Tag: Exercise

Want to shake up your fitness routine? Try rucking.

Should you be rucking?

You can trust the fitness community to always find new ways to get active. One of the latest workouts they’ve been getting excited about? It’s called rucking. Here’s the lowdown on what rucking is and why people love it.

The whole craze started as a military training exercise called ruck marching. In fact, as Melanie Radzicki McManus wrote for CNN, “One of the tests the US Army gives recruits looking to earn an Expert Infantryman Badge is a 12-mile ruck, or foot march, which they must complete within three hours while carrying at least 35 pounds of gear.”

Sounds pretty intense. But is this strict military testing version of rucking what has gym buffs so excited? Not exactly.

A person in a yellow jacket with a black backpack on as they go rucking through a misty valley.

What is rucking?

Let’s define rucking as a fitness trend. As GORUCK, a company that hosts rucking events and sells rucking equipment, explains on its website, “Rucking is the action of walking with weight on your back.” Ruckers strap on a weighted rucking backpack (aka rucksack) and simply start walking.

There are a few reasons why this military training exercise has gained mainstream appeal. As writers for both GQ and Outside have discussed, rucking got a major boost after being mentioned in author Michael Easter’s 2021 book “The Comfort Crisis.” Since then, rucking has taken off on social media likely due in part to its accessibility. After all, you don’t need much to begin rucking. In theory, if you have a backpack and something heavy to put inside of it, you’re ready to go. Rucking is also low-impact, so it doesn’t stress your joints as much as activities like running do.

Rucking benefits

So, what benefits does rucking have as a workout? According to Healthline, people who ruck regularly can expect to improve their “strength, endurance, and general fitness.” The added weight a person carries while rucking also helps them burn more calories than they would by walking without the weight.

Further, rucking can offer meaningful benefits to older people. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that weighted exercises helped older women “significantly improve lower limb muscle power and functional ability.” As a weighted cardiovascular exercise, rucking may be a useful tool for retaining muscle strength as you age.

10 days of winter workouts: Medicine ball slams

Averee Dovsek is in the gym demonstrating a medicine ball slam that helps with the power of your golf swing.

There are many different variations of medicine ball exercises that can help you achieve rotational and power goals.

Averee Dovsek is in the gym demonstrating a medicine ball slam that helps with the power of your golf swing.

Many people struggle with controlling and implementing power at the proper time during their golf swing. The weight of a light medicine ball is a great tool to feel weight transfer and where to make impact with your power.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” and check here for previous episodes.

If you’re looking for more instruction, click here.

Golfweek‘s Get Better newsletter covers everything instruction and fitness-related. Sign up for Get Better here.

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What the heck is ‘electro muscle stimulation’? Is it good for golf fitness training? Our Averee Dovsek gave it a go

I was hesitant because the workout was only supposed to be 20 minutes long and didn’t involve any weights.

You’ve likely heard about electro muscle stimulation — EMS, for short — but you’re probably asking for a little clarification on it, and wondering how, or if, it applies to golf.

Not ready to try it just yet? No problem — I did, and here’s a full breakdown of my experience, the benefits it offers and how it can be used for golf-specific exercises.

I went to see trainer Jeff Drier of One Pulse in North Palm Beach, Florida, to see what all the hype was regarding EMS training. The miha bodytec was invented in Germany and is designed for full-body strength training. Those who back miha claim the electro pulses can activate up to 98% of your muscles simultaneously and can achieve a two-hour full-body workout in just 20 minutes.

Drier designed a workout plan that was specific to the golf swing. I was hesitant because the workout was only supposed to be 20 minutes long and didn’t involve any weights.

My workouts are typically focused on strength training and last an hour or longer, so when Jeff told me the plan I was skeptical how anything could get accomplished in just 20 minutes.

Drier first gave me a pair of shorts and a top to change into. Once I returned, I was given a dripping wet vest, armbands, leg bands and a glute band that were all fastened tight to my body. My first reaction was … “ew!” and “I look like Kim Possible.”

Averee in miha body tee suit
Averee in miha body tee suit

The water activates the electrostimulation when plugged into the machine, and when it was fully on and I started moving, I couldn’t feel it at all. Every exercise was conducted at four seconds on and four seconds off.

We started with some cardio as a warm-up, progressed to the lower body, and worked our way to the top. Some exercises included lunges, lateral raises, explosive movements, Romanian deadlifts and hip mobility movements. The EMS training is great because it challenges the body and contracts the muscles without adding the stress of heavy weights on the joints. The workout was challenging, and the electro pulses definitely had me working hard through the exercises. The main goal for golf-specific goals with the miha bodytec technology is to strengthen and stabilize the body.

