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Find Your Golf Strength in the Water
Golfers need to have muscle strength combined with flexibility for an efficient, reliable golf swing. Any weakness at any joint through any section of the motion will create a breakdown in the golf swing.
Strength training for golf is very important to help with overall performance however, certain traditional strength training techniques such as lifting weights in one plane or using traditional machines greatly limits the functional strength that is needed for an efficient, reliable golf swing. This approach eliminates the need for your body to create and maintain stabilization through a full range of motion while performing an exercise. This ability to stabilize is exactly what is needed in golf and therefore must be heavily incorporated into a golfers exercise routine.
The core muscles primary role is to provide stabilization for your spine and around the hips. Your arms and legs can only generate as much force as your core is able to stabilize. Research has shown that athletes with higher core stability have a lower risk of injury.
Using the water to improve strength and increase stabilization is very helpful.
The waters surrounding properties provide three-dimensional resistance inherently, so the muscular and neurological systems receive a more comprehensive training effect than land based training.
Water provides an accommodating resistance meaning the harder you push the water, the harder the water pushes you back. So no matter how strong or weak you are, you control the amount of resistance which is a very safe and effective way to train.
The water can help to enhance both dynamic flexibility and strength simultaneously. Having resistance in multiple directions builds balanced muscle strength and also helps reduce the risk of injury when working out.
Many golfers are not very familiar with strength training and using the water is a great option to assist with training fundamental movement patterns. Once these patterns are established then land based training and loading can occur.
Most injuries typically occur in the rotary plane.Training rotational movements in the water is much safer because there is minimal gravitational influence compared with land based training.
Training in the water can be a great cross training tool and can help you break through a training plateau.
Try getting in the water at chest level with feet shoulder width apart. Perform a basic cross country arm motion keeping a good upright posture with your core and buttocks muscle engaged and your elbows straight. Move slowly at first and then really increase your speed. Now perform for 1 minute........ Feel the difference?
By Incorporating the water into your golf training program you will be able to play longer and stronger and reduce your likelihood for injury.
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 30 years. Rick is the Owner Fluid Golf Training, a streaming program to help golfers reduce injury, move better and swing better.
For more information about Fluid Golf Training please visit.
Improve Golf Mobility with a Dynamic Water Warm Up
In order to complete the proper golf swing, a certain amount of muscular flexibility and joint mobility is required. If a golfer is lacking joint mobility or muscular flexibility, this will lead to increased compensation. Increased compensation leads to decreased power as well as increased risk for injury.
According to a study done by TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) of over 32,000 golfers, 50% of amateur golfers will develop a chronic issue in their lifetime. As we get older our incidence for a golf injury increases.
Warming up before golfing has been shown to decrease the incidence of golf injuries. However, most amateur golfers do not warm up properly or at all before playing.
Incorporating the water into your pre round dynamic warm up has many additional benefits that are not always possible on land.
When we are submerged in water, we move much easier. The water’s buoyancy supports your weight. When you’re submersed up to your chest the water reduces about 70 percent of your body weight, decreasing stress on your joints. Since the effects of gravity are diminished in water, you can perform mobility exercises much easier than you can on land.
Water being a surrounding medium provides the body 360 degrees of support. This helps improve your body awareness and posture which assists in improving movement and preventing injury.
The waters hydrostatic pressure helps to improve circulation and muscle relaxation preparing the tissues to move easier.
The water provides drag and viscosity forces causing an increased resistance to movement. This means the harder the harder you work, the harder the workout.
Water training will challenge your brain in a very unique way. We tend to be very patterned individuals and perform very similar movements throughout our day. When in the water both gravity and momentum are significantly reduced and your body becomes very uncoordinated. This nervous system “reset” can really help to improve your pattern on land no matter what skill level you are at.
Try getting in the water up to your chest and attempt to walk forward and backward maintaining a proper upright posture and performing an opposite arm and leg swing as in normal walking. It is going to be much tougher than you think.
Next take an old golf club in the water and try to slowly perform a few swings. How do you feel? Uncoordinated? Now go faster. Feel the difference?
By Incorporating the water into your golf training program you will be able to play longer and stronger and reduce your likelihood for injury.
