December 31, 2008

5 Easy Steps to Cleaning Your Golf Clubs and Improving Your Game

Filed under: Sports Resources @ 3:46 pm

How can you lower your scores by simply cleaning your golf clubs you ask? It’s actually very simple. If you have clean golf clubs you can make better contact with the ball. This allows the clubs to do what they are designed to do without any interference form grass, sand or mud on the face.

Since golf is a game about battling the elements, the golfer need s all the help they can get. You deal with the hot sun, a quick summer shower and even a little mud or wet grass on your shoes. All these weather conditions can wreak havoc on your body let alone your golf clubs.

It’s easy for you to shower and clean up, but your golf clubs can’t! You have to clean them as much as possible. If you do they will perform better, last longer, and help keep you clean by keeping you on the short grass!

What’s the best way to clean them?

There are two ways to clean your clubs: 1) You can buy a golf club cleaning kit from just about any pro shop. 2) You can also easily do it yourself at home or at the course. Let’s look at how to do it yourself. Here’s what you will need,

•A plastic bucket •Mild dishwashing detergent •An old toothbrush or nonwire bristle brush •A clean towel or rag

Let’s clean!

1)First, fill the bucket with a little detergent and warn water so it becomes sudsy. Add enough water to the bucket to cover the heads of the clubs.

2)Second, submerge only the clubheads in the water, making sure no to get the ferrules wet because this will damage the finish. Soak the clubheads for a few minutes to help loosen the dirt, oils, or remaining chemicals that may be stuck in the grooves of the club.

3)Next, scrub each of the clubs individually with the soft or medium bristled non-wire brush to remove all the dirt, grass stains, or any other debris that might be on the clubface. If you have difficulty getting it off the first time, just soak and scrub the clubs again.

4)Now, rinse the clubs off with water form your garden hose outside or a sink faucet if you are inside. Try your best to not get the shafts wet when doing this.

5)Finally check over the clubheads to make sure the grooves are dirt free. Then dry them of with a clean towel or rag. That’s it you’re done.

Now you can enjoy playing the game with the added confidence of knowing your clubs are nice and clean. Clean clubs produce a better ball flight with more spin to stop the ball closer to the hole. Play well!

Useful Info on Online Video Distribution – Part Two

After the video production is ended the editing chapter initiates. By and large editing control units stay put with the majority the editing business & the technically skilled specialised professionals supply high level of insight at some stage during the editing process. Generally at some point through the editing procedure the worthwhile aspects of the video recordings are labelled and unnecessary portions are deleted. There is an assortment of useful software products that are in huge demand for this purpose. The aim of the video is analyzed and subtle revisions are done as well. Audio clips & background music are also made use of at some point in the editing. There is also Special Effect Generators (SPG) which makes the chosen footage even more professional. For the most part of the creative agencies supply the video production & the editing services. Visit Vidify.co.uk for cost-effective video production and distribution services.

At the present time several online video production businesses operate to satisfy needs of different businesses. As well as organisations presentations, videography is also made use of to record important moments of life like that of weddings, birthdays, special occasions; summer holidays to name a few. Portable video camcorders with digital chips are nowadays commonly available in the market. Short films have turned into being somewhat fashionable as well as being very educational & amusing. In fact videos allow individuals to relate better to the subject matter than any other form of communications.

Today, quite a few people are setting up video publishing studios as need of these brands of studios are on the up. It is also likely to obtain plenty of information from the World Wide Web on video production & publishing just with one or two mouse clicks. The growth of audio-visual industry has helped out the growth of video commercials & to produce professional commercials, a good video production and publishing organisation is vital. Online videos play essential function in implementation of business plans & at this moment online video marketing and publishing is a popular idea with the World Wide Web users. So, across the globe video production and publishing plays a significant function.

