It definitely seems like it’s too good to be true, but its not. Getting those six pack abs can actually help you grow taller and vice-versa. This is because the elements of your body that are involved in both processes are anything but independent on one another and – quite the opposite – are actually very dependent. This means that by working on becoming leaner and more fit in your goal to obtain those perfect abs can help you grow taller and by strengthening your core muscles and becoming more flexible on your journey to grow taller, you will see a reduction of fat and increase in muscle around your abdomen. It’s a perfect synergistic relationship.

Since the bulk of increased height often comes from the optimization of your spine and the components that make up your spinal column, your abdominal area is a crucial place to target for optimization as well. This is because your abdominal muscles don’t exist simple to make you look great on the beach without a shirt on, they are the protective, supportive wall that helps support your spinal column and give you the strength to carry yourself upright.

By strengthening your core, you are accelerating your progress in your grow taller exercises. By performing your grow taller exercises, you are strengthening your core. The two are not mutually exclusive and that is very good news.

To begin helping your body accomplish both goals at the same time, adhere to basic, no-nonsense, proven ab-training exercises as well as a complete regimen of height increase exercises including cardiovascular exercises, stretching exercises, and strength-training exercise. You diet – as always – will also play an immense role in helping you reach both goals as well.

Not because I hate soy but because I hate the way the Soy industry has lied to us and poisoned us for profit. You must read Kaayla T. Daniels’s book The Whole Soy Story to truly understand the history and damaging effects of soy. The book contains many compelling testimonials, about the dangers of soy, from real people. The serious health problems caused by heavy soy consumption are unbelievable. Soybeans are a cheap, crappy, hard to digest, food source with many harmful side effects. Once again you have been lied to and I will not tone down the truth so corporations can market waste products as health food. I know what you’re thinking. If soy is so bad then how come most people think it is good? This is why:

First of all, the origins of soybean use, 3000 years ago, in ancient China, Japan and Indonesia came out of poverty and famine. The soybean did not serve as a food until the discovery of fermentation techniques.1 Soybeans were used for crop rotation to add nitrogen to the soil.

They were not eaten.

These ancient peoples would have rather eaten fish and meat they just did not have enough. Soy Protein or Tofu evolved as a poor man’s meat substitute. It was discovered that fermenting the soybeans gave them a better flavor, made them more edible and medicines could be created from the soybeans-like Nattokinase. It is the fermenting of soy that makes it healthy in small quantities. This fermentation of foods has been used since ancient times to preserve food and create medicines from food, and is known as “Alchemy”.2

The Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans because of the large quantities of natural toxins or “antinutrients” that can cause serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and conditions of the pancreas including cancer.1 Unfermented soy is not healthy at all and large quantities, such as the levels currently consumed in America, is very detrimental to our health. It has been linked to hypothyroidism, early puberty in children, loss of testosterone, and many other hormone related health problems.2 The American soy industry took the unfermented soybean, genetically modified it and bastardized it into an unhealthy food that nature never intended. What is further compounding the problem is the relentless multi-billion dollar marketing campaign to convince us that soy is health food and we should eat it in quantity.

“Marketing costs money, especially when it needs to be bolstered with “research”, but there are plenty of funds available. Soybean producers pay $80 million annually to support United Soybean‘s program to “strengthen the position of soybeans in the marketplace and maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for uses for soybeans and soybean products.” Private companies like Archer Daniels Midland also contribute their share. ADM spent $9 million for advertising during the course of a year.”1 ADM is, of course, the corporation that brought us Hydrogenated Soybean Oil or “Trans Fats”. The marketing is working. “Sales from soy milk alone have risen from $2 million in 1980 to over $300 million in the US last year.”1

The best marketing strategy for a product that is inherently unhealthy is, of course, a health claim. 1

Claims that eating soy can “lower cholesterol levels” and “reduce cancer” have been approved by the FDA after heavy lobbying and “alleged research” from the soy industry supposedly proving a health benefit. The opposite is actually true. Soy contains “antinutrients” that are toxic and carcinogenic to the human body.2

Soy protein (Tofu) is the spoogy waste leftover from making soybean oil. This sludgy byproduct from the soy oil industry was considered a waste product and animal feed until recently. By the way, animals do not like soybeans either and will only eat them when they are starving to death.

When I first started weight training I picked up a tub of vanilla flavored soy protein powder and started chugging down some chalky, ill tasting shakes with glee. I thought I was doing myself a big favor but little did I know I was actually reversing any chance of muscular gains. Scanning through a recent “Muscle Magazine” I saw an article supposedly reviewing the different protein powder supplements available on the market today. The article pictured animated protein tubs with friendly faces on them and the names “Soy”, “Whey”, “Casein” and “Egg”. Whey and Soy were portrayed as the best choice for health, low cost and nutritional value. Now listen carefully to what I am going to tell you next. THEY ARE LYING TO YOU! Whey and Soy protein are waste products from the food industry, cleverly disguised as “health food” and heavily marketed to the American consumer.

