Fit vs Fat

As I get ready for bed tonight, the first round of the Bay Hill tournament is complete and Tiger appears to be back in the groove.

He is three shots off the lead--currently held by one of the worst physiques in the game; Jason Gore. In fact, who is in 2nd? None other than the WORST BODY to ever squeeze into golf pants: Tim Herron. The man's nickname is LUMPY for God's sake!

But what is ALWAYS intriguing to me is how (pardon my language) FAT guys always seem to be in contention after the first or second day but then rarely hang around long enough to take down the fit guys like Tiger. Even Phil Michelson didn't start winning consistently until he peeled off some doughy goo around the middle.

That's not to say that a fat guy doesn't win every now and then, but in the days of P.T. (pre-Tiger) golf, you certainly saw more of it than you do now. But Tiger brought a new attitude to the course---and now you rarely see the chunk-style wins.

And why is that? Because when EVERYONE smoked and drank beer and ate red meat and drank whole milk and ate enriched flour and....well you get the picture...EVERYONE faded on day 3. It was the more skilled player that USUALLY prevailed because everyone was crashing. Go look at the final round scores in the years before 1997---in nearly every season, the final round scores were MUCH higher than the first or second rounds---

However, since 2000 the final round scores actually level off quite a bit from the second day scores and in the case of the really fit guys--their scores actually DROP in day 4!

So WHY would Jason Gore, given the money and facilities and time available to him, choose to walk around like that? He clearly has the skill to compete with Tiger and Camillo and Immelman and Harrington and Poulter (and the dozens of other guys who started winning when they started hitting the gym). But Gore and his ilk are content to take their 25th place check week after week---get an occasional win in minor tournaments like Baskin and Robbins Invitational or the Dunkin' Donuts Classic.

Sorry for the rant--but laziness makes me sick. And when (everyday at my gym) I see obese people TRYING THEIR HARDEST to get control of their lives but don't have the money or the time or the access to the kinds of facilities that these guys have---well I just get upset.

So root for the fat guy if you want to. Maybe it makes us feel less inadequate when they do well---but for me, I am gonna root for the FIT guy---he is the one setting the example of what happens when you care for and nurture body as well as your talent!

See ya!

Kit

ALL TWITTERED OUT

Just a few random thoughts from my head tonight. I am working really hard on picking up new clients and networking in the Portland metro. Starting over SUCKS--

Anyway, in an effort to get more out of my Internet networking skills, I decided (like half the known universe) to start to TWITTER---and you know what I have discovered? Everyone on Twitter is there to get people to pay attention to them and to buy their product or service---so it becomes a very odd circle of people trying to get the attention of people who are simply there trying to get the attention of people who are there to get the attention of people who are there....

Like Bend, Oregon. It is a town made up of construction workers building homes for new construction workers who move to town to build homes of more construction workers....it's chaos.

So I think I am done with twitter. I have YET to see any value other than knowing that I have "X" number of people following me who have ZERO intention to become a client or even care to try to understand what I am doing....

I think I like the old days of hanging around a golf course with a stack of business cards waiting for someone to ask what my logo on my shirt means--and then WHAM!---NEW CLIENT!

See you out there!

Kit

Tired of the Doom and Gloom

It is Monday morning and I am reading the depressing news (again) about the economy and getting more and more frustrated to the mainstream media and it's role in this 'self-fulfilling prophecy" about the economy.

Let me just tell you that, as a person that has his OWN business and runs one for someone else, that people are still spending money. PEOPLE ARE STILL SPENDING MONEY---

I keep seeing the stocks drop and the banks get deeper and deeper into trouble and I firmly believe that it's happening because economists are TELLING us that it's happening.

Look, I don't know that much about economics apart from how they affect my business--but if the economy is SO bad, why did I have to stand in line at Golf Galaxy today while no less than 5 people in front of me were buying BRAND NEW drivers? If the economy is SO BAD, why was the golf course FULL on Saturday IN THE RAIN? If the economy is so bad, my is the day spa next door to my gym FULL of women at 11:00am on a MONDAY?

People are still spending money on things that make them feel happy--they just aren't wasting it. But in my opinion, the economists on TV want to be right SO BADLY that they are literally preaching death and mayhem in an effort to make death and mayhem HAPPEN!

