CoachMeFit Blog

We’ve all heard this statement before and we all can relate. How many times has a friend or loved one promised to be there for you and they bailed; or how many times did your son promise to take out the trash, only to forget. The fact is that we all know that a person worth trusting backs their words with actions. We all long for someone like this in our lives. We expect this of others, but why do we not expect the same of ourselves? We tell ourselves we will stay within the budget this week, but we fall short. We plan to manage time more efficiently, but pleasure gets in the way of work; or maybe work overrides family. Or think back to December 31,2008, what resolutions did you make? Will this year’s resolution be to lose the same 20 pounds that you vowed to lose last year, or even for the last decade.

      Are you starting to get the point? The continual cycle of saying one thing, but doing another is self- destructive. Eventually empty promises cause us to stop believing the words that come out of our own mouths.  Ultimately, we lose faith in ourselves. Without self-confidence, we can never reach our full potential.  If you are at this point it is not too late to start trusting in yourself again.  Trust is built one step at a time. Here are a few simple tasks that will help you to develop self-trust. Be sure to hold yourself accountable as you would a friend.

1. Write a detailed schedule and to-do list for today. Check off each task as it is completed.

2. Schedule to complete a task that you would normally postpone, at an earlier time.  For example, wash the dishes before you lay on the couch tonight!

3.Schedule a time this week to work on a project that you have put off for the past few weeks.

•    If it is clearing the clutter, schedule 15 minutes of each day this week to clean one cabinet or  shelf.  Do as much as you can in 15 minutes.
•    Need to finish painting the bedroom? Plan it on the weekend. Make sure you play your music to  make the time more enjoyable.
•     Still haven’t finished your daughter’s scrapbook? Host a scrapbook party. You will be sure to do it then.

4. Schedule 20 minutes of exercise six days this week.

•      Exercise will give you more energy and releases endorphins that cause you to feel more confident. When you feel better about yourself, you can accomplish more for yourself. Plus, exercise hepls build discipline. It takes discipline to physically push your body through fatigue.

5. Journal.

    In addition to your schedule and to-do list, journaling keeps you accountable. It helps hold you to your every word and allows you to see your triumphs and shortcomings.

Brandy Golden

FUNCTIONAL LIFTING

The history of weight training has changed with the advent of applied functional science.  Before, there were 2 reasons for weight training, i.e. hypertrophy or training to increase strength.  Human function is driven by the muscular, the skeletal and the nervous systems which are our vehicle for movement; therefore all training should integrate these three simultaneously.

 3-D TRAINING

When training, one should train using 2 or 3 different planes of motion.  There are sagittal, transverse and frontal planes.  By training in 2 or 3 planes of motion, one is less likely to injure oneself during sporting events or doing work around the house.  The sagittal plane is forward or backward motion.  The transverse plane is twisting left or right.  The frontal plane is stepping side to side.  For example; doing a forward lunge holding a med ball in front of you at shoulder height, and twisting right or left as you step forward to do the lunge.  You would be doing a sagittal lunge with a transverse twist.

There are multiple motions one can do by combining the different planes of motion together.  When training in 3-D you are recruiting more muscles to work, requiring more oxygen, which means your body is working at a higher level during the exercise period.  The major benefit of 3-D training is that it combines multiple biological processes and systems to continually train the body and maintain fitness over the long run.  By its design, 3-D training causes the body to continually adapt, learn new motions and avoid the limitations of conditioned response, making it ideal for a lifetime level of fitness.

Frontal Plane (left to right movements)

1. Sagittal Plane (front to back movements)

2. Transverse Plane (cross section movements)

By Catherine Munaco, Owner, CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

Most of my clients start training with me to lose weight and gain strength and endurance, only to find that their golf game improves dramatically as well. Coincidence? Absolutely not.

Golf, like any other sport, is a game of mechanics. Most of us accept that our golf swing is fixed and become frustrated when all those private lessons don’t manifest as extra yards on our drive. The truth is, distance on a drive isn’t a matter of hitting the ball harder—it’s a matter of hitting the ball better. But no matter how much instruction and feedback you get from your golf pro you won’t be able to improve your swing if your muscles don’t have the proper strength and flexibility. This is where simple exercises can help drop your golf score– by improving your body’s ability to hit the ball more efficiently. Here’s a perfect example: if you bail out of your golf stance during your swing, you most likely have weak hamstring and gluteus muscles. A golf pro (or eager buddy) can alert you to the fact that you bail out, but knowing doesn’t help if you don’t have the strength to stay in the proper stance. Muscles in your core, arms, back, and legs dictate the pattern of your golf swing. By functionally strengthening these muscles to perform more efficiently, we see improvements in swing mechanics and longer drives.

The muscles of the core are the powerhouses of a golf swing. These muscles include the abdominals, back, and hips. Specifically, muscles in your core are responsible for the rotational aspect of your swing. To train these muscles, pick an exercise where you are twisting your core, such as a seated medicine ball twist with your feet up. For this exercise, balance on your tailbone on the floor with a 5 pound weighted ball in your hands and feet off the floor. Slowly twist the ball side to side, trying to rotate as far as possible to each side. Do this for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. If you can’t do 30 seconds with your feet up, put one of your heels on the floor. Likewise, a lack of core strength can manifest itself as lower back pain. Many people think that lower back pain is the result of weak back muscles, but if you struggle to finish 18 holes without feeling a twinge in your lower back, you may actually have weak abdominal muscles instead. The muscles of the abdomen are responsible for aligning our spine and minimizing the curve in our lower back (where we typically feel the pressure during golf or other weight bearing exercise).  Click here for more core strengthening exercises: http://www.golf-trainer.com/golf-fitness/core-strength-for-golf.html

Flexibility is another important component of a golf swing. Professional golfers have a huge range of motion on their backswing, which translates to a large potential energy to hit the ball with. If your muscles lack flexibility, you have limited range of motion, a short swing, and a shorter drive. There are many stretches that can help improve flexibility and range of motion. Limitations in flexibility differ from golfer to golfer, and your weaknesses in both strength and flexibility are going to be unique to you. I recommend having a golf professional or certified personal trainer functionally evaluate your swing to determine flexibility and strength imbalances before forming a stretching and strength program customized to your needs.