Category: Flexibility

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GET TENSION OUT OF YOUR SHOULDERS

GET TENSION OUT OF YOUR SHOULDERS WITH SHOULDER CIRCUMDUCTION

Tension comes in several fashions: Mental, Emotional, Physical – and Nutritional are but a few ways. Regarding physical stress, Sitting Down is probably the most common way that stress develops in our bodies, and especially in our Shoulders. When we sit down and bend over, the shoulders, neck, and upper back are actually carrying the weight of the head – which is designed to be directly on top of the shoulders and the hips. (Imagine carrying a bowling ball around the back of your neck all day!)

In the golf swing, having tight shoulders will absolutely retard the free flowing motion of the upper trunk and rob the golfer of a smooth and powerful golf swing. On that note, one of the things I always remember about Jack Nicklaus, was when he would walk down the fairway shaking his arms and shoulders to get any tension out of his arms.

In today’s video, Tommy Jacobs, Susan, and myself are demonstrating a super easy to do Arm and Shoulder Circumduction exercise to… TAKE A SWING AT TENSION!!

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SINGLE & DOUBLE LEG PELVIC TILTS

SINGLE & DOUBLE LEG PELVIC TILTS (a Short and Simple Way to Stretch your Lower Back)

One thing is for certain: the Sitting Down Forward Bending Culture that we live in, tightens up your hips and lower back muscles something fierce!

Tight hips and tight lower back muscles are usually the cause of most back pain, and especially lower back pain. On top of that, tight hips and lower backs also lead to hip function in the golf swing. The hips and legs are absolutely the Engine of the Golf Swing, and when they get restricted, the golf swing will also be restricted and forcing you to compensate.

When a person has tight hip flexors and lower backs, it usually means that the Front Muscles of the hips have tightened and shortened pulling the upper torso forward, while simultaneously tightening the low back. This condition is called Lower Cross Syndrome, ie., Tight Hip Flexors and Low Back, and weak glutes and abs.

A simple stretch to loosen up the hips and lower back are Single and Double Leg Pelvic Tilts. These simple stretches can be done Actively (holding the stretch for 1-2 seconds), or Statically (holding the stretch for 20-60 seconds).

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IS YOUR BACKSWING GETTING SHORTER AS YOU AGE?

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably noticed that as you’ve gotten older (and played deeper onto the Back Nine of Life), your backswing  and drives have both gotten shorter.

One way to see if your lack of flexibility is causing this, is to check out your lat muscles.  If your lats and pecs are tight, the odds are your backswing will be restricted.  Keeping the lats flexible is crucial to maintaining a long and free-flowing swing for a lifetime.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY RETARD THE AGING PROCESS AND KEEP YOUR SWING LONG AND FREE-FLOWING BY DOING THE PROPER FLEXIBLITY PROTOCOLS!

However, I also want to emphasize – It’s not just doing one stretch that will cure you, it’s the whole combination.  All these muscles work together.  After you find out just how much your lats are restricting your backswing, don’t just do an overhead extension stretch to try and cure your lat muscles.  Make sure you get on an all-encompassing flexibility program that especially targets your lower body, core, and upper torso.

If you do the right stretches in the right order, and especially ‘BREATHE’ properly, you don’t have to lose your flexibility and distance!

With consistency and diligence you’ll start to achieve radical improvement in your flexibility and in your swing.

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A GREAT DRILL TO GET YOUR SHOULDERS ON PLANE


If you’re like most people, who spend their life sitting behind a desk, in a car, or in front of the TV, you probably have tight pecs and shoulder – which in turn, create forward head posture. Having a tight and restricted upper torso (accompanied with forward head posture) makes it harder to open up your chest and rotate your shoulders through the shot.

Controlling your shoulders means controlling your swing. Remember, big muscles control little muscles. Try the flagstick drill and you’ll begin to feel the proper rotation of your shoulders, as well as all of your body parts moving in unison.

In the video I demonstrate a drill for keeping the shoulders “on plane” but it’s a lot harder if you can’t open up and expand your chest. The best way to get more flexibility in your shoulders might surprise you… It starts with stretching your lower body.

In Roger Fredericks Reveals Secrets to Golf Swing Flexibility™ DVD Set, I show you not just which parts of your body to stretch but the right way to stretch, which includes which order to stretch in. Like tiles on the roof of your house, each muscle in your body is independent but only works when they all work together in the right direction.

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Watch This Video And Test Your Shoulder Turn


TAKE THIS TEST AND SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN YOUR SHOULDERS.

(Can you get your shoulders ‘In Line with your extended leg? If not, don’t try to make THE BIG TURN!)

I’ve been saying for years, that ‘just because you get older, doesn’t mean you have to lose your flexibility’ – at least to the to the degree that our society has brain washed us into believing,  i.e. that once you get on ‘The Back Nine of Life’, it’s all over.

The SECRET is maintaining your flexibility, strength, and function, which can be done with a ‘Proper’ Flexibility Program. I’ve seen A LOT of people during my career who maintained their flexibility – and many who have actually INCREASED  IT as they got older!

To see  where your shoulder turn is – or isn’t, try the Pretzel Test again.  If you’ve regressed, I highly suggest that you get back on my Flexibility Programs – especially with the Holiday Season coming up.

