The winter training schedule

Round 2 of P90x just began.  Last time I tried this I had a huge success in building my strength and reducing my weight by ~10-15pounds.  This go is a little different for me.  My whole goal is to focus on form and muscle definition.  I also don't want to injure myself again.  The P90x program has lots and lots of pullups and pushups., I have weak elbows, not the best combo.  After what I just went through this year trying to get healthy running I now think that I understand how to listen to my body and adjust the pressure as needed to prevent injury.

I didn't do the photos last time but this time I think I will.  Lets see what happens!

Here is the schedule that I plan to follow for month1 :
Mon - Chest and Back in the morning.  Ab ribber in the evening
Tuesday - Rest Day or Yoga
Wed - Hockey in the morning
Thursday - Legs and Back in the morning.  Ab ribber in the evening
Friday - Shoulders and arms in the morning
Sat - Cycling at Lifetime with Kristi G or Strike in Plymouth or Yoga
Sunday - Light running and Heavy Leg lifting.

Here is the tricky part.  Trying to do a meal plan that looks like this.  I know in the end this is the best way to get results but damn I love to eat good tasting food rather than just healthy stuff all the time.


Now the fun part.  Why am I doing this again.
1.  Want to be healthy.  After my PR in the monster dash I have confidence that I can get the muscles I see on all the guys at lifetime.
2.  Want the strength to improve my golf game next year while maintaining flexibility.  Hence the Yoga!
3.  Improving my performance in Hockey.  Speed creates excitement on the ice and with the added strength I think I can try to get an invite to the friday league at our work!  Might take some extra sessions at the practice rink this winter too so the stick handling and footwork improve as well.

Season of Change

My life is getting flipped upside down.  The weather is getting colder which inevitably means the golf clubs go in the basement for the winter.  Minnesota was kind to me yesterday and let me finish with one last practice session.  A beautiful fall day, a litte windy, but still awesome.

As the golf season has been ending I have been trying to get going on a few other athletic fronts.  I finished a half marathon this spring in Fargo with a very very injured Achilles tendon.  This left a terrible taste in my mouth given that I like to do things well when I set my mind to them.  Hence me being stubborn I decided to try and run a 10 mile race in October called the Monster Dash.  The first 3 weeks of training went really well and then sure as heck my bad ankles started kicking in again.  This time with the encouragement of my wife I went to the doctor and found out what the heck was going on.  My orthopedic doctor said that I needed to support my ankles better and go easy for a few weeks before the training could begin again.  I finally listed to the advice of experts and just rested.  It sure paid off.  3 weeks before the race I started training again.  Hockey tape all over my feet but it was feeling good and my lungs were feeling good.  This race meant a lot to me because I knew if I pulled up lame that it would likely be my last.  I invited my parents to come watch my wife and I run just for that extra little motivation to keep me going.  They had never been to a race so they were really excited to see how we did.  The race started and it was off and running.  I wished my wife good luck and I took off.  The morning was cold but I had the right gear on and everything just seemed to be clicking.  I did the first 2-3 miles at a slightly slower pace then I normally start a race in hopes that the blood would start flowing and prevent me from getting injured.  Then I saw the 8min mile pace guy and I felt a sudden rush that things were going well  I blew by him and never looked back.  I kept telling myself the following, I don't wanna see that guy again today!  I made it all the way to about mile 8.5 and then I started to get really tired and was starting to worry my pace was slowing down.  Then out of nowhere a guy yells at me from behind.  Hey lets go Fargo I have been chasing you this whole way we are stopping now.  It was just what I needed and I made sure he knew it at the end of the race.  I set a PR for myself.  1hr16mins.  (thats a 7:38 pace)  My goal was 8min miles by the way.  My wife set a PR that day as well.  It was an awesome morning.  Now that I completed that race and know how to tape myself up appropriately I am going to run a 5k for work to try and raise money for the food shelf.  Goal is 7min miles flat and try to finish in the top 5.  No holding back this time so lets see what happens.

Next up:  The transition to hockey season and weight training.  Its going to be a busy winter.

Edina Country Club Round Review

Today is the reason I love living in MN.  The weather outside was absolutely fantastic.  ~80 degrees with a smooth breeze to keep you cool.  As I mentioned in my last post I had the opportunity to play Edina Country Club today for the first time due to the fact that Hazeltine is still shut down due to stress on the fairways and greens.
Edina did not disappoint.  I pulled up to a modest clubhouse which had really nice tennis courts and a great looking pool, but to me this is the filler on my plate sizzling with a fresh steak off the grill if you know what I mean.  I promptly headed over to the range to get loosened up.  The course has been around since the 1920's I believe and the range is evidence of that.  They are pretty landlocked for space.  They do the best they can to provide a guest and member tee setup but not very many targets to aim at and the quality of the tees were a little suspect.
Now for the course.  Tom Lehman and team did a great job of placing bunkers in places to make the course more difficult.  However at times it seemed like some of the bunker placement was forced.  Number 9 is a 320 par four and there is a bunker 150 yards off the tee right near the fairway.  Not sure why you want to penalize high handicappers, since they are likely the only ones this bunker would come into play for.  I noticed a few other instances of this "forced bunker" setup but nine really was surprising.  The layout of the course is pretty standard for an old country club feel.  Lots of beautiful mature trees and a lot of back and forth on the holes.  It was simple but pretty fun to play.  The short holes made you think and there was never any point where you could just get up there and rip it away without having to worry about tree lines, bunkers, or water hazards.
Finally I would like to comment on the greens.  A+  These might have been the nicest greens I have played on all year.  No signs of weather or traffic stress anywhere.  Firm, somewhat fast and very consistent from hole to hole.  I hope they are able to keep them in this shape in the future for their members sake. 