Soy Protein Isolate is a heavily processed product. A slurry of soybeans is acid washed and then mixed with an alkaline solution. Acid washing in aluminum tanks leaches high levels of aluminum into the final product. The curd is then dried at high temperatures completely denaturing the final product and making the protein ineffective and drastically altered from what nature intended. Animals on soy feed have to actually be given lysine supplements for normal growth.2

Don’t trust Men’s Fitness magazine either. “Open a copy and you will find pages and pages of full color ads for soy based candy bars and instant beverages promoted as a way to create the macho man with perfect abs. Sadly-ironically-most issues contain the requisite article advising these super-built Lotharios how to have great sex. Were Men’s Fitness to warn it’s readers about the fact that soy lowers testosterone levels in men, advertising revenues would dry up and the magazine would fold.”2 (Kaayla T. Daniel)

Tear up your Fitness and Muscle Magazines that are filled with lies and eat a delicious steak or fish dinner.

Maybe you have heard of Edamame, the new “healthy” baby green soybean pods. While eating at a local Sushi restaurant recently I noticed tables of customers around me happily munching on Steamed Edamame appetizers. Surely this must be good, right? Wrong! Edamame is crap too! The good news is these baby soybeans still in the pod are tender and more palatable. They also contain less of the harmful plant estrogens that diminish testosterone. So I would compare them to light cigarettes. They are much less harmful than regular soybeans that are loaded with anti-testosterone hormones!

Supporters of Soy debunk milk and supporters of milk (from pastured animals) debunk soy. They are both right and they are both wrong. Small amounts of milk from pure pastured animals would be nice and ideal but not necessary. Small amounts of fermented soy products like Nattokinase and Miso prepared the ancient way are OK and considered medicine in the East.

If you are not eating organic, you should know that 99% of the non-organic soy we eat is genetically modified and has one of the highest percentages of contamination by pesticides of any of our foods.1 This processed, genetically modified “American Soy” that we know, is poisoning us and causing illness and disease.

Soy Protein excellent for lowering Testosterone

Eating Soy protein causes lowered Testosterone levels. This is especially troubling to men and bodybuilders. To a bodybuilder, soy protein is like Kryptonite! The plant estrogens will rob you of your manhood, shrink your muscles and lower your sex drive. Ancient monks used to eat extra tofu to help them to easily maintain their vows of celibacy.2

Vegetarians who consume tofu and bean curd as a substitute for meat risk severe mineral deficiencies. The results of calcium, magnesium and iron deficiency are well known; those of zinc are less so.1 I met someone recently who was vegetarian and ate lots of tofu because she “loves animals”. For gods sake don’t eat a waste product from a crappy bean because you love animals! Love animals and eat raw nuts, “quality” beans and maybe some eggs. I love and respect animals as well and I am often astounded by the awesome beauty of nature’s wild creatures. Humans, however, did not rise to the top of the food chain just to step aside and eat tofu because we love animals. I love them, respect them and eat some of them too!

Dump your milk down the sink! Spit your Tofu out the window! Throw your milk and soy products in the dumpster today and be healthier tomorrow!

Sources:

1: Fallon, Sally & Enig, Mary G., Newest Research On Why You Should Avoid Soy

2: Daniel, Kaayla T., The Whole Soy Story, New Trends Publishing, 2005

If you’re trying to achieve a curvy figure or a bigger butt, it is likely that you are an ectomorph. Of the three body types, ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph, the ectomorph is the leanest. “Low fat genetics” or “low muscle genetics” are usually associated with this body type.

Muscle genetics

If you have low muscle genetics, it is very easy to overtain your muscles. If you overtrain your muscles, or if you pay no attention to nutrition whatsoever, you might be causing your muscles, and therefore you bum, to get even smaller. This is known as the catabolic state. It’s a state that your body enters during or right after exercise. If your workout takes long enough for your body to run out of energy, you’ll enter the catabolic state and your body will begin to break down muscle tissue in order to make up for this lack of energy. If you’re trying to lose weight, this wouldn’t be much a problem, since you’ll burn a lot of fat in this state as well. However, if your goal is to gain a bigger bum, you wouldn’t want this. After all, we want our bodies to gain weight.

Now, ectomorphs who have trouble gaining weight or trying to achieve a curvy figure don’t necessarily have “actual” low muscle genetics. It’s genetics for a high metabolism, that results in difficultly gaining mass. When you have a high metabolism and you do not eat enough fats (healthy ones), you’re much more likely to constantly be living in a catabolic state where you’re always burning fat and muscle and never achieving any curvy figure. So, we get to the rules.

1. Do NOT work out for longer than 45 minutes.

If you’re only concerned with the bum area, even 25 minutes is plenty.

The reason why you should not do this, is to avoid entering the catabolic state, and to avoid damaging the muscles beyond the point where it can effectively recover within 48 hours (the next workout). Your exercise needs to be short, but heavy. And don’t worry, “heavy” sounds scary, but it’s not nearly as troublesome as it sounds. Just a few intensive sets before you move on with your day.

2. Don’t do exhausting cardio.

Stick to strength training. For the same reason as the above: avoid entering a catabolic state. Running, cycling, all those activities will have you lose weight, and therefore lose butt.

3. Have a nutritious meal ready for right after training.

Do not wait too long to take in carbs (preferably fruits or juices) and sufficient amounts of protein after your workout. Catabolic state ensues when energy runs out. Hence, don’t drain all your energy by working out for too long, and when you finish, replenish as soon as possible!

