Q & A with The Bodybuilding Golf Pro - Michael Manavian

[Manavs]

i have a few Q's for you
last summer i was 210lbs, 6 foot 1
not as blocky as i am now being 223lbs
since then i have had a significant increase in strength and weights
this summer i found my flexibilty was almost none existant
i went from getting perfectly parallel to just at 3/4
ball still travels the same distance, same ball flight and my handicap dropped
i am currently bulking for the winter, using a very intense negative weight lifting routine

the question is
1) is there any way i can keep and increase my flexibility or is it going to be a matter of leaning down and loosing the swell?
id just like to get parallel at the top once again, but id had to go on a cut or sacrifice size for golf

2) how much cardio is too much cardio? weights 5 days a week, weekends off and after each session there is a 30min walking at 3.5 and each minute raising the incline 1* until reaching 15 then back down to 0
is there going to be negative effects to this?

1- who says that you have to get to parallel? ive never been an advocate that parallel is a mandate. the best example i've given on this is on pg 274 in Atomic Golf. Along with that example - test it out for yourself - take your hand straight out so it is parallel to the ground, and push down on something, you have good leverage on anything below your shoulder height, put something above your shoulder and you have far less strength/leverage.

i'm an advocate of any backswing that keeps you in a powerful and leveraged position usually that means shoulder height or lower - anything too high and your having to time a move to bring it back to a strong shoulder height or lower position.

the second part of that question, muscles can't bind. they can only stretch and contract. as long as your working out with full range of motion, you will build nice long lean muscles.

unlike common belief, full range of motion weight training does not decrease flexibility. i used to be 128lbs - i was just as flexible at on stage at 172lbs with 2% bodyfat , and in a fat off season at 190.

2- im not an advocate of doing cardio while bulking. why take in excess calories just to burn them?

how much is too cardio? leading up to a show i've done as much as 4 hours a day 7 days a week for 8 weeks, and i've done zero cardio for a competion. it depends on what the goal is the approach - the 4 variables you have to assess are -
-diet
-training
-a persons bio-chemical markers (bloodwork: thyroid/testosterone/estrogen/gh/igf etc)
-supplements (OTC fatburners, etc)

a good minimum is 3-5 days a week - no less than 30mins no more than 3.8 ish (give or take). incline is only going to work your glutes a little more - if your not getting onstage - im not too interested in how striated your glutes are going to be in pants.

to answer your question , no theres no negative effect of doing cardio but i think its unnecessary while bulking
Michael

 

[Manavs]

Michael,

What is your regimine for using Chained Out on your workout and non workout days?

Also, can you post the link to the Milos vids-I have not been able to locate all of them and am interested in listening to them.

Finally, do you take any minerals or vitamins or creatine?

Thanks

The label use may be fine for you. But I go off label use per the CEO of the company, because of my bodyweight, activity, output etc he suggested 54g in a gallon a day. i drink it around my meals - 1.5 hours post meal to 15 min prior so as not to compete with the absorption of other proteins.

i also drink it when i train and get up in the middle of the night.

The bio availability for that is insane - and i have seen some amazing things about it esp for a competitive bodybuilder dieting for a show. I also use it on the golf course and the anti cortisol effect is fantastic.

i will post all 6 of those milos vids.

I take a basic multi mineral and multi vitamin post training and before bed.
creatine di-phosphate - its a better bioavailability than creatine monohydrate in my pre workout drink.
other supplements depending on what i am getting ready for, or are you just asking currently?

 

[Manavs]

from what i have been told by my trainer is that protein, bcaa, creatine, and base vitamins are all a must
he even reccomended a preworkout supplement like noxplode or shotgun for those late night workouts

what he said =)

noexplode is a decent product, i dont like shotgun, or superdump 250.

i suggest you try a sample packet of a NO product your looking for before you buy it. try it, if within 15 mins it all end up in the toilet - your body is telling you something - theres too much stuff in it thats cancelling eachother out.

my pre workout drink of choice is WTF or JetFuse.

 

[Manavs]

Enjoy

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[295yards]

So i had some time to hit some balls yesterday at a local range, and on the way home stopped into golfsmith to try some new toys out before the pga show at the end of Jan.

I asked about the new Victory Red clubs by Nike, and was pleasantly surprised with the new fitting system they have. Granted it doesnt have an abundance of heads - they only had 1 blade model - and limited shafts - But it was reverse threaded ala the henry griffitts system - i can smell a lawsuit on this one!!!

the club felt unbelievably great in the simulator, both with the rifle 6.0 shaft and s300 shaft. i didnt like the high top line where it meets with the hosel, a little too square for my liking, but from a solidness it was first rate!

its always fun going in there and freaking out the kids who are working the launch monitors. they dont expect, nor do they usually see numbers like mine there. so its always fun.

wishing everyone here a very happy new years!
mikey

then for kicks i hit the new callaway iq (?) driver with a white fubuki shaft. awesome. got excellent distance, using a shorter shaft than i normally get , with less clubhead speed, and less ball speeed. quite interesting data. sounded and looked terrible, but then again im a bit of a purest/traditionalist.