Below is a short video of my training session with Drier.

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Takeaways: I enjoyed the experience and was shocked — pun intended — how much the workout was done without weights. I think this is great for those going through physical rehabilitation programs that maybe can’t put a ton of weight on their body. The machine works your entire body without being overly strenuous on the muscles and joints. It is a great option if you are tight on time for the week with workouts only being 20 minutes.

If you are interested in learning more or trying the miha bodytec technology out for yourself you can visit www.ems-training.us.

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Fitness with Averee: Weight transfer to create powerful tee shots

Averee Dovsek demonstrates a technique to help with weight transfer during the golf swing in this episode of “Fitness with Averee.”

Many golfers lack proper weight transfer throughout their golf swings. Leaving too much weight on the back foot is a recipe for disaster when you have the intention to bomb your tee shots.

On the latest episode of “Fitness with Averee,” Averee Dovsek demonstrates a technique to help with proper weight transfer during the duration of your golf swing.

Combine what you learn through “Fitness with Averee” with Steve Scott’s instruction series and you will be a different golfer on and off the course.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” above and check here for previous episodes.

Golfweek‘s latest newsletter, Get Better which covers everything Instruction and Fitness related, is up and running. Sign up for Get Better here.

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Fitness with Averee: Renegade Row

On the latest episode of, “Fitness with Averee,” Averee Dovsek shows you one of her favorite “bang for your buck” exercises. 

The golf swing involves a lot of different muscles of the body.

On the latest episode of, “Fitness with Averee,” Averee Dovsek shows you one of her favorite “bang for your buck” exercises. 

The renegade row is fantastic because not only does it work on core stability and shoulder stability, but it also targets the glutes and lats. Any time you can get a global movement that works multiple muscles at once is great if you are short on time. 

Combine what you learn through “Fitness with Averee” with Steve Scott’s instruction series and you will be a different golfer on and off the course.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” above and check here for previous episodes.

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Watch: Alvin Kamara adds a new element to his offseason training

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has again gone viral for his offseason training, but his latest workout might set the standard.

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New Orleans Saints superstar running back Alvin Kamara hit the ground at a sprint when he made his NFL debut, and that’s largely been due to the intense training he puts in during the offseason to hone his talents. It’s not for nothing that the 24-year old three-time Pro Bowler already ties for sixth-best in Saints history for career touchdown carries (27), using his unique ability to maintain his balance when tackled by opponents and rack up the points.

Kamara’s trainer is Dr. Sharif Tabbah of Miami-based Athletix Rehab and Recovery, a kinesiologist specializing in working with professional athletes. He’s teamed up with Kamara before, as well as his Saints teammates like Kiko Alonso and Ted Ginn Jr., and other players from around the NFL.

Tabbah’s last workout for Kamara went viral, in which he tasked the Saints running back with catching different-colored batons in midair while balancing on an unstable platform. This summer, though, Tabbah added a new variable by including tennis balls. See it for yourself:

Hopefully this intense training will pay off with a bounce-back year for Kamara. He struggled with a series of lower-leg injuries during the 2019 season, and his stats suffered for it. Maybe his reunion with Tabbah will get him back on the right track.

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Watch: Alvin Kamara debuts his wildest workout yet

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has gone viral for his challenging workouts before, but his new technique is the wildest yet.

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When you’re a special athlete like New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, you have to get creative to train and condition yourself to play at a high level.

Last year, Kamara’s offseason workout routine featured a unique challenge centered on catching batons while balancing on a medicine ball. The summer before that, he spent his time preparing for the NFL hauling a squat rack and his Jeep uphill.

Now, Kamara’s leveled up again. The running back went viral in a video showing him working out on a basketball court, but he wasn’t there to hoop. Kamara tied a pair of kettlebells to a barbell and took staggered steps from one end of the court to the other. Not something you see every day.

The point of this workout is to challenge Kamara’s core strength — one of his best athletic traits. Kamara’s ability to stay balanced through contact (in other words, remaining upright with someone runs into him) is very rare, and it’s something he’s cultivated through hard work like this. The shifting weights stress his body laterally, making his muscles put in extra effort to keep steady.

With social distancing measures in effect around the nation, Kamara probably can’t visit his usual gyms and clinics. So he’ll be working out with maybe-unusual techniques like this until the coronavirus pandemic is behind us. Hopefully it pays off after a down year in 2019.

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