Can it be? Coffee a health drink?

Well..it’s looking that way as I am reading more and more research coming out regarding the benefits of drinking coffee. Yeah…you heard that right…COFFEE!

When I was 10 years old I started 2 things. I started lifting weights AND drinking coffee. I don’t know what came over me, but I would put a ton of sugar in it and drink it after school. I have done this my whole life, but about 6 months ago I decided to quit. No problem. It was actually easy, although I drink several cups of green tea every day.

Well…one of my clients had the nerve to tell me coffee was basically a health drink.

I argued til I was blue in the face. We all know that caffiene is a stimulant, so there’s nothing too healthy about that, but over at WebMD they have put together some findings that are quite interesting.

Some of the findings are: Lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colon cancer. Even cavities.

Here’s a blurb right out of WebMD…

“Consider this: At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones.

Coffee even offsets some of the damage caused by other vices, some research indicates. “People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don’t,” says DePaulis.”

With Parkinson’s being such a brutal disease, this is some pretty amazing information.

So if you have that morning Java or midday hit, it may be giving you more than an energy boost after reading these findings.

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Tags: health drink

If you’re looking for a “quick” way to add yards to all your clubs? Stupid question…I know. EVERY golfer wants to hit it longer. I am a huge advocate for both golf exercises and stretches for long-term golf success, one of the fastest ways to increase your driving distance is to swing a golf exercise weighted club.

You can’t get any more golf-specific than that! You are doing the EXACT same motion (the golf swing) but with added resistance. You are effectively improving the strength AND flexibility in your golf swing muscles with this club. As a golfer, you love to swing a club and hit balls right? Well…swinging this golf exercise club is the equivalent of hitting dozens and dozens of balls in a matter of a few minutes!

In the picture to the right, I’m swinging it just like I said. You are making a normal swing, just not at full swing (EVER).

I swing mine EVERY DAY!

You heard that right. Along with my daily golf exercise routines, and stretching and cardio, I pull out my weighted golf club and swing it 20-30 times in succession in front of a mirror to make sure my technique is solid. I start out with half swings at half speed, and slowly build up to full swing at no more than 75% of my full speed.

You NEVER want to swing it at full speed! If you do…you are risking injury. Just picture the professional baseball player swinging the “heavy” bat when he’s on deck. Do you ever see them swing at full speed? NEVER! They know that it is not necessary to get the benefit of swinging it.

When I do my golf swings, I do them back and forth without stopping. So in 60 seconds I can get over 50 swings in. How many balls can you hit on the range in 60 seconds? I will take a 2 minute rest and repeat this twice more. When I’m done…I feel all my golf muscles big time!

If you don’t have a weighted club, you can get one on my site. You don’t have to get it there… as you can go online, or go to your local golf shop. Either way…I strongly encourage you get one and start swinging it right away!

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With the season coming up very soon it’s time to “oil the joints” and get stretching. I know your time is a valuable commodity and simplicity is a critical factor in you doing it consistently. I am a huge proponent in consistency and not volume. I have gotten out of my own skin as a fitness professional and realized something daily is better than nothing.

Stretch Daily

If you haven’t done at least one stretch a day you’ve got to try it! It will ease your stress of the day, eliminate those nagging aches and pains, and increase blood flow to critical areas of your body that need it. Create a simple golf stretching plan that you know you can do every day. This could be one stretch first thing in the morning; one stretch during your work day; and one stretch before you go to bed. It can be that simple!

Add More Distance To Your Swing

We all know how important it is to have a BIG backswing to generate clubhead speed, power and distance in your golf swing. But… the majority of golfers don’t take the right approach. They keep pounding balls and taking lessons without working on the source of your golf swing. YOU! If it’s (your body) broken, you’re not going to swing the club efficiently or with any power.

In fact, you’re going to have a weak swing with NO power! The ONLY solution is stretching your golf-specific muscles in the same motion and positions of your golf swing. You can do this anywhere! In your home, office, “on the course” and even in a hotel while you’re traveling.

Simple Stretch In Your Office

As you see here, I’m doing a simple golf stretch specific to my golf backswing right in my home office. I do this particular stretch several times every day, and you can do the same

This is a perfect example of how simple this can be for you. There’s no need to say you don’t have time, as in this picture I’m “sitting” at my desk during a typical work day. You can find 30 seconds many times in a day, so there really is no excuse not to do it.

I hope you are starting to see how you can be successful with any golf stretching or exercise program with a little creativity. I myself would rather break it up in “bite-size” chunks throughout the day, so I don’t have to block out 60-90 minutes for a complete workout session.

This short article should be both motivational and encouraging for you to show you can really do this.

Golf Stretching Resource

If you are motivated to start “right now”, you might want to take a look at my Instantly Downloadable Total Golf Stretching ebook.

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I may have mentioned this before, but I want to reiterate it AGAIN! I’ve been doing a lot of reading and “learning” in regards to digestion. If you want to lose weight, you’ll want to listen up. Also, if you have indigestion, heart burn, acid reflux and other uncomfortable symptoms, please keep reading.

When we eat, our body naturally produces enzymes to help break up the food and make it easier to digest. This is the ideal situation for maintaining a healthy weight. The problem with most people is inadequate digestion, therefore causing all the symptoms above. Many of these can be avoided with simple tips. Here’s one VERY important one:

Don’t Drink While You Eat!