Oh yeah?

I'd definitely be interested myself to hear those numbers!

Ballspeeds, launch and spin numbers make me happy.

 

[Manavs]

Oh yeah?

I'd definitely be interested myself to hear those numbers!

Ballspeeds, launch and spin numbers make me happy.

they make me happy too! i just cant remember all of them lol

when i was at the pga show i went on the flightscope - drivers were going 295-315 carry. Came back north and went on my clubfitters flightscope with my new R7 Limited TP 9.5* and got the same numbers for carry - poked one 321 i remember but the range was for the most part similar.

last summer on that same flightscope my 6 iron was going 215-235 scary easy.

I do remember going through the bag and the clubhead speed for all of my irons was in the 90-98mph range, and my driver was in the high one teens comfortably - if i busted one it was touching 120 but i wasnt very consistent.

im sorry i cant remember launch angles or more exact ball speeds for you - Its above average but not long-drive worthy at least with the equip i have.

 

[295yards]

If you are getting anything close to 120mph on that flightscope you are completely ripping the cover off the ball!

I was posting mostly 111-116mph on that thing when my swing was completely jacked to the max. and registering 124mph on my SSR.

 

[Manavs]

If you are getting anything close to 120mph on that flightscope you are completely ripping the cover off the ball!

I was posting mostly 111-116mph on that thing when my swing was completely jacked to the max. and registering 124mph on my SSR.

Your moving it pretty good to bro - BTW Whats an SSR?

 

[295yards]

Oh yeah, I got some boogey. Most of it just came natural and I have been able to get some more from training.

The SSR is a swing speed radar

http://www.swingspeedradar.com/ssrwithtempotimer.html

 

[Manavs]

Oh yeah, I got some boogey. Most of it just came natural and I have been able to get some more from training.

The SSR is a swing speed radar

Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer for Golf

Thats awesome! Lifes too short to be a short hitter lol

Thanks for the link, thats pretty neat. I used to work at a place that had these Zelocity pureflights -

We used to play a game where you'd call a club and call a distance and go "mano a mano" - you could also call swing speeds on it. its brutal. Ever try to call your carry? My co-worker was unbeatable with his 6iron and used to sucker in prey ... errr customers... you could use any club in the bag and he would match it with a 6 iron. some fun times.

Michael

 

[295yards]

I'm pretty good when it calls to calling my carry.

I've hit so many balls on all sorts of simulators its insane.

I went to the toronto golf and travel show a few years back and hit the TaylorMade Burner on the zelocity and recorded a personal record ballspeed of 182mph with a 310 yard carry.

I never called that one, but generally if I hit it I know if it is flushed, weak, what launch... That sounds like my kinda game for sure.

Not sure I could match anybodys clubs with my 6i though. Thats impressive!

 

[xamilo]

Hey mate!


Found this couple of good articles you might like about the topic being discussed the other day: (PDF Free Full Text)

Individual responsiveness to exercise-induced fat loss is associated with change in resting substrate utilization

Comparison of energy expenditure estimates from doubly labeled water, a physical activity questionnaire, and physical activity records -- Conway et al. 75 (3): 519 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Skeletal muscle fat and carbohydrate metabolism during recovery from glycogen-depleting exercise in humans

There are a couple of great other ones as well, but I have to download them from my Clinic since they are not free and we obviously do have the subscription there.

Cheers,

Camilo

 

[Manavs]

Hey mate!


Found this couple of good articles you might like about the topic being discussed the other day: (PDF Free Full Text)

Individual responsiveness to exercise-induced fat loss is associated with change in resting substrate utilization

Comparison of energy expenditure estimates from doubly labeled water, a physical activity questionnaire, and physical activity records -- Conway et al. 75 (3): 519 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Skeletal muscle fat and carbohydrate metabolism during recovery from glycogen-depleting exercise in humans

There are a couple of great other ones as well, but I have to download them from my Clinic since they are not free and we obviously do have the subscription there.

Cheers,

Camilo

WOW thanks Camilo! I appreciate you passing it on.

Best
Michael

 

[Manavs]

I really like your approach to teaching. I have seen three teachers and only the first one cared at all to listen to what I had to ask, but he is long gone and I have no idea where. The other two are just do as I say kind of guys, like "we're going to copy exactly what these guys are doing on this video I have here"

By far that'd be the most important aspect I would need before ever even considering going back to any teaching pro; the ability to express my opinion.