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STRENGTHEN YOUR BACK & STRETCH YOUR PECS WITH THE SKYDIVER POSE

One of my common themes is that due to our Forward Bending Culture that has us Bent over at desks, cars, and even golf stances, our bodies get out of ‘True’ as a carpenter would say. Remember:

YOUR BODY WILL MOLD ITSELF INTO WHATEVER ACTIVITY IT’S DOING OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME.

When you see the Rounded Shoulder Forward Head Look, it simply means that the muscles on the Anterior (front) of our torsos have tightened and pulled the torso forward, and the back muscles then become too weak due to the dominance of the Anterior torso.

A Great Exercise, and one that I do most days along with my overall Flexibility Program/Posture Programs, is Skydivers (as shown in today’s video). Generally speaking, I like to do around 3 SETS of a count of 5, or 1 or 2 SETS OF 5-10 Active Movements where you hold the pose for 1-2 seconds.

IF YOU HAVE DISC INVOLVEMENT YOU CAN EITHER DO THE ALTERNATE METHOD THAT KEITH IS DEMONSTRATING, OR ELIMINATE IT FROM YOUR PROGRAM.

AND, Of course, I highly recommend that you do the Flexibility Programs before and after to make sure you’re warmed up.

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WHOLE BODY STRETCHES AND EXERCISES ARE THE WAY TO GO!!


Remember, the old children’s nursery rhyme, “The Ankle Bone’s connected to the Shin Bone –The Shin Bone’s connected to the Knee Bone…”  The muscles of the human body are just like your car.  IE., They’re like tile on a roof and all run and work together.  Getting the body back into its natural 4 socket position design gets all of the muscles WORKING TOGETHER and help take the friction off of the injured joint and allow it to heal.  This is the reason why a lot of surgeries don’t take and people often end up with multiple surgeries.  Isn’t it interesting that around 1 out of 3 back surgeries are Re-Do’s?

In today’s video, I demonstrate how a couple of GREAT products- the Postursizer and Slant Board, will  help straighten you and get you back into proper anatomical alignment.  Once you get off of the Slant Board, you’ll feel what I call ‘The Thoracic Lift’.  At this point, not only will you feel Lighter and Taller, but you’ll be ready to do your exercises more effectively and……………. Go For It!

Leave your questions and comments for Roger Below!

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Neck Stretches


Do You Spend A Lot Of Time With Your Head Looking Down? In this video  I’m showing you a simple little routine that will help you get the kinks out of your neck from the stain ‘Looking Down’ puts on it. No doubt, the main reason for this is because of our Sitting Down ’Sedentary Lifestyle’ which not only tightens and creates muscle imbalances throughout our torso, but, has us looking down into our iPhones, Computers, Golf Stances, etc.

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The Body IS the Mind

“THE BODY IS THE MIND” is a phrase I heard Deepak Chopra say a while back while we were involved in a seminar at La Costa Resort & Spa. Although I’ve known that for a long time, I’ve never quite put it that way; instead saying, ‘Your Posture is a Reflection of what’s going on/on the Inside’.  Regardless, I think Deepak’s interpretation is more provocative.

“THE BODY IS THE MIND” is a phrase I heard Deepak Chopra say a while back while we were involved in a seminar at La Costa Resort & Spa. Although I’ve known that for a long time, I’ve never quite put it that way; instead saying, ‘Your Posture is a Reflection of what’s going on/on the Inside’.  Regardless, I think Deepak’s interpretation is more provocative.

So many people think that the mind and body are two different entities, but I’m firmly convinced that they’re the same; and I especially have noticed that so many people (especially seniors) fail to take care of their ‘Bodies’ because they don’t think that their bodies DIRECTLY AFFECT their minds.  On this note, if you’ve ever gone into an assisted living home (and I’ve been to a lot of them), I doubt that you’ve seen many ‘if any’ functional bodies in there (and I can assure you, that I sure haven’t).

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve ‘accumulated’ more and more friends, many of whom many are now in their eighties.  There’s NO DOUBT that the ones that have maintained healthy bodies, have maintained healthy minds; and, the ones who haven’t taken ‘proper’ care of their bodies, have noticed a definite deterioration of their mental capacity. 

Having said all of this, I’m sure many people are thinking, “Well, I’ll just start working out more consistently” (and, that’s great!), but make sure that you’re doing the Right Exercises for ‘You’, and especially ones that help you maintain good posture.  For example, if a person is hunched over (The Turtle Look) and do exercises that put them in a forward/ bent over position – such as Rowing Machines, Stationary Bikes, etc., they’ll often end up Strengthening their Dysfunction; So, if you’re going to do exercises like the ones I’ve just mentioned, make sure you do some proper Flexibility and Posture Restoration Exercises to bring you back into ‘Neutral’.  Being in ‘Neutral’ works with Gravity and allows the Blood, Oxygen, and Neutron Flow to flow freely throughout our body and up into your brain.  Being Bent Over definitely inhibits blood and oxygen flow and starves the brain of it’s vital nutrients.

In closing, I highly suggest that you ‘keep moving’ so that you’ll be around ‘On and Off’ the course for decades to come.

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The Pectoralis Stretch

Do This Simple Stretch Throughout the Day to Open up Your Chest

In the golf swing, the upper part of the spine and chest rotates approximately 60% more than the lower spine.  In the illustration here, you can see what is happening as the FRONT upper chest muscles EXPAND, and the BACK MUSCLES contract (or shorten).

Be sure to leave a comment for Roger below