Winter workouts

[GunnerUnitas]

I competed in bodybuilding and powerlifting alonged with training many people prepping for shows.
mark is right on what he is trying to say- basically, most people do not have the mind-muscle connection, once you develop
that weight doesnt matter ( in a way) and you will grow/ get stronger much faster. the mind-muscle connection has helped me in
dg bc I have total feel of all my muscles and know the feeling of when to hit it! that and having a great mentor/friend in Marty Peters that
puts me through hell n torture in the dg field to acheive excellece. He knows how I liked/need to be coached, and having good mentors/coaches is
something our sport is def. lacking, especially ones that can actually teach the game. sorry for going on a rant family is already feeding me cocktails lol

[GunnerUnitas]

Also, I think many people in general have a big conception about weight training.
I am always hearing light weights/reps bs!! you need to cycle your reps/intensity sometimes (deloading)
but the fact is in dg you want to develop fast twitch fibers. Lifting heavy weights, low reps, high intesnity
builds fast twitch fibers b/c on your compound exercises where your core is always involved you recruit all
your fibers at once when you get into that double or triple rep range- they are all firing off at once to complete the lift
like in your dg drive when you get to the hit- your recruiting your fast twitch fibers all at once as fast as possible.

AM i gonna get to bulky or lose flexibility?? NO-!!! that is more diet/ supplementation dependent ( if you get huge off eating chips, candy that you have the
genes to mr. olympia then) well balanced diet/supplments are a must but we are not going for mass and eating 6k calories/day.
Along with your heavy compund lifts incorporate some band/ cable movements for flexiblity. you need a balance but the bread n butter is heavy compund lifts nothing fancy!!

cardio is a must for health in general/ and vital to an athletes performance. I do sprints with my doberman on my feield work days- nothing beats these, they develop quick twitch muscles, burn more fat- all in less time then doing 40 mins on the elipical for exapmle- also high-intensity cardio does not burn muscles like long distance cardio/running. I beleive along with my weight training, sprints have been huge for my game in helping me to get faster and maintain flexibility. they are awesome for deveopling pure athletiscm- along with a lot of pylo exercises.

any qustions just ask me, i love talking training and disc golf!!!

[JR]

Mark have you found any differences to your putting from punching exercises? I did Wii Fit boxing exercises last winter and got way faster elbow straightening meaning much more putting distance. The faster acceleration also added accuracy to my putts.

I just did 5 lbs dumbell punches with only 10 punches per hand per leg and that is a great workout. I too suffer from poor balance. Mine comes from at least not being in good enough shape.

[JR]

Gunner could you please tell us your views on light vs heavy weight punches in relation to throwing from the perspective of a laser line putting stroke? Light weights allow for almost full speed arm straightening from the elbow using the outer parts of the muscles mostly while keeping the muscles loose enough for maximum speed and acceleration. Essential requirements to a short arm putt for added accuracy. I can't use heavy weights and get the arm moving like in a putt because of lack of power and having the arm muscles all tensed up. A putt like that goes nowhere and ain't accurate for me.

[garublador]

I think there is a continuing value to light weights (or light resistance, like the rubber stretch bands and tubes), even for big, strong athletes. Some exercises look like they should be easy but when you try them they are not. Some exercises can kick your butt with light weights. Some exercises probably shouldn't be done with big weights. When I do rotator cuff exercises my trainer puts me on 5 or 10 pound weights or light resistance stretchy bands.

So 5 or 10 pounds weights or bands, not only 8 pound weights? That sounds like an argument for the idea that only 8 pound weights aren't really enough.

I will bet there are very few disc golfers who would do the punching exercise I described earlier and after a few weeks or a few months(or ever) would want or need more than an 8 pound weight. It is not easy to do without any weights unless you have really good balance (which I don't).

So that's the only exercise you do? If not, why are do you keep using it as the only argument for only needing 8 pound weights, which you admitted you don't even do yourself? Why wouldn't someone want to be stronger? Why wouldn't someone want to get better balance? Isn't that one of the main reasons people lift weights in the first place?

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just saying that anyone looking to gain anything more than minimal strength and/or endurance probably won't get very far if all they have is 8 pound weights.

[Mark Ellis]

Mark have you found any differences to your putting from punching exercises? I did Wii Fit boxing exercises last winter and got way faster elbow straightening meaning much more putting distance. The faster acceleration also added accuracy to my putts.

I just did 5 lbs dumbell punches with only 10 punches per hand per leg and that is a great workout. I too suffer from poor balance. Mine comes from at least not being in good enough shape.

