For strength (how heavy can you lift, AKA 1 rep max improvement), as little as 1 set per week for the specific exercise is enough to show progressive improvement in strength over time. With it maxing out at 4 sets per week. 

For muscle growth, it is the opposite. There really isn't an upper limit found, there are some diminishing returns. Also, it just takes a lot of work out time if you are just going to go at it. There is a limiting factor for like majority of people out there. The minimum amount of sets is 4 sets per muscle group per week. 

4 sets per muscle group per week could be working out 1 muscle group once a week, getting 4 working sets in one exercise routine isn't out of the ordinary. Especially when you consider compound exercises can hit different muscle groups, it adds up. 

This is just good information who think they don't have time to gain muscles. You literally could do a short warmup, get a sweat on, hit 4 working sets in a specific muscle group once a week and see results. You may not get the same results as someone who does like 20 working sets a week, but over time you will gain muscle. 

In terms of number of reps. For muscle gain 5 to 30+ works. There hasn't been an upper limit. 5 to 18 is a good range. When you start getting into high range, form can go to crap, it could get boring. It is also hard to gauge how many reps you have left in the tank at higher reps, so you don't really get an idea if you are taking it close to failure. The science is showing, 1-2 reps in the tank is the best place to stop.

Source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MoL7OLypfA

I like this a lot because it is based on body weight and not just sort of, oh drink 64 ounces a day! 

Note, you get somewhere around 20% of your water from the food you eat. 

If you are going to be working out, hydrate a lot before and after. I tested this out by measuring my weight before and after a hard workout. Like shirt pretty damp from sweat, and I needed to hydrate about 36-40 ounces of water.

Also, drink water when you wake up. You can lose about 16-32 ounces of water overnight. 

Continually drink water when you play golf. It is a slow, methodical activity. Even on days when it doesn't feel like you are sweating a lot. It is more activity than just sitting around.

I did not overwork myself like the last time trying to set a stupid pace. That'll come - I just have to be patient. I may have gone slightly slower than I could have. It felt quite a bit like my first day. Really not pushed too hard, just comfortable.

I ran today with the RunKeeper app on my phone. I like it. It plotted my GPS position accurately and kept me apprised of my pace.

My links on DailyMile and RunKeeper are:

http://www.dailymile.com/people/iacas/entries/10944614

http://runkeeper.com/user/iacas/activity/59657873

Now it's your turn. Like the "What'd You Shoot Today?" thread or the "Best Shot of the Week" thread, post here when you complete a workout. Think of this thread as something like a shared journal or blog. You work out, you post here, others get to see what their friends and fellow members are up to.

Cool? Great!

Bone Density- Lift heavy things you will gain bone density. 

VO2 Max - High intensity cardio

Ankle Mobility - Part genetics and part life style. Some good ankle mobility stuff over at TPI.

Sodium Loss - Some people sweat out a lot of salt. It’s important to not just drink water, but replenish you salt. Sodium is crucial for muscles and neurological functions. Look into those electrolytes powders. Something with equal parts potassium and salt is the best.

The top two are overall good for health and wellbeing. The bottom two more so for athletics. 

I've heard good things about Fit For Golf. Another reason to give it a try!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been dealing with a frustrating pain in my left hand (right-handed golfer) that only occurs when I grip the club and start my backswing. The pain is located on the back of my hand, near the wrist, and I can feel it right at the beginning of the backswing.

My grip is very neutral, and I’ve experimented with different grip pressures, but nothing has made a difference

The strange thing is that it doesn’t hurt during other activities and doesn’t affect me in day-to-day life—only when I swing a golf club.

I took a one-month break from golf to let it heal, but unfortunately, that didn’t help. I also tried physiotherapy, including exercises and laser treatment, but the pain persists.

This has been an ongoing issue since November 2024. I’ve attached a picture, and the marked area is where it hurts.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice or treatment suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Why exercise won't help you lose weight and what actually works

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A new book offers startling findings about human metabolism.

Quote

How does Pontzer know? He studies the Hadza people of Tanzania, hunter-gatherers who walk for miles every day foraging for food. They’re incredibly physically active, moving more in a day than most Americans do in a week, so Pontzer and his colleagues were sure they’d be burning a crazy amount of calories. Yet when the researchers measured how much energy the Hadza burned, it turned out to be the same amount as sedentary urbanites in the West.