Sets And Reps – The High And Low Weight Workout

Filed under: Better Templates @ 6:03 am

Big weights! Wicked pump! I always get caught between two minds whenever I hit my workout at the gym. One side of me says to lift heavy to get big and the other says that form should matter more than my weight poundage. This is an issue that used to cause me to get quite twisted every time I would prep a workout training cycle. I know each technique has its merits, so I used to be swayed back and forth never staying with either method long enough to see the results. With the low weights I get to move some decent poundage’s and my ego gets gratified but alas, there is no killer pump. When I stick to the perfect form method with lighter weights I get great pumps but I never feel like I am really working hard enough to get anywhere because my weights are so light. So in my search for the perfect weight workout, I decided to combine the two methods and get the best of both worlds.

Seems obvious when some one else says it doesn’t it? I love the pump from drop sets and isolation exercises and I love the feeling of grunting under large loads, so why not do both in a workout?

What I do is put in two exercises of 5×5 with 1 minute to 2 minutes rest between sets and then move on to one or two more exercises for 3 or 4 sets a piece with the odd drop set or super set in order to finish the workout with a great pump. I stay with the same weight on the 5×5’s until I get all 5 sets of 5, usually hitting 4 or 3 reps on the last two sets in the beginning. When I finally complete the full 5×5 I up the weight by 5 to 10 pounds and start over. This ensures that I don’t get lazy and that I am always getting stronger, so that’s the first rule of muscle mass realized.

Once I have trained the muscles with between 85-100% of my one rep max, I’ve stimulated strength gains through enhanced neural drive and hit my type IIB fibers hard. Now onto the second group of exercises. I squeeze and pump the muscle, trying to fill it with blood while keeping in my mind that weight is a secondary concern. Here is where I hit the type IIA fibers with a slightly higher time under tension developed from the intensity techniques. The weights for this type of training are usually within 70-80% of your one rep max. Whenever I reach the point that the lighter weights no longer fatigue the muscle at around 10-12 reps, I bump it up a notch. Chasing the pump I rest no longer than 30-45 seconds causing me to hit a totally different set of fibers and making sure that all life has been thrashed out of the muscle. The best of both worlds in one workout!

The 5×5 method can also be seen as a lazy mans periodization, as the intensity varies from week to week depending on if I am trying a new weight or if I am still trying to get my “5’s” at an already accustomed to weight. The high intensity at the end allows me to get nutrients and blood into the muscle, gives me my time under tension and stretches the fascia while the body part is still stuffed full of the goods.

So in effect this routine develops the type IIB fibers through high tension multiple sets making me stronger by increasing relative strength though enhanced neural drive. Then moves on to hit the type IIA fibers through a slightly higher time under tension given to me by the extended sets. This makes me larger by increased hypertrophy, stimulating increased muscle glycogen, ATP and Krebs cycle activity. The only variable to fill in after this is your nutrition habits, but that’s a topic for later discussion. Here is an example of this type of weight workout. None of the set totals include your warm ups:

Monday

Chest DB Bench press 5×5 Dips 5×5 Incline flyes super set with incline smith presses for 3x failure on both. Anything past twelve reps and you should bump up the weight.

Biceps Barbell curls 5×5 Incline dumbbell curls 10/8/6 Rope pulley hammer curls drop set – 4 sets

Tuesday

Quads Squats 5×5 Front squats pyramid up 12,10,8,6 Leg extensions 3-drop sets, each drop being 10 reps (10-10-10)

Hams DB or barbell, stiff leg deadlifts 5×5 Lying Frankenstein curls (toes down on way up and toes out on way down) 4-drop sets, each drop being 8 reps (8-8-8)

Calves Standing calf raises 3-drop sets of 10-10-10 per set. Seated calf raises for 4 sets of 40-50 seconds each

Wednesday

Shoulders

Standing presses 5×5 High pulls from the hips 5×5 Face down incline laterals superseted with reverse cable crossovers for rear delts – 4 sets to failure

Triceps

Close grip bench 5×5 Low pulley behind head extensions off bench (Vince Gironda style) 4×8 Superset of kick backs and close grip pushups with elbows wide 3x 10

Thursday

Back Deadlifts 5×5 Weighted chins 5×5 Drop set low cable rows with under grip for 4 sets

Abs

4 sets of crunches supersetted with hanging leg raises

Take the next two days off and then restart the cycle.