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 30 years. Rick is the Owner Fluid Golf Training, a streaming program to help golfers reduce injury, move better and swing better.
For more information about Fluid Golf Training please visit.
Shed Those Holiday Pounds in Your Pool or Swim Spa
We are approaching that time of year again—the holidays. Stores are already stocked with Halloween candy and some even with Christmas decorations! Soon it will be time to savor all those holiday meals followed by the incredible desserts. This will most likely increase our waistlines a little bit more than we would like.
So in order to combat this unfortunate and predictable phenomenon, I think we should get a jump start on our weight loss and fitness routine before the holiday season and the new year’s resolutions start.
What better place to get in shape than in the water.
Here is some motivational information about exercising in the water.
Everyone Can Do It: Exercising in the water has been shown to be a great calorie burner and no matter what age, weight, or fitness level, anyone can perform and benefit from water exercise.
Water Training is Low Impact: Waters buoyancy allows for reduced impact on your joints. This reduced weight bearing is one of the many advantages of exercising in water, it allows people to perform activities that are not always possible on land such as higher intensity exercises like jogging.
Water is Resistive and Safe: I like to refer to the water as “The Great Equalizer” meaning the harder you push against the water, the harder the water pushes you back. So no matter what age or fitness level you are, you control the amount of resistance, which is a very safe and effective way to train.
Water also forces your muscles to work harder, helping you burn fat and tone muscles more quickly than land-based exercise programs.
Burn Calories: Because of the added resistance in the water, you’re actually working harder than you would on land to complete the same exact movements, even if it doesn’t feel like that.
Research studies have shown that exercises performed in water created a higher energy output than on land. Exercising in warm water also increases your body temperature and burns even more calories during your workout.
Vertical aquatic exercise depending on your intensity has been shown to burn up to 400-600 calories in an hour!
Less Soreness: Warm water will help to improve the flexibility of those tight muscles that you have developed over the years. With less gravity there is less risk of muscle soreness which will increase your exercise tolerance. In the water you are able to exercise everyday without increased muscle soreness.
It’s Fun: Exercising in the water does not really feel like you are exercising.If an activity is fun people usually tend to stick with it.
It’s Convenient: There are a significant number of people who are very intimidated to join a gym never mind the feeling of putting on a bathing suit in public! It has been shown that over half of people who join a gym do not attend consistently. Exercising in your pool or swim spa in the privacy of your own home will make things so much easier and your weight loss goals more attainable.
So, what are you waiting for? Get in the water and get a jump on losing those holiday pounds that you know are coming.
If you would like me to set up on a specialized program to help you on your fitness and weight loss journey please visit: swimspaexercise.com or contact me at rick@rickmcavoyaquatics.com
Happy Holidays!
Dr. Rick
Let Dad have a good soak this Fathers Day
On this Father’s Day weekend why not let dad destress by letting him get into some warm water.
As men, stress is one of those things we feel we can deal with and it will eventually fade or go away. After all, we have been taught as men to be strong, not talk about our feelings and just deal with stressful situations.
However, too much stress is not good and can be very harmful to our health. Stress negatively effects the 7 out of the 11 major bodily systems and nearly every process of the body is degenerated because of stress. Longer term stress issues can cause high blood pressure, anxiety, decreased sex drive, digestive problems, headaches, obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart attacks or heart disease.
Men also experience stress much differently than woman do. Studies have shown that men take stress harder than women but are less likely than women to report that stress has a very strong impact on their health.
How water can help mange stress
Now more than ever there is increasing scientific proof that warm water immersion can help with stress management.
In a research study, a colleague of mine Dr. Bruce Becker, from Washington State University, focused on the benefits to the autonomic nervous system when soaking in warm water. The autonomic nervous system helps people adapt to changes in the environment and influences the bodies functions such as heart rate, digestion and respiration.
It consists of 2 parts:
1. The Sympathetic Nervous System, which reacts to stress commonly known as the flight or flight system.
2. The Parasympathetic Nervous System, which helps to reduce stress and promote calmness.
Ideally the goal is to have these 2 systems be in balance.
When immersed in a warm water environment this balance is achieved.