4. Try not to run out of energy at all: eat plenty of healthy fats and proteins

Eat a lot of good fats, such as avocado, olive oil, coconut. Why fats? Fats take longer to break down, and contain more energy per gram than proteins and carbs do. Taking healthy fats in fair amounts throughout the entire day, provides you with a steady source of energy that prevents you from entering any butt burning catabolic state. So while the fats take care of energy needs for daily activities, the intake of proteins will make sure that your muscle keeps growing.

5. If you’re not an ectomorph

If you’re not an ectomorph, but simply someone with a flat butt, you’re probably a case of “lazy butt syndrome”. What this basically means, is that your neuromuscular system functions in such a way that the glutes are recruited to a lesser extent than they should be during movements where glutes are involved. In this case, even if you squat, you will still not be recruiting enough of the glutes to produce a serious impulse for butt growth.

How can you fix this? (Even if you are an ectomorph, the tips below will still benefit your bum growth results, so by all means follow them.)

1. First of all, make sure you’re only doing exercises that you KNOW to involve glute activity. Such as squats, deadlifts, lunges.

2. When you do these exercises, be absolutely sure to squeeze the glutes at the end of the contraction part of the movement. People without lazy glute syndrome don’t have to focus on doing this consciously, they’re doing it enough already. You on the other hand, have to make up for the fact that your bum isn’t recruited automatically. Therefore: squeeze. The more you do this, the more you will learn to recruit your bum automatically during daily functions as well, improving growth even more.

3. Try to finish the entire movement. You need to go low enough, and you also need to complete the movement when standing back up (usually, this is where you squeeze).

4. After exercise, stretch the lower body, especially the glutes.

If you follow these tips, along with a decent workout program specifically tailored to your goals, you will be sure to pack on meat!

The half rep is a technique of doing a push or pulling exercise using only partial range of motion for a particular muscle group. While they can be beneficial, most are done for the wrong reasons.

First, to clear up any misinformation, lets go over what exactly a half rep does that is beneficial, and what it is actually used for. These lifts are a training technique used by more advanced lifters to get them past sticking points in their lift, basically, to target areas of weakness in each lift.

Most of the time half reps are done incorrectly simply so that some over egoistic person in the gym can convince themselves that they are lifting more weight than they can actually handle. For example: Have you ever seen someone in the gym load way to much weight on the bench press and then maybe bring the weight down 25% before pushing it back up (usually with a lot of noise to make sure everyone sees them lifting heavy)? They call this a lift but unfortunately this does nothing for the development of chest size or strength. Another example would be this same egoistic person putting hundreds of pounds too much on a squat rack and squatting down only a few inches. This defeats their entire purpose and unfortunately most people, including personal trainers that I see perform these incorrectly and for the wrong reasons.

Over time, performing these lifts incorrectly does two things. First, it decreases the range of motion in which the muscle is viable. Second, the weaker parts of the muscle are not developed, they are left to atrophy and get weaker still. This inevitably leads to injury when a part of the body suddenly finds itself beyond the half rep training motion.

The correct way to do a half rep is to work the hardest part of the movement only, usually the lower part of the movement. (sorry gym rats but going 25% of the way down is pointless) Then stop 1/2 way up and go back down and do another 1/2 rep in the hard part of the movement range. DO NOT BOUNCE THE WEIGHT! Pause at the end of the movement for a split second and then press the weight back up, pausing at the top as well. Using momentum by bouncing the weight is just another way glorify the ego, and does not help in building real strength.

For example: A bench press lift would begin with the bar resting on your chest, go 40%-60% of the way up, pause, and return the bar to your chest. Pause again before performing another rep and do not bounce the bar off your chest. A squat would require you to go all the way into a deep squat, legs bent more than 90 degrees. Move from that position upward until the legs are parallel to the floor, then pause before returning to the bottom. A pull-up can be done in whatever area you are weaker, either from hanging with straight arms up to 40%-60% range of motion, or from half way up to chin above the bar. The idea again is to get you past your weak points.

So the question is; Should I do half reps? I would say no. Focus on developing strength throughout your full range of motion. If you must use them, use the correct technique and use it for the right reasons, to get past a weak point. Do not make it part of your every day lifting and do not use it to add more weight than you can safely handle.

To learn more about precise form and lifting technique that will speed up your progress, please visit www.dynamicsofmotion.com.

To understand bodybuilding you need to take time to look back at the history of it how far it has come in the past century. Bodybuilding in the modern evolution started in the 1890’s with Eugene Sandow; who is crowned at the Olympia every September as a world champion. Cultures as a whole started looking at the weight lifting and strongmen as a chance to issue challenges to each other by seeing who could out-lift the most on many levels. This is where power lifting competitions exemplify this challenge and competition at its finest. Nevertheless, symmetry was not a concept known at this point in time, but was soon to have emergence with Eugene Sandow. Sandow himself started in Europe as a strongman before traveling to America in the 1890’s.