SO people read, hear and see this stuff--and they use it as an excuse not to live their lives...and it's frustrating--because I see people out everyday TRYING to live their lives and (even though it's not intentional) pumping money back into the economy. But the banks and the rest of the "money changers" are hoarding it and telling us that we're all going to hell....

GREAT HUH?

OR....

Is it just that golf is recession proof? Could it be that golfers just love their sport so much that they are willing to spend the money to feed the beast? Has anyone else read the Callaway Earnings report for 2008? http://seekingalpha.com/article/88247-callaway-golf-company-q2-2008-earnings-call-transcript

Hmmmm---

What are your thoughts? Are golfers immune? Do we just not care? Do we have more money than everyone else? Are you as confused as I am about the state of things?

Well, I am not educated enough in the world of high finance to comment further--though I would like to say that as Americans, we need to live with more courage and less trepidation---We didn't become the greatest country on the planet by hoarding dollar bills in our cigar boxes under our beds---we always pull through this crap---

So buy that new driver---and yes, HIRE that new trainer or swing coach--buy lessons for your kids and get those new Footjoys---after all, if economic Armageddon does hit--it's not like they can lock the doors on the golf courses---we can just hop the fences and keep the game alive, right?

The Haney Project RULES!

Well--It's official. My usual golf channel fixation, THE BIG BREAK is not on right now so leave it to them to keep me interested with the introduction of "THE HANEY PROJECT"---

And who better to start the (what I hope will be a continuing) series than Charles Barkley!

I have watched in horror over the past 10 years as Sir Charles swing crumbled and his weight ballooned--and Hank Haney is just the man to save him.

The show is well produced and edited. Though I would love to see a little more "Charles" personality--it seems like the producers might be holding back a little...YOU HAVE to think that WAY more silliness went on behind the scenes---This might be an effort to make it look like Haney is SUPER serious about this endeavor--and that's ok. But I hope that future episodes have a little more fun to them.

That said, it's interesting to see how HARD Charles is willing to work on his swing AND his fitness level. As a trainer, I would LOVE the opportunity to help someone that is having weight issues and genuinely WANTS the help--And Charles certainly seems sincere.

On another note--there is a HUGE part of me that really feels sorry for Charles when he has to go on talk shows to promote the show and everyone just falls apart laughing. I know that in the grand scheme of things, a bizarre golf swing is not a major problem for the world--but the man obviously LOVES the game so much--and his obviously in some mental anguish--and now to have to re-hash it over and over for the chuckles of some of these 'superior' golf talk show people--it's kind of humiliating.

But the guy put in the work--and we can see the changes---In fact, just look at his weight come down! It's really inspiring--I hope people will watch the show so we can see who get's fixed next year--

Now if only there was someone that could fix John Daly--now THAT would be a show!

To Answer your Question: "YES! It probably IS too good to be true!"

This morning I awoke to an email from an ex client who is no longer in the area and is looking for another trainer to help her progress further with her golf fitness and her weight issues--

She found one and signed up. Now she was very taken by this person and their website and their 'credentials' and the fact that they have their hands in half a dozen pies in the community and have expensive TV commercials and radio spots and print and equipment---you get the picture right?

She said that the TV commercials "guarantee that you will be as fit as Tiger!"

Hmmm--really? As fit as a man who spends HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars on his body every year? Really? As fit as someone who has the time to work out 3 hours a day? Really?

So what happens next? You guess it....

The trainer is so caught up with TELLING everyone how great they are, how much they know, how cool their facility is, how wonderful their life is, etc....etc....etc....That they forgot how to train properly. Perhaps that is too strong. Apparently this woman knows who to train but her personal attention and customer service are terrible. She talks on the phone during sessions--she puts her clients on machines, sets the timer on 20 minutes and walks away to go and "blog" (funny huh? I manage to do mine AFTER work) and do numerous other things.

Let me explain something to you--actually it's simple math.

Expensive marketing+Expensive facility+a distracted trainer= Lots of money and little results--

It's a shame really, because trainers like this are giving the rest of us bad reputations and make us work twice as hard to erase them.

Look. Big facilities and lots of equipment are great. I wish I had them--but they don't make a great trainer. They don't decide your success and the REALLY don't do the work for the trainer.

One of the greatest facilities in the world is TPI--I wish I could work with people of that caliber everyday---but unfortunately, not everyone is on that level---not everyone is that professional.

You need someone that knows you as an individual and cares about your health and well being and not just a dollar sign.

Look before you leap!

Have a GREAT Monday!