Roger's Flexibility Workshop Comes To Orlando, Florida

Attention: Golf Professionals - Fitness Instructors - Medical - Golf Enthusiasts

* Are your students just too inflexible to do what you want them to do in their golf swings?

* Would you like to be more effective in teach your clients to be more flexible?

* Would you like to learn the most effective flexibility protocols to give your students?

If you answered "yes" then you are invited to attend Roger Frederick's "Swing Right For Your Posture Type" Workshop in conjunction with TPI on November 11-13 at the JW Marriott in Orlando, Florida..  Click here for more information.

The Site of Pain is seldom the Source of Pain

For a LOT of years, I’ve been very involved in both the golf profession and also the world of physical training, and I’ve learned that most of the problems encountered in both of these activities, are seldom the genesis of the “actual” problems. For example, in the golf swing, coming over the top is probably the #1 most common swing fault in golf.  Yet, the truth is; that coming over the top is usually a symptom of poor lower body swing mechanics.  I’ve learned that by just working on the actual “over the top” move itself, usually isn’t effective.  However, by working on – and getting the lower body to work correctly, the over the top move will usually go away. 

I see the same thing in people’s bodies.  For example, I feel that the #1 cause of tight backs and restricted shoulder turns, isn’t necessarily the back itself, but rather tight lower bodies. When people have tightness in their hamstrings and their hips, the upper torso will usually always suffer as well.  Just by doing upper body stretches to increase your shoulder turn, usually won’t be effective. In this case, by loosening up the legs and hips, will usually always increase upper body range of motion.  In fact, in many cases, by freeing up the hips, will sometimes create up to 40 degrees more range of motion in the shoulders! – That without doing any upper body stretches.  

What I’m recommending, is that the next time you have a problem in either the golf swing or your body, take a look around and find WHAT is causing the problem.  Getting to the root cause is usually a permanent cure.

Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone and despite the economic turmoil that our country is in, I’m proud to announce that FredericksGolf has a lot of high expectations for 2009.

First and foremost, we were proud to launch our new site a couple of months ago. I’ve learned over a long time of teaching, that EDUCATING people is the primary fundamental of getting people to make changes in their health and fitness.  If a person truly understands WHY they’re doing the exercises or drills, they’ll usually be much more effective than if they’re “just told” to do the exercises.  I’ve created this site with the primary purpose of educating people and offering the most effective state art of the art information and products, that are available. In doing so, we consolidated a couple of different sites we had out there so now you can find all the information about our programs and products in one spot at www.fredericksgolf.com

Because it’s irrefutable that Golf Swing Faults are usually not “just” habits, but rather symptoms of a persons physiology (and usually a lack of flexibility), we also began offering individual "iClips" (link here) for download so you can focus on specific areas that will best improve your game. In other words, I’ve put together 8 of golf’s most common swing faults and offered the Flexible Solutions to solve them.  I’ve also put together 7 common physical ailments and provided the Flexible Solutions to them as well.  And, in what was the most exciting development for us, we are now able to offer memberships (link here) in our Fredericks Golf Club! For just $49.95/yr, you get membership benefits such as free access to all our on demand iClips, special discounts and a complimentary copy of the latest Golf Magazine.

It's been a great year but the upcoming year is going to be even better! I'm looking forward to getting to know each of you through my blog and encourage you to join the conversation here as we talk about swing flexibility, posture and health and fitness.

Here's to better golf!

-Roger

Just Breathe

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, my staff and I have asked virtually thousands of our students who come to our golf instruction schools if they stretch?  For many years, it “used” to surprise me how many people said they did!  Yet, after testing them, very, very few people had actually attained maximum flexibility, especially to perform a fundamental golf swing. The truth is; that if a person stretches “properly”, they’ll increase the range of motion in their bodies – and in their golf swings. 