Sandow promoted bodybuilding and also published the first magazine of the time promoting the sport called, “Physical Culture”. Sandow happened to suffer a brain hemorrhage when he tried to pull a car from a ditch to show his prowess in physicality. Sandow had the chance to judge the first bodybuilding contest before his untimely death. The first show was called “The Great Show” in 1891. Prize money back then was $2,500 and a gold Sandow statue. Judging criteria was laid out so that points would be awarded for showing more than just size, they included; general development, balance of development, condition and tone of muscle tissue, general health and condition of the competitors skin. The first Sandow statue went to a man named William Murray of Great Britain. After this bodybuilding competition, it became increasingly more popular.

This was the time when the cartoon “Hey Skinny…yer ribs are showing!” became popular. We have all seen this cartoon at some time, where a skinny guy with a cute girl on the beach is picked on by the big guy with muscles. The big guy kicks sand in the wimp’s face and then he takes his girl. This has become the stigma over the years for the big guy. This has been known as the most successful advertising campaign in history. By the end of the 1920’s we had barbells, dumbbells and other exercises that led to more muscular development in present day. On the California coast from the 1930’s to the 1970’s you would see weight lifting on the beach become increasingly popular; where at the top of the list is muscle beach in Venice.

Competition intensified when the Amateur Athletic Union brought in Mr. America in 1939; where the participants would demonstrate athletic skills and were advised to get in the best possible shape to help their chances of winning. John Grimek the first Mr. America was advanced in muscle development and won the award the second year as well. He became a new idol; one where the fitness role takes a new direction in physical development and improvement overall. Steve Reeves and Clancy Ross were both big time names during this time; although some still were skeptic about the sport of bodybuilding.

Early world known names include the greats, Frank Zane, Bill Pearl and Sergio Oliva. Ben Weider the figurehead for present day bodybuilding was the influence in forming the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilders) in 1946. The competition that is known to all at this time is the Mr. Olympia started in 1965 by Weider and the IFBB. The 1960’s would mark the time the biggest bodybuilder in history comes to light. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1967 started his reign with winning the Mr. America title and dominated the bodybuilding world where he would go on to win the Mr. Universe five times and Mr. Olympia an astounding seven times. Bodybuilding grew in the 1970’s Arnold and other stars like Zane, Draper and Feriggno. While the muscular body gained in popularity, the gym world gained momentum and people realized this is a very lucrative business to be in.

The 1970’s brought dominance for bodybuilding and the IFBB. The federation decided to make bodybuilding a legitimate sport when enough competitors in over 100 countries became known. By this time bodybuilding had become a multibillion dollar industry. Currently we have seen many major names come into the world of bodybuilding such as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris as well as Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis. Right training and dieting have become central to everyday life for more than four billion of the world’s population. Competitive bodybuilders are at their all time largest, finding new ways to increase muscle size as well as finding this can be a career choice. In the 1980’s we had the chance to see steroids come to the light and put a black eye on the sport of bodybuilding. The physiques improved due also to advances in training and strategies. We saw Lee Haney win seven Mr. Olympia awards with his physique around 240lbs and be larger than any other bodybuilder at that point where we now see many pushing close to 300lbs. When Haney retired he had beaten down Arnold’s records and many believe to be the largest name in bodybuilding. We now have very public figures in bodybuilding such as reigning Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, former king of bodybuilding Ronnie Coleman and Gunter Schlierkamp who moved his way into the world of film. Bodybuilding competitions continue to be popular and inspirational to many fans.

Learn 10 strategies to help you achieve lifetime wellness and maximize your quality of life. Strategies include exercise, nutrition, breathing techniques, lifetime learning and more…

1. Regular Chiropractic Care

First and foremost, we must ask the question, “Why do people get sick?” We now know that the majority of health problems are caused by stress: physical, chemical and emotional. Examples of physical stress include accidents, falls, inactivity, and sitting for too long. Chemical stressors include smoking, alcohol, processed and preservative filled foods, drugs (including pharmaceuticals) and environmental toxins. It is well accepted that the most prevalent and detrimental type of stress is emotional. Emotional stress can have many sources and is different for everyone, but the most common sources include relationship issues, financial concerns, low self-esteem and social pressures. The good news is that we were born with a nervous system that is capable of adapting to stress, so we don’t get sick every time we have a stressful experience. Because of the stressful world we have created for ourselves, I don’t think it is realistic to completely eliminate negative stress from our lives completely, but a healthy lifestyle that includes practicing the 10 Strategies for Lifetime Wellness will certainly reduce the total amount of negative stress you experience and help to ensure that your nervous system continues to function as designed and manage the negative stressors it encounters. At the same time, regular chiropractic care keeps your nervous system healthy and better able to adapt the negative stressors you can’t control.

