30 Days With The Speed Chain

30 Days With The Speed Chain
A report on my own testing and training with the Speed Chain .
© 2010 By Kevin McMullen
Authentic Golf
12- 20 -10
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced, copied,
or transmitted in any form without written permission
of Kevin McMullen.
Table Of Contents
Background
The Speed Chain Claims
Starting out
Product Description, Quality, and Customer Service
Practicing With the Speed Chain
The Workout
Results
Conclusion
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Links To Sites Referred to Are Blue Like This!
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Background
I am a 53 year old avid golfer (5 HC) who learned the golf swing on my own using swing
mechanics, techniques and exercises originally developed by Paul Bertholy along with
mental techniques developed by Clearkey Golf. Starting as a 19 handicap who couldn't
hit it out of his shadow, I was able to obtain a single digit handicap and a club head
speed of around 110 mph. Not too bad for being self taught.
I eventually wrote A Blueprint for Golf Excellence – Building A Swing You’ll Never Forget.
This book is a hands on, down and dirty golf instruction manual that lays out the very
program and techniques I used (and am using) in my own pursuit of golfing excellence.
Many of my customers have said it is the best golf instruction book they have ever read,
and report significant improvement in their ball striking, distance, and most importantly
their scoring / handicap index.
The exercises are a series of static and slow motion holds and drills that take you
through the key positions and moves found in ALL great swings. Sorta like the Kata of
the martial artist, or the slow motion choreography of a dancer learning a new routine,
the idea is you must learn basic technique first before adding speed, and as proficiency
is gained, you add more speed until eventually you have learned the swing. This is the
way all new motor skills are learned, but for some reason, this method of learning has
mostly been ignored by the mainstream golf instruction industry. The mental technique
involves learning how to engage the subconscious mind for the task of shot execution
and teaches you how to “play on automatic” with no swing thoughts or conscious
direction of your shots.
So, learning and going through all that, I was able to improve my swing and game to a
fairly high level over a period of time. Then, about two years ago, I began to experience
a dramatic loss of distance on my irons, though my driver was still fine. Thinking it
through I realized that I had spent most of the late winter and early spring that season
doing nothing but slow motion drills and swings with my irons. I began to wonder - since
all the drills and exercises in my program were done at no more than 25% power
compared to a real golf swing, was I was training slow and thus had become slow?
About the same time this happened, one of my students and I began having discussions
about “speed”. He introduced me to Kelvin Miyahira’s site, and though resistant at first to
the idea that “to be fast, you must train fast”, my mind was gradually freed. I googled
tons and learned more and more about speed training and developing explosive power,
both inside and outside of golf. Since my paradigm was all about “heavy and slow”, and
since I had experienced so much benefit from my way, I was slow to accept that there
was something more than my “sacred proven method.”
I finally turned the corner though after reading something Jacob Bowden said in his
blog - Personally, my speed has dropped a bit over the last 1.5 years because I haven't
done any speed training...not to mention in the last few months I've lost a little speed
from working on so many partial feel-type shots meant to expand my game. This is
exactly what had happened to me! It struck me like a ton of bricks that indeed I had been
practicing slow with my irons and so I had learned to swing slow! I decided that I needed
to begin training for speed, if I was to get the maximum out of my swing.
So having finally settled it my mind that I needed to “train fast, to be fast”, I developed
full swing, full speed versions of my Blueprint drills and began doing them. I worked hard
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at improving separation at the top and making a better transition. I also built an over
speed club, about 15% lighter than my driver, and began training with it daily. Basically I
would swing it 8 times as hard as I could, then hit eight wedges all out. Since the wedge
is the heaviest club, this essentially served as a crude over load / under load program (I
was still ignorant about recovery time etc).
Doing this my speed increased from my 110 mph to about 115 mph and I once again
had my old yardages back on my irons. I continued to train, but my speed leveled off.
Now, I was convinced that it is NOT ONLY POSSIBLE TO TRAIN FOR SPEED, BUT IF
YOU WANT YOUR MAXIMUM, YOU MUST TRAIN FOR SPEED. I came by this
conviction the way I always did regarding my training – I tried it, and proved it to be
true...in the real world lab of WORK. I decided that this winter, I would do the same with
the speed chain and see if I could improve as they and their users claim.