Dr. Becker’s study compared warm water immersion to meditation. He was able to find that in addition to reducing stress, soaking in warm water improved subjects’ mental creativity and focus.
Recommendations for water temperature are between 94 degrees and 102 degrees. Typical time spent in the warm water should be between 20-25 minutes making sure to keep hydrated while in the water.
Further benefits of using warm water to help combat stress are the effects it has on your muscular system. When submerging up to your neck in the water approximately 90% of your body weight is reduced. This will help to promote improved joint mobility and increased muscle relaxation.
Incorporating massage jets and performing gentle neck stretching will help to reduce that increased muscle tension that typically occurs in the neck and shoulder muscles after a long hard day at work.
Studies have also shown that performing warm water immersion improves sleep patterns as well.
So what are you waiting for, doesn't dad deserve a swim spa or hot tub!
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
References:
http://www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/prevention-and-treatment/recognizing-the-signs-of-stress-and-anxiety
Stressed in America: January 2011, Vol 42, No. 1 Print version: page 60 American Physcological Association
http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/24/health/la-he-baths-20140125
https://www.stress.org/stress-effects/
http://aquamagazine.com/hot-tubs/research-shows-warm-water-immersion-beneficial-to-health.html
Training for Power in Your Swim Spa
When you mention power training to the average person they primarily think about athletes performing insane movements such as jumping onto very high boxes.
But Power is simply defined as the ability to move or travel with great speed or force.
So power training for an athlete looks much different from that of the average person.
As I wrote about last week, people lose up to 30% of their muscle strength between the ages of 50 and 70.
But even more staggering is as people age they lose power almost twice as fast as they lose strength!
When talking to my clients about he difference between strength and power the easiest example that I give is:
Strength will let you be able to walk across the street.
Power will let you get you across street fast enough without getting hit by a car!
Power also contributes to moving your legs faster after losing your balance or slamming on your cars brakes to avoid an accident, climbing stairs, rising from chair to mention a few.
Both power and strength training are important and need to go hand in hand.
Using your swim spa for power training is very safe and effective. Here’s Why:
The supportive properties that the water provides will significantly decrease the weight bearing on your joints. Most anyone can perform at least small quick jumps in the water without injuring themselves which will improve power.
Water provides an accommodating resistance when working on power training and moving faster in the water you will receive a greater training effect.
Using your swim spa current or jets will allow you to grade the amount of resistance for more of a strength and power challenge.
If your swim spa has a treadmill, performing various speed training can be very helpful with improving power.
An easy tip to train for power in your swim spa is remember to perform exercises at different speeds. For example if you are performing a walking forward exercise. Work 2 laps at a slower pace then 2 laps at a medium pace and then 2 laps really fast.
This will cause your neurological system to receive different input and improve your overall power.
Incorporating power training into your aquatic training program can help delay the loss of power so common in the aging process. It will help reduce your likelihood of injury ,improve your overall activities of daily living and quality of life.
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
Arthritis Pain Relief in Your Swim Spa
Not Just Your Grandma’s Arthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. There's a 50-50 chance that at some point in your life, you are going to develop osteoarthritis. I would not buy a lottery ticket with those odds!
In OA the strong, flexible substance that cushions your joints called cartilage begins to break down, leading to symptoms such as pain, stiffness, swelling particularly in the joints of the knee, hip, spine, hands and feet. Even though the cause of OA is unknown, age, gender, excess body weight, previous joint injury, occupation and genetics are all contributing factors.
Over the past decade knee replacement surgeries have tripled in the 45-to-64 age group because of OA.
One of the most effective ways to treat OA is to exercise. Your swim spa is one of the most comfortable and effective places a person with arthritis can exercise. Here’s why:
Water significantly reduces the impact on your joints making it much easier to move.
Water allows improved joint flexibility, which will improve range of motion and general mobility.
Water provides up to 12-15 times the resistance of air, allowing you to really strengthen your muscles and bones.
Your swim spas warm water and jets will aide in reducing any pain associated with OA.
Your spas current or jetted system can assist to improve cardiovascular fitness, calorie burning and weight loss.
The water 3 dimensional surrounding properties can help improve your balance, coordination and walking mechanics which then can transfer to land.