2. Drink Lots of Clean Water

Your body is 80% water and without it we could not live more than a few days. Only nerve function and oxygen are more important for life than water. It is crucial for circulating nutrients around the body, internal cellular health, regulating body temperature, and joint lubrication. Daily water requirements can be calculated by dividing your body weight in pounds by two. That number is the number of ounces of water you should consume daily. Add 2 glasses of water per day for each cup of coffee, tea, pop or serving of alcohol you consume. The type of water you consume is also very important. Tap water, despite the regulations that supposedly keep it pure, is filled with harmful toxins including: prescription drugs, rocket fuel, heavy metals, chlorine and fluoride. Currently, the best way to ensure that you are getting pure, healthy water is to use a reverse osmosis filter in your home.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is one of your most precious resources. Just like exercise, the health benefits you receive every night from sleep depend on how long you sleep and the quality of it. Getting enough quality sleep is essential to ensure that your body has enough energy to meet the physical, mental, and emotional demands of life. Sleep deprivation is such a chronic condition that most don’t even realize they are suffering from it. Sleep deficit can have serious and far reaching effects on your health including: a decreased ability to concentrate and focus, a heightened physiologic response to mildly stressful events, a weakened immune system, increased susceptibility for heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The latest research suggests that more or less than 7 hours of sleep per day, including naps, has a harmful effect on your health.

4. Remember to Breathe

Breathing correctly can be as powerful as it is simple. The typical person only uses about 20 percent of their lung capacity, but with practice can tap into their lung’s full potential. Providing the cells of the body with more oxygen can result in significant improvements in general health, mood and energy. It is easy to develop good breathing habits, but it takes practice. Start by focusing your attention on your breathing and bring the number of respiration from a standard of 12 per minute down to as few as 4 per minute. One common technique is called “4-7-8 Breathing” in which you inhale to the count of four, hold the breath to the count of seven, and slowly exhale to the count of eight. Focus on breathing in through your nose instead of your mouth.

5. Exercise

Exercise and movement are required nutrients that industrialized societies are deathly deficient in. The human body requires daily movement and exercise in order to function optimally. However, just as with your diet, it’s important to vary your exercise routine in order to achieve the absolute best results. Your muscles simply get used to the same activity and they require a level of muscle confusion in order to continue to improve and grow stronger. When you are planning your exercise routine, make sure to incorporate the following types of exercise: aerobic, interval (anaerobic) training, strength training and core exercises.

6. Eat Fresh, Organic, Whole Foods

Eat whole foods as nature intended – fresh organic vegetables and fruits, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free beef, free range organic poultry and eggs, wild fish, nuts and seeds. If the food did not exist in pre-industrial times it is probably not healthy to eat. Shop on the perimeter of the supermarket as this is where you will usually find the healthiest foods. Most whole foods will go bad if you keep them too long. A packaged food that has a long shelf life is most likely full of preservatives, food additives and artificial colourings.

7. Develop a Spiritual Practice

Studies show that people with a regular spiritual practice, regardless of religion, are healthier and happier. Regardless of belief, it is important to thank a higher power each and every day for the things in your life that you are grateful for. Gratitude is a very powerful human emotion and spending time each day being grateful is an important key to happiness.

8. Positive Mental Attitude

Studies show that people with a positive mental attitude live an average of 7 years longer than those with a negative mental attitude. Optimists also have a better quality of life as they seem to attract better relationships. You can focus on what is wrong in the world or on what’s right with it; the choice is yours.

9. Lifetime Learning

Have you always wanted to learn to play the guitar? Learn to dance or cook? Do you have a list of books that you’ve been meaning to read? Learning new things keeps your brain healthy, and keeps life exciting and fun. Learning new things has also been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

10. Get Outdoors

It is important to make time for getting outdoors and reconnecting with nature. Connecting with nature by camping, hiking and going to the beach, or to a park can help remind us that keeping our environment clean and our planet healthy is just as important as keeping ourselves healthy. The sun has been supporting life on earth for years and is even worshipped by many cultures for its vast healing and therapeutic powers. Statistics show that almost a million people die each year and contract serious illnesses due to a lack of exposure to sunlight. Too much sunlight can cause harmful and dangerous damage to your skin, so be respectful. But don’t be afraid to go out and get some sun because the health benefits far outweigh the risks.

Are you tired of being the “short knocker” in your group, tired of not being able to reach par 4’s in two, par 5’s in three? How would you like to gain 10-30 yards off the tee without buying a new $400+ driver?

This article reveals the steps taken by a 68 year old retired aerospace engineer to regain the driving distance of his youth.

The steps were taken over a 12 month period of experimentation using many different driver and shaft combinations and modifications.

He began his quest for increased distance because his distance with the driver had fallen off 20-30 yards over the past few years and he had begun to struggle with hitting five iron and sometimes four iron into greens where he used to hit a seven iron.

Self evaluation told him that his swing length was getting shorter and his club head speed was dropping like a rock. He had begun to increasingly have discomfort and flexibility loss in his joints. Especially his knees, hands, wrists and shoulders during and after a round of golf.

This article was written to help you quickly and easily make significant improvements in your driving game using the same success steps. After a review of distance producing factors, you will then learn several keys that will all work together to unlock the Longest Driver You Can Be.

Section One-Driving Distance Factors

Lets talk about distance. The scientists tell us that ultimately ball speed, launch angle and spin rate are factors that the golfer can control to maximize potential distance. Other factors like the wind, slope and hardness of the ground,length of fairway grass, humidity, and temperature are out of the golfer’s control.