Bottom line Edina CC has a great location, a great clubhouse that is simple with lots of amenities,  a traditional golf, course layout with some fun holes and a few goofy ones, a small practice facility and some of the best greens I have played on this year.  If you get the chance to experience a round at Edina CC you should jump on the opportunity and enjoy a beer on the patio while watching guys boom drives on 10 and sink putts on the big 18 green right below the deck.

Enjoy your week.  Fishing report from Lake of the Woods next week and maybe a Titliest 910D3 driver review later this week after I monkey with the club fitting.

The other side of the fence

This past year I fullfilled a life long dream by becoming a full time member at a premier golf course in Minnesota.  Hazeltine National is where I now call home for the golfing season.  This year has been a rollercoaster of a year.  It started with highs due to the new clubhouse opening  and the course opening in June!

View of Clubhouse from 9 and 18 greens.

The First Day the course was open I almost ace'd number 8.  Made a bird from about 1ft away.


Hole 8



Then Came the Lows.  The course started to degrade due to heat and traffic and a temporary closure has been instituted.  See the turfgrass blog for more updates --> http://hngcturfgrass.blogspot.com/

And now for the highs again.  Edina CC also went through a major rip up and they took slightly longer to open then Hazeltine did.  They understand the risks of new grass and have kindly helped out our course by providing reciprocal times.  I get the privelege of playing there this Sunday.  Tom Lehman redesigned the entire course and this will be a great experience.  Below is a photo courtesy of Peter Wong  Link to the site --> http://dynolights.com/2011/07/25/on-assignment-at-the-edina-country-club/

Look for a course review next week!

Back at it again

So tonight was a first for me. I got to see one of my best friends as a father. What a great site. Jameson is one hell of a cute kid and I am super happy for will and heather that he is happy and healthy!

This golf post dedicated to the future number one player in the world! Jameson Kyle Onkka

Been away for a while

Hello world and sorry for the hiatus.  Winter in minnesota can consume ones time and it sure has kept me busy this year.  We have been shoveling snow almost every day this winter.  We have piles of now that are taller than me at the end of the driveway.  When I haven't been shoveling I have been making sure to spend lots of time with my other great winter hobbies.  Fishing, hockey and golf.  I am happy to say that our yearly trip up north for fish was a huge success.  I even have hard evidence to prove it.  3 days in a sleeper cabin on lake of the woods meant a lot of time for beer drinking and card playing but also plenty of time to catch tons of the worlds greatest fish, the walleye.  I added a clip of my pops who landed a real nice 22.5" walleye this year.  Last year he had a 24.5 so he didn't quite live up to those expectations but still a great weekend of fishing.

When I haven't been fishing I have still be plugging away at my golf swing and recently I was named the golftec client of the month.  I have made some good progress on the swing as evidence by the high speed video capture below.  I have a long ways to go to take this out onto the course though.  I plan to try out the winter course this weekend with my wife.  The basement at Hazeltine has a new simulator that just opened with a huge indoor practice green.  My wife and I will get in a round a pebble beach and dream of the warm weather that is soon to be upon us!!

Client of the Month

MINNETONKA

Congratulations to Jason Feist, our GolfTEC Client of the Month!

Jason came to GolfTEC at the end of October because he had just joined one of the most prestigious clubs in the Twin Cities and he wanted to make sure he could handle the challenge of his new club. Which, as we watched in the PGA Championship, is a very long and demanding course. Since coming to GolfTEC Jason has made large improvements in his setup, take away, and top of his swing.
We are close to starting on his down swing but just to show you how much it matters what you do on your back swing, we have already seen his impact numbers go from 24 degrees open to 43 open and his shoulder tilt has gone from 21 degrees to the right to 31 degrees right, which is awesome!
Jason is super excited for the upcoming golf season and can't wait too see how these changes will take shape on the golf course. Congratulations Jason keep up the hard work!

Update on the swing progress

So the training continues and I can't believe how much a golf swing can be changed with some key mechanics adjustments.  I really hope the finished product is a success next spring.   Who knew a 30 minute lunch break could be so effective in adjusting ones golf swing and not to mention preserve one's sanity!!  The best way to break up a stressful day is with 30minutes of exercises over the lunch hour according to our health and wellness coaches at work and for me golf is providing that avenue.  With only a few trips over there in the last few months I can really see my swing taking shape. The main thing I have been working on is to get my hands to start hinging earlier and lower with respect to my waistline which starts the backswing.  I then focus on getting the right elbow in close so at the top of the swing I have good shoulder turn and good club depth.  Club depth can be judged by looking at where the butt end of the shaft is with respect to your right foot at the top of your back swing.  I have been trying to get it to the heel of my foot.  To practice this technique I have been working with the extendo-club, which is two clubs put together so you can see the shaft at the top of your backswing and make sure that it is in correct plane alignment and not to flat or shallow.  I am still struggling with getting a good full shoulder turn and this will be key to maximize power so I have to focus on that in the next few weeks so that when the hands get set at the top they are locked and loaded with maximum energy for the downswing.
For anyone having issues with their chipping this extendo club is a great idea to practice with because it forces you to keep your hands forward throughout the whole shot.  I think this is really going to help me and my wife as we focus on our chipping next spring too!!  You just take an old club and cut the end off of the shaft and stick another club into it and presto you have a great training tool with some old crappy clubs that were in your garage.

Working on the early wrist hinge

 

Extendo club help set position at the top of the backswing

I think a few more weeks and its on to the down swing to work on impact!!