There are several ways to manipulate this schedule depending on your recovery ability and other stress factors in your life. Some of my clients respond best if they drop the second exercise of 5’s or alternate it with a 10/8/6 rep scheme.

For maximum recovery I like to take a day off after every workout, especially if you’re hitting the cardio hard. If this is something you may like to try than you can get away with another exercise per muscle group as you won’t be hitting it again for a while, just watch for signs of over training.

The other popular way to split this workout, fits nicely into the workweek. Split your workout to fall on Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri. Take the weekends off to recharge.

Don’t worry about wilting away between workouts because as a natural bodybuilder the more rest the better. If you are going the assisted route, then you can add in a set or two extra here and there. It’s far more productive to be slightly under trained than over trained. However if you give every workout your all on this routine, you will look forward to the rest!

December 29, 2008

How To Unleash The Power Of Your Core

Filed under: Sports Resources @ 7:32 pm

The golf swing relies upon core strength, endurance and proper engagement in seeking elements of stabilization, control and coordination. Core conditioning is very important for a golfer because all movements in your entire body stem from the strength in this area. Wherever you find a weak core, you find a major source of energy leaks in the golf swing.

The core is where the body’s center of gravity is located and where force production begins. Most people have a very weak core, and as a result, chronic posture problems. Over time, this creates wear and tear on the body. A golfer with a weak core is vulnerable to injury and struggles with efficiency in their swing. How strong is your core for golf? Let’s find out.

Try this core test.

•Lie on your back with your knees bent.

•Place one hand underneath your lower back, then extend your knees to 90 degrees.

•Press the lower back firmly against your hand.

•Slowly lower your feet towards the ground by keeping the same tension on your hand.

Which one of the following best describes what happened when you performed the exercises above:

(A) Your lower back lifted and you could no longer feel any pressure on your hand.

(B) Your lower back lifted and you could feel some pressure on your hand.

(C) You were able to keep the same pressure on your hand throughout the movement.

If you answered (C), congratulations! You are well on your way to developing the core strength you need for better golf. If you answered (A) or (B), start with some basic exercises on engaging the core region of your body.

EzineArticles Expert Author Susan Hill

Susan Hill is a nationally recognized fitness trainer, CHEK golf biomechanic and sports nutrition specialist. For more information on golf specific nutrition, exercises or stretches, visit http://www.fitnessforgolf.com.

Choosing the Right Golf Club for You

Filed under: Sports Resources @ 4:27 am

Golf club selection can be difficult for seasoned players, and even more so for beginners. There are so many variables in this difficult choice different club types, designs, and features, not to mention your own skills, swing and needs. To help you make a choice, or at least narrow the field, the following information on golf clubs is an overview designed to help you make the right golf club selection for you.

Cast Iron Golf Club With cast iron golf clubs the majority of the weight in the golf club is around the perimeter of the club head. This feature makes the sweet spot larger, which is great for both beginners and those who encounter difficulty making full contact.

Forged Iron Golf Club The choice of professionals due to design and function, the forged iron golf club has a slightly heavier toe, with the center of the gravity for the golf club at the center of the club head. Forged iron golf clubs are an alternative as your experience and skill increases.

Club sizes Golf clubs are available in a range of sizes to suit the player, from standard to midsize, and even oversized.

Standard clubs have a smaller head, meaning a smaller sweet spot as well, and are the usual choice for advanced players and professionals.

The beauty of a midsize golf club is the larger sweet spot for better ball contact. The head size is a little larger than the standard golf club, and these clubs are the best choice for players with average skill as they are easy to control.

If you have a hard time hitting the ball straight, oversized golf clubs are for you. They have a huge sweet spot, and some control is sacrificed because of it, but this does not stop this being the choice of many seniors as the huge sweet spot gives you much longer distance!

December 27, 2008

Golf Vacation Schools – Choose the Perfect Golf School Vacation for Your Game

Filed under: Sports Resources @ 11:56 pm

Golf Schools, like golfers, come in all shapes and sizes. Don’t make the mistake of attending any golf vacation school. Do your homework and find the right match for your personality, learning style, and golf game.

How do you decide which golf school vacation is right for you? It’s simple. Start by asking yourself a few questions.

