical rehabilitation is tough

Anyone who has ever had to go through physical rehabilitation knows and understands that their will be pain involved.

• Your joints will have become stiff and swollen
• Your muscles will have atrophied and become weak
• You are constantly battling the doubts that you can return to your former activities and level of performance

Physical conditioning is hard

As a whole, our planet is in a full scale battle with obesity. Most people prefer not to be obese and in fact, would rather be athletic and trim. The problem is that conditioning is hard.

• It’s difficult to get out of bed in the morning and perform 30 – 45 minutes of cardio
• It’s a pain in the ass to keep up with a gym bag and all the assorted gym stuff
• It consumes precious time
• Eating a diet that is nutritious, healthy and tasty requires additional planning and preparing
• It can be expensive in either gym fees or gym equipment (if you have the space)

Strength training is a battle

As we age, muscle becomes more difficult to maintain, while our fat stores increase with every extra bite

• Lifts and poundages that we did with ease ten years ago are now our max
• Steroid use and abuse seems to be the norm

(photos are used courtesy of otisarchives2, organic.matter and ericmcgregor)

Have we all become a bunch of crying and whining sissies?

Watch this incredible video of a high school wrestlers as he trains, then get rid of every excuse you’ve got, suck it up and get busy.

With a background and degree in Kinesiology, I have studied the motions of many different athletes in many different sports. Through my experiences I believe that many of these golfers that come to see me would see improvements in their games if they would simply improve their overall strength and fitness levels first, more specifically flexibility and range of motion, before concentrating solely on technique.

I feel limitations in the fitness areas are more directly responsible for plateaus and declines in ability for many golfers than are sudden losses of ability or improper technique. Fitness should play a more significant role in many players’ game improvement plans.

It was at the 2007 PGA Merchandise show in Las Vegas that I first picked up the Rotater and I have now been using it for 2 months and I am happy to say that I have experienced the benefits and improvements that I had hoped for.

By using the Rotater for only a few minutes a day, stretching my shoulder both internally and externally, I have been able to see a measurable difference in the range of motion in my shoulder. This has transferred over to a wider, more efficient and more powerful turn in my golf swing.

Having greater flexibility has allowed me to make a better turn with my shoulders without compensations, which has translated into creating greater consistency in my ball striking.

I always keep my eyes open for products that can truly help golfers in areas where I have seen some glaring deficiencies. Almost every golfer can benefit from increased range of motion in the shoulder joint to help them create wider, more powerful and more consistent swings, and the Rotater is the easiest and most effective product I have seen to achieve this task.

Derek Highley
Global Golf Marketing
PGA Member, HK

For more information about Global Golf Marketing and Derek Highley, you can reach him at:

• United States Office
• 125 Flagship Drive
• Lutz, Florida 33549
• (727) 565-1811
• info@globalgolfmarketing.com
  

or

• Canada Office
• 871 Janette Ave.
• Windsor, Ontario N9A 5A2
• (519) 962-9581
• info@globalgolfmarketing.com
  

If you would like more information about the Rotater the visit www.therotater.com