Your swim spa obviously provides significant benefits from a low impact standpoint. However, it is also a great place to get a high intensity workout.
A recent study with patients who suffered from OA and participated in a 6 week high intensity aquatic workout reduced joint pain and improved balance, function, and their overall mobility
Your swim spa can help to significantly alleviate and improve the symptoms associated with Osteoarthritis.
It is not necessarily the Fountain of Youth, but it’s pretty close.
.
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
Weight Loss Using Your Swim Spa
As you are probably aware, obesity is a major issue in the world today. A significant number of people struggle with weight management. Trying to improve physical activity and diet is a constant battle for many.
An increase in body weight coupled with a sedentary lifestyle will often lead to greater health risks as well.
Regular exercise with a balanced diet can help you control your weight, reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers, and strengthen your bones and muscles. Not to mention improve your overall mood and sense of well being.
Taking your workout into your swim spa can easily help start you on your weight loss journey. Exercising in the water has been shown to be a great calorie burner and no matter what age, weight, or fitness level, anyone can perform and benefit from water exercise.
Here’s a few more reasons why your swim spa should be the place to begin your weight loss journey.
Water Training is Low Impact: The waters buoyancy allows for reduced impact on your joints. In fact, when standing in waist-deep water, you only weigh approximately 50% of your body weight.
This reduced weight bearing is one of the many advantages of exercising in water, it allows people to perform activities that are not always possible on land such as jogging.
A study in the Journal of Obesity looked at the effects of aqua jogging in obese adults and concluded that subjects who performed jogging in the water had reduced their body fat and waist size, and improved their overall aerobic fitness and quality of life.
More Flexibility/Less Soreness: Warm water will help to improve the flexibility of those tight muscles that you have developed over the years. With less gravity there is less risk of muscle soreness which will increase your exercise tolerance. In the water you are able to exercise everyday without increased muscle soreness.
Water Provides Accommodating Resistance: I like to refer to the water as “The Great Equalizer” meaning the harder you push against the water, the harder the water pushes you back. So no matter what fitness level you are, you control the amount of resistance which is a very safe and effective way to train. This forces your muscles to work harder, helping you burn fat and tone muscles more quickly than land-based exercise programs.
Burn Calories: Because of the added resistance in the water, you’re actually working harder than you would on land to complete the same exact movements, even if it doesn’t feel like that.
Research studies that compared upper and lower body workouts performed on land versus in the water, showed that exercises performed in water created a higher energy output than on land. These studies also explained the benefits of water exercise where both the upper and lower body movements were combined in the water, utilizing full body movements thereby expending more energy and burning more calories.
Exercising in warm water also increases your body temperature and burns even more calories during your workout.
Vertical aquatic exercise depending on your intensity has been shown to burn up to 400-600 calories in an hour!
It’s Fun: Exercising in the water does not really feel like you are exercising. You can’t feel yourself sweating and mentally you leave the water in a much better mood than when you got in. If an activity is fun people usually tend to stick with it
It’s Convenient: There are a significant number of people who are very intimidated to join a gym never mind the feeling of putting on a bathing suit in public! It has been shown that over half of people who join a gym do not attend consistently. Exercising in your swim spa in the privacy of your own home will make things so much easier and your weight loss goals more attainable.
Exercise is Medicine
In 2007, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Medical Association (AMA) co-launched Exercise is Medicine
The goal of this organization is to create a broad awareness that exercise can be as powerful as any pharmaceuticals in preventing and treating a range of chronic diseases and medical conditions.
As a health care professional for over 30 years specializing in aquatics I couldn’t agree more that Swim Spa Exercise is Medicine!
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
10 REASONS TO EXERCISE IN YOUR SWIM SPA
A Swim Spa is a significant financial investment but should also be an investment in your health. Here are some of the benefits that the water can provide that will give you a significant return on that investment.
Water Training is Low Impact: The decreased weight bearing that buoyancy provides decreases the impact on your joints. Whether you are suffering from arthritis, recovering from and injury or just beginning an exercise program the water is a great place to train.