1) What is your goal or commitment level for your golf school vacation?

Allow me to simplify the above question. Are you planning your vacation around golf school or is golf school only a part of your vacation?

Some schools demand your entire focus both mentally and physically. Others are a bit more relaxed leaving you the time and energy to do other things. You must first decide if you are more committed to the golf or enjoying the vacation.

If I’m planning on attending a Las Vegas golf school or traveling to Myrtle Beach for golf instruction, I definitely would like to spend some time enjoying the surroundings.

If you feel the same, look into a school that offers half-day instruction. Develop your skills in the morning, enjoy a nice lunch (usually part of tuition), then hit the golf course, casinos or the beach during your afternoons.

2) Are you new to the game or an experienced golfer?

Beginners should investigate schools that offer low student-instructor ratios. A 4:1 ratio or lower is optimal for beginning golfers. You might also want a school that limits class size.

Experienced golfers should make sure the school they attend offers on-course instruction. Your swing might need some tweaking but, unlike a beginner, you should really get instruction in game-like scenarios.

Depending on your learning style, you might still appreciate the attention offered by low student-instructor ratios. This is more of a personal learning style preference than necessity for the experienced golfer.

3) Do you have a low handicap but your golf game collapses from 150 yards in to the pin?

Find a school that focuses on skills like the short game and course management. If your golf swing is working for you, don’t pick a golf vacation school that dedicates the majority of instruction time at the driving range.

The market is very competitive. In order to distinguish themselves from the competition, many golf vacation schools are beginning to focus on niches or individual aspects of golf. Shop around and you’ll find a golf school that will help you shave a stroke or two off your already low handicap.

There are many other questions you should consider before reserving your spot at a golf vacation school. Will you need lodging? Are meals included? Does the cost of school include rounds of golf? You can find a wealth of information on how to choose from the many golf vacation schools here.

Focus your energy on the above three questions first. Narrow your choices to three or four schools. Then choose the golf vacation school that has all the amenities you desire on your trip

Copyright 2005 Evans Putman – All Rights Reserved. Reprints allowed see below.

Article courtesy of http://www.perfectgolfvacations.com your source for the best golf destination information. We deliver “Truth in Golf Travel”.

PerfectGolfVacations.com delivers the best local market information and word-of-mouth recommendations from golf destinations like Myrtle Beach, Las Vegas, Ireland, Hilton Head, and more.

Keep current with updates, news and specials when you sign up for the PGV.com Advisor located on the left-hand side of each page on our site.

This article may be reprinted with no changes, omissions, or additions. All links must be left live and in tact.

December 26, 2008

Bryan Ellis – Virtual Real Estate Investing vs. Physical Real Estate Investing

A newcomer to the world of investments in the notion of “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.

In order to figure out the truth of the matter, I sought out Bryan Ellis, whose experience in the fledgling industry is truly impressive.

Ellis says he adopted the term “virtual real estate investing” sometime before Y2K after he realized that making money online is conceptually very similar to making money with physical real estate.

Bryan Ellis cites the similar strategies one can employe to make money from “virtual property” and “physical property” as a primary parallel of the two markets. He points out that control of a domain name or even a specific web page is much like controlling a real estate property ” those assets can be monetized in similar ways: By selling them for a profit, by leasing them, by offering advertising, etc.

The parallels really are obvious. Consider: A valuable piece of real estate is valuable largely due to the interest that other people have in that specific location. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

An Investigation of Fitness Centers

Filed under: Better Templates @ 8:23 pm

Today, we have many Americans who are obsessed with health, and yet we are a nation of obese individuals. Obesity in this country has reached epidemic proportions, and we have more available than at any other time in history to help us control our weight. What is the problem? Why do we still have health issues, when we have some many health facilities available?

There are facilities that cater to the young, the old, the male, the female. There are 24 hour facilities, facilities that offer daycare, individualized programs, youth programs, organized classes, and fitness assessments.

It would seem with all these choices, that Americans would not have any problem controlling their weight, their health or their overall wellness. Many fitness centers offer the new client an opportunity for an initial assessment, personalized training plans, and continued consultation services, free with their membership.