The more I read and learn on this stuff, the more I think it is what you eat that matters more. Also, it's really really hard to eat a lot of calories in fresh foods than it is when you get fast food. A big steak may have 800-1000 calories, but it keeps you full way longer than the burger from Wendy's. 

I do think exercise is good for overall health biomarkers. There are a few studies done showing that when you adjust for other factors, those who exercise will have less likely chance for heart disease and other health issues. Just being overweight, doesn't mean you will have the same risks as other people who are overweight if you get exercise. 

It’s winter up here and I want to get ahead of it, so I can play next year.

Thanks

My company just set us all up with an ap that tracks our daily exercise. Based on our frequency and consistency we can save money on our health insurance. How are your exercise habits?

No longer is this a white-label remake of an existing general purpose fitness app, this is built from the ground up by Mike Carroll to serve his purpose and audience.

Transform Your Golf, Fitness, & Health - Fit For Golf 2.0

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Unlock golfing potential with Fit For Golf. Explore expert advice, training programs, & tips to improve Golf & optimize your fitness for the fairway

Fit For Golf is $12.49 monthly when you pay annually, and you can use the code "LAUNCH" to save 20% for life.

I went through the initial setup again, and here are some screenshots:

You can customize the app to work with the equipment you have, to give you the program you want to follow (in-season, off-season, early season, etc.), to give you a program that lasts as long each session as you have to give, and so much more.

These are GOLF-specific workouts and exercises by a fitness expert and a VERY good golfer.

Check it out today.

P.S. Mike is a great Twitter follow at @Fit_For_Golf and he regularly posts great content like this:

We decided to go one month with no screens that weren't directly related to either school work or our jobs. 

We didn't really plan it or say he let's do this in the future. We just heard about it and started right then. 

We also didn't go completely dark (a la Aaron Rogers). We just eliminated any screen time that wasn't for work or school. ... Cell phones got into a bit of a grey area as texting a happy birthday message to Aunt Kim was considered okay, but sometimes too much texting was kiboshed. 

Anyway, it was kind of cool. We played lots of ping-pong, poppa-shots and pool. All four of us improved at each of those games. I think getting the extra movement was good for all of us, especially because the weather over that month gave us very little outside time. Plus, it was fun to see and hear the ping-pong challenges and smack talk being laid down at dinner every night. 

So do we have better mental health now? ... I'm not sure. But I'm positive we don't have worse mental health. 

Here are some things I learned. 

1. My wife and I are a pretty good ping-pong match. 
2. My kids' friends were freaked out when they first would visit. "What, no screens?". But they too got into the other stuff we did. Ping-pong really seemed to be the thing everyone liked most. 
3. Its nice that we were able to use our basement a lot over the month. (ping-pong, papa-shots, pool.) 
4. Not watching the SuperBowl is actually a good thing. That's like 6 hours of your life you can spend doing other stuff. I didn't watch even a second of it and don't feel like I missed anything. I do drive a lot for work so I did hear about it on the radio the next couple of days. 
5. Playing pool with your kids teaches you a lot about how they handle good luck, bad luck, winning and losing. ... Kinda like golf does. 
6. I actually think lowing your screen time improves your sleep. 
7. Lastly, we spent a lot less time sitting and that has to be good for us. 

Anyway, its a fun little challenge. I know it's probably impossible for most of us to eliminate screen time all together. As you probably know, there are tons of studies linking quantity of screen time to depression etc... 

There are some things on screens we still like and will go back to... i.e. hanging out on this forum. But we did learn that a lot of what we do on screens is just mental gum-chewing and pretty much only done out of habit. 

It's kind of a fun experiment and although my kids didn't like it at first, I think they actually got the most out of it. 

Take your time and watch it all.

Here is the link to the article. 

Maximal Number of Repetitions at Percentages of the One Repetition Maximum: A Meta-Regression and Moderator Analysis of Sex, Age, Training Status, and Exercise

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The maximal number of repetitions that can be completed at various percentages of the one repetition maximum (1RM) [REPS ~ %1RM...

IT'S BACK....

Anyone else dealing with or have dealt with this?
Fortunately, it really doesn't bother me in the least when I am playing or practicing. 
But, boy, when I wake up in the morning I know its there! It can also crop up at my desk if I just sit there too long. 

I have dealt with this a couple of times before. It seems to crop up every 3-4 years starting about 15 years ago. 

There are exercises I do, and shoe inserts that I use and then it eventually goes away until it resurfaces again a few more years down the road. 