I know this may be a hard habit to break, but when you drink and eat at the same time, the liquid is battling the enzymes needed to digest your food. This creates a very inefficient situation. I know we have done it this way all of our lives, but if you want a ferrari digestion you’ll take this advice.

So the change I want you to make “right now” is to drink preferably water (with a squeezed lemon) a half an hour before you eat, then do NOT drink anything during or 30 minutes after you eat.

This will be hard to change, but it is well worth it. If you want to lose weight or maintain your current weight this is one simple tip you can apply right now to achieve it.

Golfers Weight Loss Resource

If you’re looking to lose weight, you might want to check out my Golfers Weight Loss Guide, as it has many simple tips like this and is NOT a diet book

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Tags: drink water

To make every swing count, you have to bring together several elements of skill and concentration. When these are combined it will give you a graceful swing that drives the ball with the perfect amount of loft and with the distance needed to reach your target.

A Touch Of Grace

Once you’ve begun the swing and the club is in its descent towards the ball, it should be done without force and with as much grace as possible.

Beginner golfers have a tendency to whip the golf club as hard as they can during the start of the downswing. This ALWAYS results in poor weight shift and a disorganized ball contact. Balance and power are lost. In order to make great shots, grace and accuracy are needed, not using all of your might.

Just The Right Balance

Balance is a key component in any sport, but especially so in golf. In order to perform effectively, it is essential that athletes have the right amount of balance, especially during the crucial moments of their game. In golf, balance plays such an important role during every swing. Balance is responsible for the accuracy and power behind the ball.

When a golfer’s balance is not centered and their body weight shifts from foot to foot with no control, then tempo is lost. When this happens the club head doesn’t hit the ball with the correct angle needed for a great shot.

The next time you’re playing, look around. You’ll invariably notice some golfers who tend to fall over a bit after their swing. These players have no control over their balance.

In order to get rid of this habit of weight shifting or losing your balance during your swing, you have to rotate your body around one single axis point. You swing should be rotational, rather than lateral. If you keep this in mind, it will help you to maintain body control with proper balance. This will allow you to hit the ball with accuracy and precision and with the right amount of power.

What to fix first

It should be fairly obvious that having a great golf swing involves a lot of variables that all have to be combined in the right sequence. The right tempo, control, grace and balance all must be considered in order to perfect your swing. If you are a beginner or if you have improvements that need to be made on your golf swing, don’t try to fix everything at the same time.

To effectively work on your swing, you need to be patient. And then you should focus on one aspect at a time–and one aspect only!

It is virtually impossible to fix every part of a poor golf swing at the same time. Trying to do that is a sure path to frustration. Probably the best way to improve your swing skills is to take one component of your swing that needs work and concentrate on that one item until you have improved it. I’m hesitant to say “perfected” it–does anybody ever perfect a golf swing? Once you’ve done that then it’s time to move on to another component of the swing that needs work.

When you’ve worked through all of the elements of your swing that need work, you will then have achieved the tempo, grace, control and balance needed for that great golf swing.

For more tips for the beginner golfer, check out the golf blog for beginner golfers, Sensible Golf Tips.

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I seem to be staying on this nutrition and health theme and giving you a break from exercise (but not for long:) ).

As you may or may not know, sugar has many negative reactions to your body… especially if you have any type of diabetes. For most of us, sugar is consumed WAY TOO MUCH! Sugar causes weight gain, drastic energy fluctuations, and is now said to even feed cancer. The cancer may be far off, but not the weight gain. If you are interested in weight loss it is a MUST you lower your intake of refined sugar and find an alternative like the one I’m about to discuss.

As a golfer, you do not want energy fluctuations on the golf course. This will cause mental focus issues as well as a loss in power when you hit those “energy lows”. The way to avoid this is by not consuming products high in refined (processed) sugar like candy bars. Instead snacking on granola, or fruit, which has sugar… but it’s natural which does not affect your body the same way processed sugar does; and also snacking on nuts can give you sustained energy.

The sugar substitute I want to talk about (and it’s the one I use now) is called Stevia. You will not see it in mainstream grocery stores, but can find it in Wholefoods, and most GNC and supplement stores. If you want to improve your nutrition, then you should read this entire page without further delay.

What Is Stevia?

Stevia is an herb which grows wild as a small shrub in parts of Paraguay and Brazil. The glycosides in its leaves, including up to 10% Stevioside, account for its incredible sweetness, making it unique among the nearly 300 species of Stevia plants.

Is It Safe?

Stevia is an all-natural herbal product with centuries of safe usage by native Indians in Paraguay. It has been thoroughly tested in dozens of tests around the world and found to be completely non-toxic. It has also been consumed safely in massive quantities (Thousands of tonnes annually) for the past twenty years.

How Sweet Is It?

Stevia is 10-15 times sweeter than sugar, so you do not have to use very much to sweeten your food or juices. This will allow for the stevia to last a lot longer, saving on the cost of having to purchase it over and over again.

With all the unhealthy, processed and refined sugars and foods available in the grocery stores, and considering our country is bigger than it’s ever been, I would strongly encourage you to use Stevia as a perfect substitute for sugar!

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