If you happen to be a mother, with small children, many of the fitness facilities offer built in daycare facilities. You are free to exercise, while your children play in a supervised and safe setting. If you also happen to feel uncomfortable exercising in mixed company, there are fitness centers that offer men only or women only exercise times. If not designated times, often they have segregated facilities.

What about Pilates, aerobics and other forms of organized and instructed toning and cardiovascular health? Most fitness facilities have that covered also. Upon joining a gym or center you are usually provided a schedule of classes that are being taught, and the times that they are taught. Then once each month, you will receive a newsletter and calendar that provides updated information about facility changes, class offerings and any other points of interest.

There is just simply no reason that a person could not locate a fitness that suits his or her needs and become a part of the health movement. Cost is usually not an issue, either. Today, many companies offer free memberships for their employees in an effort to cut medical expense and lost time due to sickness and injuries. On the average, a healthy employee costs an employer $1000 dollars less each year, than the coworker who does not participate in health and fitness programs. That simply takes medical costs into consideration. What about lost productivity due to illness or injury?

If you find that your company doesn’t offer such a plan, the monthly expenditure for a membership to the gym, should more than pay for itself in the course of your attaining a level of increased health. You should see a decrease in your medical bills, and over the counter health needs, simply because your body is in a better position to fight off germs and bacteria.

Fitness centers and gyms across this country open each day, to provide persons form all walks of life, a better chance at health; to afford each person the opportunity to work toward overall wellness and a fit and conditioned body. It is up to each individual to take advantage of that opportunity.

Why Do You ‘Not Benefit’ From Coaching Golf Tips

Filed under: Sports Resources @ 7:41 pm

Most golfers have had dozens of opportunities to receive coaching golf tips from numerous sources. However the most interesting aspect of it all is that many are not able to benefit much from these coaching golf tips.

What could be the reason? Is it that the coaching golf tips are not explained in enough detail? Or is it that most golfers fail to grasp them? All these possible reasons are highly unlikely because most coaching golf tips are given and explained in a very practical manner.

If we have any hope of solving this mystery then we must start looking for the answer in the area of implementation. The mind understands but the body is unable to execute. Weak flabby and therefore tense muscles have a problem keeping up with stress and pressure exerted.

Golf still has many players who have stuck to the good old days when exercises were unheard of amongst golfers. When nobody could hear of strength exercises for golf to strengthen muscles and help the golfer dramatically improve on their golf swing. Those are the days when stretch exercises were very minimal and almost non-existent.

These kinds of golfers would obviously have a serious problem implementing most coaching golf tips and adopting them to their game.

There is yet another reason why many golfers do not benefit from coaching golf tips. It emerges from the fact that not every coaching golf tip will work for every golfer. Some tips will suit the styles of certain golfers more than that of others. The problem here is that many golfers quickly get discouraged when they find that they cannot use the first few coaching golf tips and abandon all the rest.

This is really sad because in all probability the coaching golf tip that best suits them is somewhere in the long list just waiting to be discovered.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is the featured expert for Golf Magazine’s GolfOnline.com site, one of the top golf performance experts in the country, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds and manual at his golf swing tips site – Perform Better Golf.

December 24, 2008

What Is out There?

Filed under: Misc. @ 10:41 pm

What is out there? I am not tiling about what is outside of your house, and what is outside of your country, and even what is outside of our little planet. The thing that freaks me out the most is trying to think of what is out in the universe. And for that matter, what is out in the multiversity. Now the multiversity is the very real possibility that there might and very well could be parallel universes out there. Every time I think of it, it just makes me go around in circles. There is really no answer and it is something that you could think about forever. Just to think of how far away Pluto is boggles the mind. Just think of this. Pluto is so far away from the sun that it takes two hundred and thirty six years to make one orbit around the sun. That’s a really long time. In fact, we only had one chance to try to get something to Pluto on our lifetime. We did that already, when it was closest to us. We did get there, but got close enough to take some pictures, but then the spaceship got lost, and we will never find it again. It is just out there floating around in space somewhere.

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