For me its more annoying than debilitating. 

Fairway Fuel is an Erie-based company that's creating new protein bars for golfers. The company labels their 60g bars as "protein-packed" and made with "nutritious, natural ingredients, and just the right amount [~230] calories to fuel you" on the golf course.

Fairway Fuel bars contain:

• Real ingredients and are made with natural ingredients. You'll be able to pronounce everything in your bars and will know what the ingredients are.
• 14g protein with a blend of whey protein isolate.
• 12g fiber for gut-friendly nutrition.
• 0g added sugar - no added sugar or artificial sweeteners. Just honey, dates, etc.

For example, here's the back of the Peanut Butter and Jelly bars:

As a retail box, it folds to look like this (blueberry flavor):

Individually, three flavors are currently being offered: Peanut Butter Cup, Peanut Butter + Jelly, and Blueberry.

I'll have more to say soon, as will @billchao, @boogielicious, and @phillyk, as they're being sent some bars to try out too.

For now, I will add that my wife and I tried the Blueberry flavor. Our thoughts, in brief:

• The bar is substantial in heft. It's a thicker, heavier bar than some of the alternatives. It's like a thick fudge in consistency, and it's quite chewy (all in a good way - it feels like you're getting something that will tide you over for quite some time).
• The blueberry flavor is subtle, which I like. Everyone knows the "banana candy" flavor that's so strong, while real bananas are pretty mild. This isn't candy-like blueberry - it's a mild, subtle blueberry that tastes really good.
• The bar is not gritty or fibrous at all. Like I said, it's almost like a fudge, with some chewier parts (blueberries) and some slightly crunchy parts.
• I had a bar for lunch and was still feeling good and un-hungry (is that a word?) when I started to make dinner at 6. Consequently, I made a smaller dinner for myself than I otherwise may have.

I'll share more thoughts on the other flavors as I try them this weekend on my college team's trip to Ohio.

P.S. @AnthonyFF may pop in to say hi and/or answer anyone's questions. You can find out more by clicking the link at the top or by clicking https://fairwayfuel.co. Note: we're not being sponsored by FF nor are we in any affiliate situation. We'll add something on Monday with a discount if you want to try these bars out and provide feedback, as the company is receiving feedback and working to improve and evolve their offerings.

I would appreciate any suggestions, especially those that you have personally found helpful. 

If it matters my current driver swing speed averages around 87-ish based on indoor simulator.

Thanks in advance!

Chris Beardsley on Twitter: "Inter-set stretching can enhance hypertrophy during strength training, and likely more so in certain muscle groups (perhaps those that are more susceptible to stretch-mediated hypertrophy or which are less affected by stretch-induced fatigue). https://t.co/j05kWg6tas" / Twitter

I think it might be making sure we get full range of motion during the movement, and I wonder if range of motion decreases due to muscle contraction and inflammation. 

Fit For Golf App

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The Fit For Golf App https://videos.files.wordpress.com/snca4L8p/joined_video_531c0feeb6cb450f953d848fab13bea9_hd.mp4 The Fit For Golf App enables you to...

The app is a self-paced thing that you can do at home or at the gym. At home, you just need a slam ball or resistance bands, some floor sliders, dumb bells (or, again, resistance bands), a broom handle, and a pull-up bar. You can get all of these for about $70.

Getting Started:

But basically, you choose your own workouts, and then follow this plan:

This is the sequence you would follow for 12 weeks  (regardless of which program you are using):

Weeks 1-4, Phase 1:

• Monday - Phase 1 Workout A
• Wednesday - Phase 1 Workout B
• Friday - Phase 1 Workout C  

Weeks 5-8, Phase 2:

• Monday - Phase 2 Workout A
• Wednesday - Phase 2 Workout B
• Friday - Phase 2 Workout C  

Weeks 9-12, Phase 3:

• Monday - Phase 3 Workout A
• Wednesday - Phase 3 Workout B
• Friday - Phase 3 Workout C  

App FAQs:

Training at Home Without a Gym:

Home Workout for Golf: How to Train Without a Gym

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Equipment & Workouts To Get Fit For Golf & Fit For Life From Home

Speed Tracking Spreadsheets:

I'm no fitness expert but when I think to how I feel when golfing... stiff/tightness really seems to be in my upper arms, lower back, and hips. What are some of the stretches you all are doing before playing?