It is hard to know for sure. My workouts are not a set series of exercises but a constantly changing array so the punching exercises are just among the many variations. Any session might be any combination of flexibility, balance, coordination, endurance and power. My age (55 yrs.) and experience in the game (17 yrs.) makes it difficult to see improvement. The real battles are maintaining what I have and minimizing (or slowing) the inevitable declines of age. For sure I have lost power in the past few years. I would guess my putting and touch shots are as good or better than they have ever been.

One of the little emphasized but important skills of disc golf is balance. Good balance helps on every kind of shot so I would guess that gaining better balance would be beneficial to a young athlete as well as an older player or a raw beginner.

[Mark Ellis]

I think there is a continuing value to light weights (or light resistance, like the rubber stretch bands and tubes), even for big, strong athletes. Some exercises look like they should be easy but when you try them they are not. Some exercises can kick your butt with light weights. Some exercises probably shouldn't be done with big weights. When I do rotator cuff exercises my trainer puts me on 5 or 10 pound weights or light resistance stretchy bands.

So 5 or 10 pounds weights or bands, not only 8 pound weights? That sounds like an argument for the idea that only 8 pound weights aren't really enough.

I will bet there are very few disc golfers who would do the punching exercise I described earlier and after a few weeks or a few months(or ever) would want or need more than an 8 pound weight. It is not easy to do without any weights unless you have really good balance (which I don't).

So that's the only exercise you do? If not, why are do you keep using it as the only argument for only needing 8 pound weights, which you admitted you don't even do yourself? Why wouldn't someone want to be stronger? Why wouldn't someone want to get better balance? Isn't that one of the main reasons people lift weights in the first place?

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm just saying that anyone looking to gain anything more than minimal strength and/or endurance probably won't get very far if all they have is 8 pound weights.

Right. Ignore those puny weights and go juggle Volkswagens.

Many exercises develop strength, balance and endurance using only body weight as resistance. So adding only a few pounds to an exercise which already relies on body weight and balance obviously cannot accomplish much. Now I see the light. Wait until I let my trainer know how uninformed and misguided he is.

Garublador, maybe it is time for you to step up and revolutionize exercise science.

[JR]

Balance is a key factor because when you lose balance everything you know and have trained for flies out of the window when the nose and hyzer angles are determined by a lack of balance (unwanted tilt somewhere). Or lack of muscle power to maintain proper positions and motions. I know this only too well from second plus round blues that i often have when starting to throw and go downhill from there. The needs of regular life...

[JR]

garu ain't Pilates performed originally with the body weight alone? And ain't it based on core strength and one of the most if not the most effective for gaining core strength? This is what i've heard because i don't do Pilates. If those claims are true every disc golfer should benefit from some of the Pilates exercises. I'm thinking maybe i should check those exercises out hmmm.

[uNicedmeMan]

Anybody do any yoga? I've been thinking that could be a good way to gain flexibility and learn to open the hips...

[Discwrangler]

Anybody do any yoga? I've been thinking that could be a good way to gain flexibility and learn to open the hips...

Absolutely.

I really like the P90X Yoga. 45 minutes of tough work and 45 minutes of stretching/cool down/meditation. When I follow it up with putting practice it's incredible how easy it is to focus and actually see the line the putt will be on.

And yeah, really opens the hips and stretches out the legs.

Some days I'll do 15 minutes of Yoga for my warm-up leading into the Workout of the Day.

[uNicedmeMan]

This chick's exercises seem pretty solid, easy on the eyes too:shock:

[sloppydisc]

I am on the DL right now, so my workouts are pretty non-existent. But here is what I am doing to try and make sure I am not a big tub of inflexible fat when I start playing again.

Hammer drills
Hand strengthening and exercises while driving
Gyro ball, for fun while watching sports on TV
Improved diet. Eliminating all meaningless carbs and all dairy. I love cheese, but it must go.

Once weather and/ or health improves I usually ride a road bike 2-3 times a week to the tune of 20-30 miles a ride. By mid summer the mileage is usually 30-40 miles each ride. Plus I mix in some full body weight workout including squats, dead lifts, Romanian Deadlifts, bent rows, dumbbell press's and core work when the weather sucks.

I have tinkered with some basic Pilates and it is pretty good for your core and flexibility. I need to do more when I travel.

[colombo117]

I shovel snow.

Me too. I just stretch and do physical work. I am naturally athletic.

[Discwrangler]

Well, I'm 3 weeks into Crossfit and loving it.

Recovery times are decreasing, strength and stamina increasing. The big thing I'm liking is, everyday is the hardest workout I've ever done. Mainline (core) stabilization is integral to every movement we do. Been doing 2 days on, 1 day off, 3 days on, 1 day off. Going to try and get up to 3 on 1 off. Perfect IMO for preparing for tournaments. I also think sticking with this gym and going T, W, Th through the week is going to be key to my success this season.