Take your normal golf
stance.
Position bulk of chain 3 foot in front
and 3 foot to the right of your right
foot. Left handers do opposite.
Start with little waggles to get a feel
and rhythm of the chain moving. |
Take half backswing(or
a little past).
Left arm parallel to ground or 9 o'clock
postion. Keep the chain moving fast. Try
not to pause in the transition. Keep the
chain tight. Concentrate on
MAXIMUM
effort on the downswing. |
Swing through to this
position. Half follow
through or less. Right arm is parallel to
ground or 3 o'clock postion. Concentrate
on full extension while keeping chain tight.
You do not want to feel slack in the chain.
Swing either down the line or towards right
field. (right handers) |
I. Safety and Set-Up
Before using the
speedchain, it is important to meet the appropriate surface and space
requirements.
Your
surface should be clear of debris and an area of about 10 feet by 14
feet is sufficient. The more you use the
speedchain, the more efficient you will become in the space that you
need. There are no height requirements
since we are taking 1/2 to 3/4 swings.
If done indoors, perhaps a garage, basement, or main living area, it is
recommended to protect your floor
covering. Commercial grade carpet remnants work well. One can also use
the speedchain outdoors. Grass as
a surface works well. The longer the grass, the more resistance you
will notice due to the chain catching on the
grass. Do not use on hard surfaces such as concrete. The hard surface
could damage the links.
Do not tie the end (ballast) to an object such as a heavy weight.
This
can add stress to the chain. Z2 Golf offers
an extension chain for added resistance and ballast. Call
1-877-685-4698 to order. Extensions are $15.00
including shipping.
II.
Choosing the Correct Model
There are 3 models and
each model up provides more resistance and ballast. See our
speedchain page
for
model chart and speed ranges. This chart is just a guideline. If you
are unsure of which model, we recommend
choosing the stronger of the two. An indication that you may have a
model that is too weak is if the ballast end is
whipping around substantially. Using the speedchain on grass or buying
our extension is a good option for this
concern. The extension chain easily clips onto the end of your existing
speedchain model.
III.
Measuring Results
We recommend that you
have some sort of way to measure your results. For each mile per hour
you increase
your clubhead speed, this translates into approximately 2.2-2.5 yards in
distance. A measuring device which we
recommend is the Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer or
SSRTT
which can be purchased on our
speedchain page. The SSRTT also measures tempo time which can be
valuable information.
IV.
Repetition Defined
One repetition is back
and through. One can either swing down the line or towards right field
(right handers).
Half to 3/4 swings are applciable. See above captions.
V.
Tempo
You will find that the
faster the tempo, the better the speedchain will perform for you. This
will prevent slack in the
chain and assist in keeping the speedchain tight. Most tour players
swing in under 1 second, meaning from the
start of their swing to impact.
From a science perspective, the stretch shorten cycle is speed
dependant. In general, the faster you stretch and
load your golf muscles, the faster they will rebound and contract in the
opposite direction. So this is a good
reason to keep your tempo as fast as possible while still maintaining
control.
VI.
Duration of Reps/Sets and Energy Systems
We recommend keeping
sets in under 10 seconds. This is usually anywhere from 5-9 reps
depending on if one
uses the continuous method or interval method.
There are 3 main energy systems which the body utilizes. Any activity
that requires a sustained effort longer than
2 minutes will utilize the
AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEM.
Jogging would be an example of this type of exercise.
Your
ANAEROBIC LACTIC ENERGY
SYSTEM
is used for medium to high intensity bursts of effort that last
between 10 seconds and 2 minutes. Lactic acid is being built which can
cause muscle soreness. It usually
takes 5-10 minutes to recover from this type of effort.
Your
ANAEROBIC ALACTIC
ENERGY SYSTEM
is limited to bursts of high intensity work in less than 10 seconds.
Recovery from this effort is usually less than one minute. And this is
the type of energy system we want to follow
as much as possible. This will enhance speed and explosiveness in the
golf swing.
VII.
Pre-Swing
The first thing one has
to do is place the bulk or ballast end of the chain in the correct
position. For right handers,
it should be about 3 feet in front of your right foot and about 3 feet
to the right. For left handers, do the same but
opposite your left foot. One also wants to make sure that the chain is
not twisted or kinked.
Get in your regular golf posture and stance. It is important to waggle
to get a little rhythm of the chain moving. In
fact, just doing these little waggles back and forth in a rapid manner
is a good way to get a feel for how the chain
needs to be kept tight when swinging. This is also a good way to learn
how to build rhythm when doing your reps.
VIII.
Continuous Rep Method vs. Interval Rep Method
There are basically two
ways to execute your reps in under 10 seconds, which makes a set. One
is the
continuous method and one is the interval method..
The continuous method is swinging the speedchain as many times or reps
as you can do in 10 seconds without
stopping. An example would be 9 reps in a row in under 10 seconds..
The interval method is taking little breaks in between reps. One will
swing one hard rep, the pause (maybe a
second or two) and then do a couple little waggles with the chain to
keep the rhythm going, and then do another
hard rep. Usually 5 reps is attainable in 10 seconds.
Either way is acceptable.
IX.
Workout plan
When it comes to a
workout plan, everyone is different and has their own limitations, so
reps and sets may vary
depending on the individual. A short workout can take as little as 5
minutes and a higher end workout can take
20 minutes or more.
You should follow the guidelines for training in the ANAEROBIC ALACTIC
Energy System as much as possible.
And train with at least one minute rest in-between sets. Emphasis
should be placed on hard quality reps,
especially from the initiation of the downswing through the impact zone.
A good rule of thumb is when you start to feel fatigue or tired it is
time to stop. Tired muscles are slow muscles.
We recommend having one day of rest between workouts. Every other day
or 3-4 times per weeks is sufficient.
One can also use the speechain for a quick warm up before a round. Just
a couple sets and you are ready to go.
X.
Troubleshooting
ff you are struggling
to get the speechain to perform correctly, read the possible errors
below.
1. The number one error is swinging the speedchain too slow or having a
pause between your transition from
backswing to downswing. What happens here is you will get slack in the
chain and as a result, the chain can get
too close to your body. Keeping a rather fast tempo will help in
keeping the chain tight, especially in the transition
from backswing to downswing.
2. Another possible problem is following through too far. This can
also cause slack in the chain and can cause
backlash. For right handers, your right arm should be parallel to the
ground (or short of parallel) on the follow
through. Another way to get a feel for this is to swing from from 5
o’clock to 7 o’clock (assuming the ball is 6
o'clock) FIRST, to get a feel for the rhythm and how the chain stays
tight. Once you get a feeling for this, then go to
the hard 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock drill.
3. One could also have the incorrect model. If you are noticing the
end whipping or moving around too much to
the point where it is getting close to your feet and legs, you may
either consider getting the next stronger model or
getting our extension chain for additional resistance and ballast.
Another possible option could be to swing the
speedchain on short grass (2-4 inches) instead of a smooth surface like
commercial carpet. This will provide
additional resistance, ballast, and safety
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