Water Provides Accommodating Resistance: The harder you push the water, the harder the water pushes you back. So no matter what fitness level you are ,you control the amount of resistance which is a very safe and effective way to train. By incorporating the current or jets of your swim spa you can create more of a strength challenge.
Improved Flexibility: The waters unique properties of buoyancy, viscosity and drag allows your muscles and joints to move much more freely than on land. This freedom of movement can help you gain improved flexibility.
Lose Weight: Because of the added resistance in the water, you’re actually working harder than you would on land to complete the same movement, even if it doesn’t feel like that. Water exercise can effectively burn more calories than land exercise when doing the same movements.Vertical aquatic exercise depending on your intensity you can burn up to 400-500 calories in an hour!
Builds Cardio Endurance: Waters unique properties provides increased resistance to movement and challenges you even further when exercising. When you pair this with your spas current or jets with activities such as running or jogging in the water, you get improved cardiovascular endurance.
Improves Balance: Exercising in the water can help to minimize the fear and risk of falling. Use the water to challenge your balance and coordination in a very safe and supportive environment. Integrate the swim current or jets in your swim spa for more of a challenge.
Cross Training: Water workouts are a great addition to your current training program. In the water it is much easier to balance your muscle groups. This will help to improved your land based training. It has been shown that individuals who do multiple forms of exercise may decrease their risk of overuse injuries.
Improve Recovery: If you are recovering from an injury or surgery, water training can allow you to get moving sooner and more comfortably. When combined with land based training results usually occur faster.
Functional: Functional exercise takes into consideration how our bodies move in day to day activities. Because water is a surrounding medium the resistance created while moving in the water works your whole body including your arms, back and core which is very functional.Unlike exercise machines, water provides resistance to movement in any direction which is very beneficial.
It’s Fun: Exercising in the water does not really feel like you are exercising. You can’t feel yourself sweating and mentally you leave the water in a much better mood than when you got in. If an activity is fun people usually tend to stick with it.
By maximizing the use of your swim spa it will provide significant health benefits for years to come.
Dr. Rick McAvoy, PT, DPT, CSCS has specialized in Aquatic Physical Therapy, Fitness and Sports Performance for over 25 years. Rick is the Owner of Swim Spa Exercise, a virtual training company to help people maximize the use of their swim spas. He wants everyone to Move Better and Live Better.
For more information of how to maximize the use of your Swim Spa and how to Move Better and Live Better visit.
Dynamic Training in a Swim Spa
Water is a buoyant, three-dimensional, holistic, non-momentum prone environment which is the opposite of what is found on land. For aquatic training to be effective a very different philosophy needs to be used. Training in the water is just not land based exercises put into the water.This is what many people and trainers do not completely understand.
Because of the waters unique properties we are able to target functional movement type exercises much easier than when training on land. This functional type training helps people of all levels move better in their day to day lives.
Using a swims spas current with functional exercise can create even more of a challenge. Whether it be a propulsion system or a jetted system if used properly significant gains can be achieved.
All core all the time: Your core is the foundation for all movements in your body. Because of the waters properties your core muscles will become engaged easier during exercise to maintain proper posture. With the added resistance from the current or jets it gives you even more feedback and challenge during exercise.
Let’s take a basic walking forward motion. If I walk towards the current or jets I am getting more resistance in the front of my body. I have to use my core was well as my arm and leg muscles especially my buttocks muscles to push off and fight against the current or jets.
Now lets take the same exercise but with the current/jets pushing behind me. I have to still use my arms/legs and core muscles but now my back and leg muscles function much differently because I have to resist the current from not pushing me over.
This type of training will also help with challenge your brain in a much different way. We tend to be very patterned individuals and perform very similar activities throughout our day. When in the water both gravity and momentum are significantly reduced and your body becomes very uncoordinated. This nervous system “reset” can really help to improve your ability on land no matter what fitness level you are.
I am often asked, if we live on the land then why train in the water? I feel that by using water training we can create a more holistic approach and have much faster results. Water training alone does not work well unless it is combined with some sort of land based activity or training. I always like to compare water and land to Peanut Butter and Jelly. Separate they are good but when they are combined they are great!
And who doesn't love Peanut Butter and Jelly.
For more information about swim spa exercise visit: swimspaexercise.com