Proper selection of a driver loft, head design, shaft type and flex will help the golfer maximize the factors he can control. Swing improvements to get the club going down the target line for the most solid contact will minimize distance and accuracy robbing side spin. Maximum ball speed is achieved when the club head speed is maximum AND the contact is solid with a minimum of back or side spin. Somewhere between topping the ball so it runs on the ground and skying it (Fore God!) there is an optimum launch angle for the conditions being played in.

And as evidenced by more and more professional golfers adopting physical work out programs, building up major muscle strength and flexibility will obviously help gain distance. However the average golfer is either not inclined to put in that much physical time and work or unable to due to age created limitations. So other answers are needed.

The driver is more difficult to hit than a three wood because of its lower loft. For that reason, in recent years club manufacturers have been making drivers with more loft. Some years ago, drivers with 7 to 8 degrees of loft were common; now the more common lofts are in the 9.5 to 12 degree range. the reason your driver shaft length is longer than your three wood shaft is so you can develop more club head speed and hit it farther.

The type of shaft in the driver is VERY important. It must match your swing characteristics or else you will not achieve maximum distance. The shaft is much like the engine in a car. In addition to shaft length both shaft flex (degree of stiffness) and the flex point(low, mid or high) affect performance.

Driver club head design in the past year or so has seen amazing advances in geometry and fabrication techniques that allow club makers to reduce and/or reposition weight to maximize performance. Positioning weight as far back behind the face and as low as possible has made drivers more stable (higher moment of inertia) and increased the launch angle while reducing distance robbing backspin.

Golf ball design has come a long way in the past few years. So now more than ever it is possible to gain distance by selecting the right ball for your swing.

First of all, many golfers think that playing a “pro” ball will help their game. When in fact, it will actually rob them of valuable distance in most cases.

Titleist and Callaway for instance make great “pro” level balls like the Pro V1, ProV1x, Hex Tour and Hex Tour 56. Truth is if your swing speed with the driver doesn’t exceed 100 mph you are giving up distance. My experience and testing has shown that it takes a certain minimum amount of club head speed to adequately compress such balls.

For the average, non-pro, non-low handicap golfer, quality golf balls like the Maxfli Noodle or Callaway Hx Hot or Titleist NXT Extreme are much more capable of producing maximum distance.

Now yes it is true these balls won’t spin as much as the “pro” balls, but they will certainly spin well enough to score with. Besides, how many times do you hit the ball past the hole anyhow?

Section Two-Golf Swing Considerations

It is beyond the scope of this report to try to improve your swing. You should consult with your local PGA professional if you are having basic swing difficulties or just want to map a plan for improvement.

In order to achieve your maximum driving distance potential you will need to make sure of three things as a minimum: Your grip must be proper- For a right handed golfer, you must grip the club in the fingers (not the palms of your hands) and your left thumb position must be to the right of center on the grip. Think of the butt end of the grip as a clock face and position your left hand such that the left thumb is between 1:00 and 2:00 o’clock. Generally speaking, the vee’s between your thumb and forefinger on each hand should point between your chin and right shoulder. You must do everything you can to reduce tension in your hands, arms and shoulders to achieve maximum club head speed. Your grip should be so soft that when you start your back swing, the club head lags behind or almost lags behind initially. If you gauge grip pressure from 1 to 10 with 10 being the tightest, then you should try to start with a grip pressure of only about 4. Of course, there will always be some increase during the down swing. But, if you don’t start tension free then you will fall way short of your distance potential. You must swing through the ball not hit at the ball. The ball must just get in the way of your swing, not be the focal point.

Section Three-Golfer Health Considerations

When the retired aerospace engineer started his quest to regain some of his lost distance, he began a series of very light physical stretching workouts to help regain some of his lost flexibility. This did not take much time and also encouraged him to make sure he did brief stretching to warm up before playing golf. (Note-always check with your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program, especially those with a purpose of having you exert more effort.)

After a couple of months he noticed a definite improvement and could even tell his small muscle control (handwriting) was improving. But, even though that stopped or at least greatly slowed any further loss of distance it did not help him gain back as much as he wanted.

The light exercise / stretching workouts also helped regain some lost muscle tone so he could swing harder. But, his aching stiff arthritic joints let him know they didn’t like the extra stress.

He did research and talked with a number doctors who recommended taking some form of Glucosomine/Chondroitin to increase his joint lubrication and encourage repair/rebuilding of damaged/aging joint tissue. And, this really did help him relieve most of his discomfort. (Note-always check with your doctor before adding to or changing any of your medications.)

Section Four-Golf Club Considerations

There are three major components that make up the driver: the club head, the shaft and the grip.

Club Head For maximum distance your driver club head should have as many of the following features as possible: Face should be slightly (1/2 to 1 degree closed) to encourage a slight draw or minimize the effects of a fade/slice. Weight bias should be neutral or slightly draw biased to encourage a slight draw or minimize the effects of a fade/slice. Size should be 435 cc or larger for maximum forgiveness on off center hits. Loft should be 10 to 12 degrees minimum to achieve a launch angle near the optimum of 13 degrees for maximum carry/roll combined. Construction should be Titanium/Composite materials to minimize overall club head weight and allow achieving maximum club head speed.