Although this statement seems quite obvious, so many people still don’t give it a second thought that they still haven’t become flexible, and usually write it off because they think that they’re just inherently inflexible.  All the time, I hear statements such as “Hey, I’ve never been flexible, even as a little kid”, Or, “I’ve never been able to touch my toes”, ad infinitum.  It seems that most of the people I’ve encountered just think that stretching is really just a way to warm up, so they won’t feel too tight.

I feel that there are two main reasons why people don’t achieve maximum flexibility.  1). Is because they don’t breathe properly during the stretching motion, and 2) because they don’t do the stretches in the proper sequences in their respective muscle chains..

Let’s talk about the breathing.  Although muscles do stretch, the truth is that they really contract and expand.  Within the muscle, the fascia is filled with nerve spindles and nerve fibers.  These nerves are obviously connected to the spinal cord – which goes up into your brain.  As the stretching motion begins, the nerves become disengaged somewhat from the oxygen that they so desperately need.  As the stretch goes deeper, the nerves then begin to “cry out” for more oxygen, and we feel that as the burning sensation begins to appear.  At this point, we want to breathe deeper and send more oxygen down into the nerve spindles to oxygenate the nerves (See the accompanying video)  Upon receiving oxygen, the nerve then says, “Hey thanks for the oxygen”, now you can go a little deeper fascia.  And so it goes on.

If however, we don’t breathe in harmony with the stretching motion, the muscle we’re trying to stretch will actually tighten up to protect the muscle from tearing.  This type of Stretching will not only prevent flexibility from happening, but will often times begin to create muscle tears, ischemia, etc. So the next time you stretch yourself, or your clients, remember to “Just BREATHE”.

Functional Strength

Everybody wants to be strong, but the question is:  What does “being strong” really mean?   Without question, nearly everybody would agree that weightlifters are strong because they can lift a lot of weight.  But the truth is; that the majority of weightlifters that I’ve seen and taught golf to, can’t hit the ball very far at all, let alone be consistent.  In fact, I have seen very few body builders who are good golfers in the first place!  On the other hand, over a lifetime of golf, I’ve seen legions of “little guys” and even skinny guys, who can hit the ball a mile because of the terrific club head speed they generate..

The question remains, why can’t “most” body builders and weight lifters hit the ball out of their shadow?  The answer is that it’s because they can’t and don’t develop enough speed.

To me, I believe that there are two ways to look at strength. The first perspective is the body builder who can bench a lot of weight, and the second is the person who has a lot of range of motion in their muscles – coupled with ample strength to reciprocate with the muscle. This is Functional Strength.

What happens when a muscle gets overworked and exercised a lot (the body builders), it will begin to shorten, and therefore, not be able to contract and expand very much.  On the other hand, a muscle that is lengthened, creates a lot of range of motion.  Think of the rubber band you want to shoot across the room.  The one that expands the most from your forefinger will go the furthest.  The rubber band that doesn’t expand very much at all will go nowhere. To me, a muscle that can’t move, is a weak muscle, and a muscle that can move freely is a strong one.  Having said that, I certainly don’t want to stand across the line from some of the behemoth linemen that are playing football today, but on the other hand, I would be willing to challenge most of them in a Long Drive Contest.

The bottom line is; that if you really want to improve your game and especially get some more power in your swing, you must have a balance of flexibility- and then strength throughout your body.  Moving flexibility first, and then strength, is a STRONG combination.

Golf Fitness Academy Presented By Titleist

Golf Fitness Academy Presented by Titleist

Featuring Roger Fredericks

Wednesday, June 25^th at 7:30 p.m. EST, 4:30 p.m. PST

Golfers can learn to train like a Tour pro this season as Golf Fitness Academy presented by Titleist returns to The Golf Channel for its fifth season with a 10-show series helping golfers maximize performance through fitness. 

Hosts Dr. Greg Rose and Dave Phillips, cofounders of the Titleist Performance Institute, offer useful tips that directly relate to producing a better all-around golf game. 