I went through 3 lessons trying to get through my teaching pro that i didn't care that he thought that my 6i was too low because the launch monitor said 16*. I hit my 6i higher than anyone I played with, and on top of that my 6i was 24* compared to the usual 30* but as retarded as it sounds that did not matter to him. We were going to get my LA up on that 6i.

Never happened! Swing went to crap and I just stopped showing up to his lessons.

I don't know a bout you but 135mph ballspeeds, 7yards offline, 205 yards carry / 2190 total, 5500rpm's of backspin and a total apex of 40 yards isn't that bad for a 6i.

To think I went for advice on partial wedges and controlling the blocks I could hit with my driver to go through a total over haul and slow mo. video. analysis.

This was posted on another thread and didnt want to hijack it and continue this discussion here - (this is still golf and hey the etiquette thing still applies right??)


I'm on the belief that the student is there willing to be taught. have i come across students that want to have me sit down and give ME a lesson? absolutly, all to often, but hey if thats what makes them feel good, i will gladly shut up and let the student go to town on me.

but for the most part the client is willing to learn and the problem is they are so confused on where to start that they dont know what the correct question to ask is.

fortunately i'm in a position where i dont give 1400 lessons anymore - i have my clientèle and give 3-5 lessons a month in person, a few via the web, and phone plus the weekend fly into town sessions. i can focus on getting a product out of them and keeping on top of they're needs. its a relationship i dont take lightly.

every potential client goes through an interview before we even get close to hitting balls. without this interview i am doing both of us a disservice. its like going into battle without a game plan or studying what your up against. i sit down and find out everything about the client. what they want to achieve in golf, what they've done in golf, what they're commitment level is, what their idea of the golf swing is, and what they would like to get out of a lesson with me etc. i gotta whole lotta questions i ask, and i keep asking questions until i have enough data to make a recommendation. if not, i ask more questions.

then i recommend a rough outline on what the course of action based on what ive gathered (fitness, golf, nutrition, clubs etc). then if everyone is on board, lets go have a discussion on the driving range on what you think a golf swing entails.

every lesson of mine start off with a friendly greeting and then (you already know this if you've read my book), "what specifically would you like to get out of today's session?" for beginners and in my book, the first lesson, the most basic of all lessons is the most important. understanding how to get the ball -
-up
-forward
-and straight where you want it to go.

if we can achieve that in the first session and understand why it is such, then you can make gains. without that basic understanding well were all screwed.

now better players still may need this but from the mini and pga tour players that ive worked with some still needed a refresher, others were looking for a way to do what it is they thought they could do.

one such case i remember was on the range at the 1999 westchester buick classic. struck up a conversation with brian henninger, he had missed the cut and was hitting balls next to david frost on the weirdest looking move to date i have EVER SEEN, and he was trying to figure this out and was in a world of confusion. we just started chit chatting, he was all frustrated. so im watching him hit balls and his ball flight are these disgusting what i call "pop" fades. not a spinny fade, but a low-spin high on the clubface pop fade with zero power. at the time i remember him getting in contention at augusta with ben crenshaw in 1995. i vividly recall the telecasters talking about all he hit was a awesome LONG powerful draw. I flat out asked him wtf happened? you didnt hit it like that at the masters. he explained to me he lost the way to hit a draw over the past few years. i asked what was he trying to do to get it back - and he said x,y,z.

so there it was, he revealed to me what he was trying to do, and it wasnt working. not until that point did i say anything about the golf swing. it would have been meaningless for me as an instructor to interject ANYTHING before he originated what his problem was. think about it - if i suggest something in his backswing when he is having a pivot issue now i'm doing 2 things-
1- not fixing HIS problem
2- and creating more stuff to think about on top of the problem - and can we all say compounding?! lol

so anyways, long story short, we keep in touch for a few weeks, he runs 9th a the next week - 3rd a few later, then wins a month or so later.

so your all dieing to know what i gave him, quite frankly it doesnt matter, it was what HE needed to get back to hitting a nice powerful long draw which he did and it was scary!!! stopped everyone on the range. Again its what he needed - not what you may need, or what I WANTED to give him. I applied the correct concept to the situation at hand, and it was very simple. He was blown away, took me to dinner that night and i told him, listen this is going to work, and your going to win very shortly or place high very shortly. he looked at me like i had 3 heads. i said watch youll see. just give credit where its due - he didnt and for some reason or another and hasnt done well since (my voodoo magic is strong lol). Its a shame cause he was very talented, a helluva athlete - (he was a world ranked junior tennis champion before he played golf), and could have won alot more out there.

so if your out there Brian, we can get you back out there bro.

 

[Manavs]

I don't know a bout you but 135mph ballspeeds, 7yards offline, 205 yards carry / 2190 total, 5500rpm's of backspin and a total apex of 40 yards isn't that bad for a 6i.

and no, those numbers are strong bud! keep it up.