The Fitness Caddie Blog: “The Lip”

It’s official, I survived my first week of golf boot-camp.  And let me tell you, it was painful!  The catch is, my boot-camp had no pushups, burpies or running involved.  Instead it was my favorite Golf Doctor working on getting all the knots out of my lats and having me overhead deep squat until I finally got close to a normal range of motion.  This gave a whole new meaning to the saying “no pain, no gain”.  I used to believe it meant working out through the aches and feeling destroyed after each workout, but I was wrong.  The work I have done in the last week in Dr. Sese’s office and in the gym may not have involved having a drop cloth to collect the sweat, but it has been some of the most difficult work I have ever done.  The pay off though is that I have never felt better.  In fact, I cannot remember a time in my life when I have felt this mobile, had this much energy and been more optimistic about what the future holds for my golf game.  I played the back nine at The Golf Course at Redmond Ridge Thursday afternoon, and found that despite how great my body feels, I have a great deal of work to do.  Shots such as wedges within 100 yards and approaches from out of deep rough were hard to get the feel for.  (I must mention that I hit a drive 275 yards!)  And I would prefer to not discuss my putting!  What awaits me this weekend?  The foam roller, a few more workouts, the driving range and putting green.  What should be awaiting you is the golf course, the forecast is for sun and 70 degrees!

It is the greatest 4 days of the year, and although many disagree with me, the most exciting sporting event of the year next to the Ryder Cup.  That’s right, it’s Masters weekend!!  What is better than watching to return of Tiger Woods, young players such as Anthony Kim attacking Augusta, and here on Thursday, watching Chad Campbell put together an amazing round?  However, I cannot just let you sit there and watch the tournament for hours on end.  Take advantage of this most inspirational 4 days to bust out the stability ball and work on your balance.  Better yet, grab a foam roller or tennis ball and work on some of those knots!  And if you really wanted to make me happy, take this time to warm your body up with some balance work and then take a good 10 minutes to stretch.  The greatest players in the world do all this, it is time to join them!

The Mighty Foam Roller!

There are no more excuses, the temperature hit the mid 50’s this week which means it’s time to dust off the running shoes and make your way outside!  Mine have been hibernating since the half marathon I ran last September, and were glaring at me today.  So, 10 new downloaded songs later, I headed out for my first official run of the year.  All it took was one step and some shooting pain in my knees to remind me that it was also time to break out the foam roller as well.  If you haven’t used one before, they are a must have!  Not only can they be used within a workout for balancing exercises, but you can use them to do manual therapy on all your aching muscles.  I use mine on my IT Bands prior to a run so that my mobility will be much better, and my knees will be less likely to hurt.  And post run, I will use it to massage out any knots I have in my quads or hamstrings.  The uses for it are never ending as are the benefits.  You can find foam rollers on amazon.com, at local gym equipment stores, at target or at my personal favorite place, The Foam Shop in Bellevue off of Northrup way (and just past my studio!)  The most universal one is a 6 inch cylinder, preferably one with a higher density and at least 36 inches in length.  Happy Foam Rolling!