Episode 10: Stretching expert Roger Fredericks joins us to share with you his secrets to increasing your

overall flexibility.  A regular on The Golf Channel, Roger is one of the few PGA members who is also recognized as one of the pioneers and leaders in the Golf Fitness movement for over 20 years.  His smash hit Infomercial “Roger Fredericks Reveals the Secrets to Golf Swing Flexibility” has been the #1 Best Selling DVD’s in the golf industry for nearly 3 years now and is currently running in different countries all over the world.

In addition to being the founder of The Del Mar Golf College instruction schools, Roger has taught over 20,000 students and 50 Touring Professionals, which include 6 Hall of Famers and all of the Big Three: Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus.

The Hosts
Dr. Greg Rose is a board certified Doctor of Chiropractic who also holds a degree in Engineering, helped pioneer the field of analyzing computerized 3-D motion and how the body works during the golf swing.  He specializes in strength and conditioning, manual therapy, rehabilitation, nutritional supplementation and therapeutic exercises as they relate to golf, and has worked with more than 500 professional and 3,000 amateur golfers to help them reach their peak performance.

Dave Phillips is a PGA Professional and consistently listed among GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Teachers.  Considered to be one of the world's premier instructors, Dave applies his expertise in computerized swing analysis and biomechanics to create a clear picture of what happens during the golf swing.  Born in England and raised in Africa and Australia, Dave has had the unique experience of playing with and instructing some of the game's greatest golfers worldwide.

Weekly Drawings
On this season of the Golf Fitness Academy presented by Titleist, viewers will also have the opportunity to enter weekly drawings for the chance to win many of the exercise machines and tools used on each show. 

Sweepstakes begins April 16. Check each show's details page for more information.

Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra comprise the major golf brands of Acushnet Company, an operating company of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE - FO). Titleist, Titleist Performance Institute and MyTPI are trademarks owned by Acushnet Company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Balance, Rythym And Timing

  Over the course of my golf career as an instructor, there is a very common occurrence which has happened virtually thousands of times.  What I’m referring to, is when I’m recording a student’s swing on video, they’ll often times hit a bad shot, and say something like, “Boy, I hope you didn’t get that one on film”, Or, they’ll say, “let me hit another one and get a good one on there”. 

The truth of the matter is however that when I play both swings (the good shot and the bad shot) back to them on a split screen, very seldom can the students identify which was the good shot and which was the bad shot.  The reality is that it usually takes a long time (sometimes years) to really make a permanent change in a persons swing!    So what is it then that creates the difference between a good and bad shot, especially when their swing mechanics look identical?  The answer is timing.

In his outstanding book “Tour Tempo”, John Novosel reveals research where it is explained that Tour Players have nearly identical timing – despite the fact that the players have different speeds of swings. The timing ratio of tour players backswings and downswings is remarkably similar, whereby high handicappers aren’t usually close!   The research done in kinematic sequencing of golf swings also bear this out from a different perspective.  In other words, the sequencing of a Tour Players pelvis, upper torso, arms, and club are remarkably similar from the top of their downswings to impact, whereby once again, the high handicapper usually isn’t close. In the tour players, the pelvis starts moving first, then the upper trunk, arms, and finally the club.  The higher handicappers seldom follow this sequence and “usually” have the upper body and arms starting down first.   The question is, “Why do tour players all have the proper sequence?  Obviously, they’ve hit thousands (and millions) of balls and created superb timing, but another key factor is that they have much stronger and flexible muscles, specifically in their legs and upper trunk. For example, when you pick up a suitcase, a little muscle in the shoulder region called the Supra spinatus begins to contract and lift the suitcase upward.  As the suitcase gets higher, the supra spinatus can’t handle the load anymore and the deltoid muscle of the shoulder begins to help.  As the case gets raised even higher, the rhomboid and trapezius joins in to help the process.  In other words, there is a definite pattern of movement between these muscles. This same “kinematic sequencing” occurs during the golf swing as the muscles transfer their load bearing responsibilities to one another.

IF A PERSON HAS TIGHT OR WEAK MUSCLES, THE KINEMATIC SEQUENCING WILL NOT OCCUR SMOOTHLY, OR IN A TIMELY FASHION.