Moment of Inertia (MOI) should as high as the limits allow to minimize distance loss due to the club head twisting on off center hits. The Coefficient of Restitution (COR-spring like effect) should be as high as the limits allow to produce maximum possible ball speed. The Center of Gravity (CG) should be low and back to help get the ball airborne without a lot of distance robbing backspin. My current favorite is the Cleveland Hi-Bore XL but there are certainly other very similar clubs made by all the name manufacturers If you decide you want to upgrade to a more current driver technology, there are plenty of bargains on eBay that will save you a lot of money.

Shaft The type of shaft in the driver is VERY important. It must match your swing characteristics or else you will not achieve your maximum potential distance. The shaft is much like the engine in a car. In addition to shaft length, both shaft flex (degree of stiffness) and the flex point(low, mid or high) affect performance.

For maximum distance your driver shaft should have as many of the following features as possible: Flex (ie, Regular vs Stiff) must be soft enough for your swing to properly load maximum energy into the shaft on the down swing. Most golfers, especially senior golfers, are using shafts that are too stiff for their swings. Material of Construction ( Steel vs Graphite) must be as light as possible to maximize club head speed. Graphite shafts have come a long way in the past few years in terms of improved quality and consistency. You may give up a little control with a graphite shaft but for the average golfer the benefit of the distance gained will out weigh the slight loss of control. Flex Point or Kick Point should be Low to Mid in order to help get the ball airborne with a minimum of distance robbing backspin. It sounds goofy, but a low kick point will hit the ball higher whereas a high kick point will hit the ball lower. Weight should be as light as possible in the 55 to 75 gram range in order for you to achieve maximum club head speed.

Grip The grip is very important because it is your only contact with the club. Your comfort level and degree of tension can be adversely affected if your grip is the wrong size or the material is too firm. The following factors should be considered in choosing a grip your your driver. The grip on the shaft should match your hand size so you can grip the club in your fingers, not your palms. You should not be using over sized grips unless your hands are quite large. Even if you have some arthritis issues, there are new very soft grip materials available that will allow a regular size grip to be comfortable for many golfers. If your driver is acceptable in all other areas, it is simple and inexpensive to have one of the latest grips installed. Many golf shops like Edwin Watts or Golf Smith will do it while you wait.

Section Five-The Final Answer

Since we have said that the shaft of the driver is the engine, let’s talk about giving it a boost.

A starting point is to consider lengthening the shaft of your driver. Most standard drivers today have a length of 44.5 inches to 45.5 inches. Older drivers were in the 43.5 to 44.5 inch range so club manufacturers have recognized that they can give longer drives by increasing the length of the shaft. It is practical to safely add 1 inch to 1.5 inches more to the length of today’s drivers with a high strength shaft extender. If the extender is properly designed it can easily be installed into the butt of your driver shaft.

Your driver is longer than your three wood and your four iron is longer than your six iron to help achieve greater distance through increasing club head speed. Lengthening the shaft will make it a little softer and actually help most golfers load more energy into the shaft on the down swing. And, the longer club will help slow down the pace of your back swing so you can stay in better balance and control.

So lengthening your driver will theoretically increase its distance over its standard length. But, when you do lengthen your driver, it will significantly increase the swing weight and change the feel. Both of which could upset your swing and even cost you distance and/or accuracy. That is why most drivers are manufactured at their current lengths even though the USGA allows a driver to be up to 48 inches long. But, don’t worry there is a good solution to the feel problem.

There is another distance increasing technique gaining favor today because it has been proven to both add distance AND increase accuracy/consistency. The technique is called counter weighting. It adds weight to the butt end of the club to move the balance point closer to the grip. Even the great Jack Nicklaus early in his career discovered that adding a lead plug into the butt of his driver helped hit the ball longer and straighter.

There are commercially available counter weighting products from companies like Balance-Certified Golf and Golf Smith that will easily add weight to the butt of your club. Counter weighting has several positive effects:

1) It smooths out your hand action thereby helping to improve accuracy, consistency and ball speed.

2) It also delays hand action so that less backspin is produced thereby giving a hotter ball flight for more roll.

3) It also helps increase club head speed by giving your large muscles a little more weight to react to. My analogy here is that you can throw a golf ball farther than you can throw a ping pong ball.

4) It also helps increase club head speed by allowing more energy to be stored on the back swing for release on the down swing.

My analogy here is the example of a person sitting in a swivel chair who starts spinning around holding two dumb bells out with extended arms(the back swing). Then when they pull their arms back in close to their chest (downswing) their rotation speed(club head speed) increases.

However, adding 20-30 grams of counter weight to the butt of a driver will considerably reduce the overall swing weight and change the feel. Again, both of which could upset your swing and even cost you distance and/or accuracy.

If you haven’t already guessed the answer, using counter weighting in a lengthened driver will give you the best of both worlds.Using a 1.5 inch driver shaft extender with a weight of 25 to 30 grams works best.

The above considerations showed how a simple combination of two proven technologies can give your driving distance a turbo boost.

We’ve all seen the guys on TV prison shows with their huge muscles, and the body builders and the drug dealers etc. – all men who have done more than just tone up; rather they have gone all out to an extreme level of muscle mass building. Almost certainly they have used steroids to achieve this, which is an illegal drug rarely prescribed by doctors and certainly never prescribed simply to build muscles for the sake of muscles.

