“You gotta get speed – demon speed – speed is what we need – greasy, fast, speed!”__Mickey
The year, 1979 *the year I graduated High School btw…
Rocky 2 – the story continues. In the sequel to the original film of 1976, Rocky gets a rematch with Apollo Creed, and in order to “knock his block off”, Rocky is going to need some speed, demon speed!
Well, how do you get speed? To get speed you need to Do Something Fast! It sounds pretty logical, and – yet most athletes don’t do it.
I remember giving a presentation for the New York Road Runners Club called: Run Strong, Run Long. I was asked at the end of the presentation by one of the runners in the audience. “I can run 5 miles at 8/min per mile pace. How do I get faster?“. The answer is as simple and logical as this. “By running faster.”
When it comes to swinging your golf club faster you need to practice swinging faster.
You can never be too fast.
One reason why many golfers don’t improve their speed is because they don’t actually take time to try to swing their fastest.
The Science of Overspeed Training-What Is Overspeed Training?
“Overspeed training is having the body move faster, through a known movement pattern, at faster than normal speeds, in order to reset and train the neuromuscular system.”__Dr.Tyler Standifird
The Neuromuscular System: The connection between the brain and the body.
This type of training has been implemented in other sports for a long time. I have used this method myself as part of my running training. Here’s a simple example: Let’s say you run an 8 min/mile pace on a flat surface. If you have to run uphill, you will have to slow that pace down because you are battling gravity. If you run downhill, however, that pace should decrease as now you have gravity working with you, not against you.
For running, the ideal incline and decline is about 10% above a flat surface. The reason for 10% is that a gradient higher than can negatively alter running mechanics and gradients lower just don’t provide enough of a stimulus to create change.
SuperSpeed Golf
In the golf swing, SuperSpeed does this by utilizing a 3 club system of various weights.
These weights are based on the swing speed, lengths, and masses of your individual drivers. As golfers go through this speed training, swinging these clubs as fast as they can. Over time, this type of training helps golfers gain swing speed.
The SuperSpeed System of weighted clubs has been researched to find the ideal weight combinations.
- The Green Club is 20% lighter than most drivers.
- The Blue Club is 10% lighter than most drivers.
- The Red Club is 5% heavier than most drives.
Just like the running incline/decline example, when it comes to the clubs, too heavy or too light will result in altered swing mechanics.
How Much Speed Do Golfers Gain?
Following the recommended protocols of three times per week will gain somewhere in the range of 5% – 7% in about six weeks of training.
Brett’s Bottom Line:
Transforming your golf swing isn’t just about hitting the ball harder; it’s about smarter, more focused practice. Nevertheless, creating more club head speed can equate to longer drives and iron shots which can and should translate to lower scores.
The SuperSpeed protocols themselves help golfers take advantage of what they are currently physically capable of doing.
“What we’ve seen over the last 10 years is that just about anybody can pick up our speed training systems and go through the overspeed training protocols and get some gains. They’re gonna see a positive gain in what they’re doing.” __Mike Napolean (SSG Co-founder)
In PART 2 of this article, I will dive deep into the physical prerequisites that contribute to speed and what else you need to take your swing speed and your game to the next level.
To Longer Drives, Lower Scores, and Fewer Injuries-Brett