The answer of course is: keep your muscles strong and especially flexible.  Everybody can improve the range of motion in their bodies IF they stretch the right muscles, the right way, and if they do: Better timing, rhythm, and balance.

Barefoot In The Park

No matter what the sport, or what technique a person uses in that sport, the truth is that all sports motions come down toe three things:  Balance, Rhythm, and Timing.  From my perspective, Balance is in the feet and torso, Rhythm is blending the arm swing with the weight shfit, and the timing is in the hands.  I believe strongly, that when the body is in balance, the other two components happen much easier.

Yet, it seems like most golf instruction focuses on swing mechanics- which is fine, BUT: the truth is; even with good swing mechanics, if you’re timing is bad, you’ll probably hit bad shots; and conversely, if your swing mechanics are bad, but you have good timing, you’ll probably hit good shots.

I have found that one of the best ways to find balance, is to hit balls with your shoes off, i.e, in bare feet.  You’ll be amazed at how your body will automatically sense precisely where your weight is, and will “tell you” where you’re balance is.  Modern day shoes, are getting more and more ergonomically designed, but I feel that, in many cases, they’re robbing us of our true “feels”.

A Day With Katherine And Joe Theismann

  Recently, I had the pleasure of shooting some videos with my good friend, Yoga For Golfers founder, Katherine Roberts, along with Notre Dame and NFL football great, Joe Theismann.   As always, it was a thrill for me to discuss with Joe, the similarities between throwing a football and hitting a golf ball.  Joe, like many athletes, is absolutely obsessed with golf, and we had a great time discussing the similarities of both sports, especially; weight transfer and hip rotation.    Although many (or most) people can’t see the similarities between playing football and golf, but being expert at both, Joe certainly does.  One thing for sure, both “sports” DEMAND leg strength, and without leg function, the pelvis won’t function efficiently.  As I’ve said many times, a round of golf is about a 5-7 mile walk, and we golfers are walking these miles in a forward and bent over (or flexion), position.  Besides walking that 5-7miles every day, don’t forget that we’re also standing on our feet while we practice our short games and long games.  Doing this for a lifetime, it’s no wonder why we golfers have “tree trunks” for legs and incredible upper body flexibility from doing the upper body twisting while making our shoulder turns.  One difference between the two sports however, is that football requires more “bulk” training to sustain the constant pounding that takes place when behemoth men crash into one another.  This excessive bulk is NOT necessarily good for most golfers simply because bulky muscles will usually retard flexibility – and good golf DEMANDS superb upper body flexibility! After a couple of days on the set, we were able to convince Joe to lighten up on the weights, and amp up his flexibility training.  Being a great athlete and QB, it wasn’t hard to teach this “very coachable” superstar.  Stay tuned for our upcoming videos.

The Greatest Game Of All

Of all of golf’s many attributes, I think the greatest of them all is the incredible number of fascinating people that we meet, and play the game.  In my case, and because I’ve made the game my profession, I’ve been extremely blessed with meeting virtually thousands of people from all walks of life, from the common person, to some of sports all time superstars.

One of my most memorable moments came one day when I was playing golf with NBA legend, Michael Jordan, arguably one of sports greatest icons.  Walking off the tee of # 11 at Bel Air Country Club, Michael was 3 under par and playing great – and was in an even greater mood.  He turned to me and said, “Ya know Roger, I just wish I had started this game when I was a kid, I really think that if I started young enough, I would’ve had a good chance to make it to the PGA Tour”.   Somewhat surprised, I asked him, ‘Let’s say that “if” you would’ve started the game that young, and “if” you had gotten good enough for the tour; what sport would you have played, basketball, or golf?”  He looked at me for a second, thought about it, and then replied, “Ooh, that’s a tough question man, I don’t really know”.

Think about it.  Here’s one of the most acclaimed Super Stars of all time, and he wasn’t sure if he would’ve hypothetically traded his phenomenal career for that of a career in golf!  To me, that says it all about this game; and is another reason that we should keep ourselves fit so that we can play it for a lifetime.