However these drugs containing synthetic hormones, steroids or testosterone most likely have unwanted side effects because what happens is that the brain senses the flood of androgens in the system and via the pituitary gland the testicles are told to stop making testosterone. Over a sustained period of time, with the testes no longer producing hormones, they shrink – literally because of lack of use. So it follows that large muscle from synthetic hormone treatments probably has also resulted in small testicles, a condition that can be permanent even when no more drugs are taken. Infertility is also a related side effect.

The alternative to bulking up muscle mass that does not have the unwanted side effects is to boost the body’s own production of testosterone, and this can easily be done with safe, non-toxic diet supplements similar to the multi-vitamins most people already take every day. The rules for taking them are quite simple – mostly that you should have several in your home and rotate using a different one each day. The last thing you want is for your body to build up a resistance to any of the supplements, and cycling them solves that issue.

When you have a normal routine of boosting your testosterone levels you will experience a sudden and sustained ramping up of your energy levels and it is this increase in energy that will burn up all your excess body fat and replace it with more muscle mass. Rather than consuming external and synthetic hormonal drugs which disrupt your body, the best method is to stimulate your body to higher levels of its own natural hormone production.

The early 90’s were full of controversy for women body builders. For instance, the Ms. Olympia contest of 1991 became the first ever aired live on TV. In this contest, the legendary Lenda Murray had faced a fierce challenge from Bev Francis, the runner-up to the title in 1990. Francis had previously been a powerlifter and had only converted to body building in the mid 1980’s, gradually, she refined her supreme physique in line with contest judging standards for body builders. To make matters worse for Lenda, Bev entered the 1991 Ms. Olympia larger and more defined than in all other years previously. By the night show Bev was leading and Lenda needed all of the votes she could get for the first place. When Lenda finally retained the title by one point over Bev, the contest became the most controversial to date.

The 1992 contest of the Ms. International was even more controversial. Bev and Lenda had set a new benchmark of size during the 91 Ms. Olympia contest. Fear gripped the industry and IFBB attempted to feminize the women body building sport, as a response. Led by Ben Weider, IFBB created a set of femininity rules requiring women body builders not to be too big so as to qualify for contests. The judges had to select a feminine, though not an emaciated physique as a champion, henceforth. The German Anja Schreiner won the title to spark phenomenal controversy. The blue-eyed German blonde had a symmetrical physique that only weighed 130 pounds and stood at 5’7. Her victory was announced amid so much booing until Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped on stage trying to calm the audience. He said, ” To hell with these judges”.

Critics said repetitively that IFBB had strictly instructed all judges to choose a marketable contestant in size and dimensions to the public and not the one with the best physique.

The same controversy was featured in the 1992 Ms. International contest. Paula Bircumshaw, a British competitor, stood at the same body height with Schreiner. Most people felt that both possessed the same symmetry and muscle definition. It was unanimous among observers that Paula had more muscle and weight (162 pounds ). Paula was the audience’s favorite for reasons clearly observable in her physique, but the judges relegated her to the eighth place. As if to cover up, the judges did not call all top 10 contestants as was custom, back to the stage after the show before announcing the winner. They only called back six contestants in an effort to keep Paula at the back stage.

The crowd simply rioted, chanting Paula’s name. To their relieve, Paula returned dignified in poise and pose, to the main stage to stand alongside the top 6, before dramatically giving the judges the middle finger. For that, she was given a yet more controversial year-long suspension.

Similar controversy was also seen in women body building circles in 1993 and 1994. It was becoming a trend, that judging body builders on vague femininity features was becoming a hot iron on the heels of IFBB. But that did not stop Murray winning the 1992 Ms. Olympia for being more feminine than the muscled Schreiner. The resulting controversy saw Schreiner retire from the Pro field.

The Pilates Method is a physical fitness system that was developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. Pilates called his method Contrology, which refers to the way his method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. His program focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath, alignment of the spine, and strengthens deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.

Pilates believed that mental health and physical health were essential to one another. He created a method of total body conditioning that emphasizes seven principles (the Pilates Principles). Pilates believed that following these principles resulted in increased flexibility, strength, body awareness, energy, and improved mental concentration. His 7 principles include:

• Proper alignment
• Centering
• Concentration
• Control
• Precision
• Breathing, and
• Flowing movement.

To this date, Pilates is an extremely popular form of fitness conditioning for women. Classes are readily available, and it is fairly economical because all that is needed is a mat. In addition, there are a variety of Pilates resources available, which include books, DVDs, and online guides to Pilates. There are numerous other reasons to take Pilates, some which include the fact that:

• Pilates is designed to be a complete physical fitness discipline and a holistic approach to exercising to maintain optimal mobility and agility with age. Once mastered, Pilates trains, strengthens and realigns the entire body.
• It promotes relaxation, complete body control, coordination, increased energy levels, and improved posture.
• It restores abdominal, back and hip strength in a way that is safe for your spine.
• It generates muscle tones, instead of superficial bulk.
• It is versatile and can be adapted to your individual needs, whether they be to improve general everyday movement, to strengthen the build and flexibility of a dancer, or to improve performance in professional athletics.