Brand New Training Device for Golfers

by Stephanie Oakes

Spring 2002 Brings us a Brand New Training Device for Golfers called the
Total Stroke?

If you want to improve your performance on the golf course, you need to
practice frequently during the golf season and also train before golf season
begins. With Total Stroke, you can work on your swing at home, at the office
or while traveling all year round. Total Stroke combines a patented flexible
shaft technology with an adjustable weighted end to help strengthen and
control your golf swing for better performance.

What Is Proprioception?
Total Stroke is based on the concept of proprioception. Proprioception, or
appropriate perception, is a sense or awareness of joint position. It is a
neuromuscular process with two parts:
(1) a static sense enables you to feel the orientation of one body part to
another;
(2) a dynamic sense provides information about the rate and direction of
movement. Proprioception enables your body to change muscle contraction
immediately as it responds to incoming information about external forces.

How Will Total Stroke Improve your Golf Game?
Total Stroke allows you to improve your performance through sport-specific
training. Training activities that have the greatest positive impact on
performance are those that come closest to the actual movement relative to
the joints around which the movements occur, the direction of the movement,
the muscles used and the joint ranges of motion. You will work out with
Total Stroke using your actual golf swing, with one or both arms. Because
Total Stroke places greater than normal demands on muscles, bone and
connective tissue also benefit. Sport-specific training activities can lower
the risk of injury as well.

How Do I Use Total Stroke?
It's easy to design your own Total Stroke workouts based on the regimens
described in the product literature. You can even include Total Stroke in a
traditional weight training and/or cardiovascular workout. Total Stroke
allows you to isolate or target individual muscle groups. You can warm up
and practice with Total Stroke before playing or hitting.

Who Designed Total Stroke?
Dr. Irwin Schwartz, ED.D. is a health and fitness professional with more than
30 years of experience in the field. His educational background includes
physiology and anatomy, exercise physiology, sports medicine and kinesiology.
He has a Master of Science in health, and is a Certified Strength and
Conditioning Specialist with more than 1300 clinical hours in sports
medicine. Dr. Schwartz teaches college courses in health and wellness; works
with college athletes on rehabilitation, treatment and prevention of sports
injuries; and is a personal fitness consultant. He has written and produced
two instructional videos and a manual on the safe and proper use of home
weight training machines.