Late this fall, one of my students and I were talking, and he mentioned he had a speed
chain. He is just in the beginning stages of building his swing, and said that until he fixes
some things he wasn’t going to need it, and would I like to try it out? Perfect! I agreed to
and promised to keep an accurate record of my work – and update my customers and
readers with a thread on my forum. Once the test is completed, I promised I would write
a review of my experience of the speed chain. What follows is that report.
The Speed Chain Claims
I want to be clear exactly what was tested, and what I did not test for. In simple terms
the test is this – Will training with the speed chain result in significant increases in
clubhead speed / distance? Here is a quote from the Speed Chain Website:
Users are increasing their clubhead speed on average by 5-10 miles per hour in the first
month of training. Several users have reported increases of more than 10 mph. The
neurological pathways for fast twitch muscle recruitment can be developed in seconds
not months or years. Thus, golf swing speed enhancement can transpire this quickly
and can sometimes be magical in its sudden appearance. We’ve even seen one
golfer increase his swing speed by 20 miles per hour in just one short five-minute
workout!
At first glance these claims seem way over the top. Most of us have bought this or that
golf gadget, dvd, or training aid, and they all promise tremendous results. But these
claims of the speed chain people, and user testimonials are pretty much over the top in the “too good to be true” category. So that we are clear, I will not be submitting any
tissue samples or brain scans for this test, so I will leave the claim about fast twitch
fibers development and neurological pathways for others to discuss and debate. The
test will simply be to see what gains (if any) in clubhead speed can be realized in 30
days….months not years like they claim.
Starting out
Swing speed was measured with the Swing Speed Radar and Tempo Timer, by Sports
Sensors Inc. My measured swing speed before beginning was 115 mph. As it is winter,
all swing speeds are measured with no ball.
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My driver is a five year old custom built component set-up from GolfSmith. It has a
Graffolly Pro Launch Blue Stiff, cut to 44.5 inches. It weighs 380 grams, heavy by todays
standards. Not that this makes a difference for swing speed measurements with no ball,
but today’s best technology is lighter and longer, so I should get me a few more mph
once I upgrade to the “latest and greatest”.
My swing, while not pro standards by any stretch, is still good enough to allow me to
play a very competitive round of golf, and pretty much can get me around the course
without getting into too much trouble. As I have already mentioned I already had a club
head speed of 110 doing nothing but my slow motion Blueprint drills, and based on that I
think a point should be made.
Before beginning any speed training, you should make sure you have a reasonable
swing…one that you can execute under the heat of competition without obsessing about
the mechanics, or trying to fix it all the time if it “stops working”. If this doesn’t describe
you and your swing, then spend time building a better swing – Get my book….or see a
pro who has a good record of helping people improve. The proper progression is
Knowledge…Technique….Power….Mental Mastery. If you don’t have a good solid swing,
you will just learn to swing faster with a bad swing. You can gain a lot of distance by
improving your technique. Adding speed and power is the last step in your swing’s
development.
Product Description, Quality and Customer Service
The speed chain is a length of TWISTED chain links that get progressively larger the
further away from the handle you get. It is attached to hollow aluminum pipe that has a
brass insert with an eyelet that the chain is attached to. The handle is covered with low
end “velvet” style rubber golf grip. I experienced no problems with the chain, found it to
be of excellent workmanship, with no defects.
While I can’t speak as to the level of customer service on order fulfillment (I borrowed
this one for the test), I can say that their follow-up customer service is A+++. Getting
started, I sent several emails to both the inventor and the distributor, and received
replies back the same day usually within a few hours. My questions were always
answered completely and I found both Kelvin and Zane (and Jennifer!) to be very
professional and friendly – they did this knowing that I wasn’t the actual purchaser of the
chain too. You can feel confident buying the speed chain.
Practicing With The Speed Chain
Using the speed chain is pretty intuitive, and the tutorials on their website are helpful
too. Basically, you want to move the chain back and forth establishing a nice rhythm
with a very quick tempo, and just focus on moving the chain as fast as you can through
the impact zone. They say you want to try and keep the chains taut, so there should not
be a lot of pausing as you change direction.
The website says you need an area about 10 x 14 feet in which to practice. I would go a
little bigger than that (especially on the length), especially if indoors. I was able to do my
workouts in my basement. Ceiling height is a non issue as you are only making ½
swings back and through.
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There are two basic methods to “moving the chain”. The first has you make a series of
swings from 9 o’clock to 3’oclock for 10 seconds. Then stop and rest. The second
method has you make a series of smaller movements from 7o’clock to 5 o’clock and
then make one big fire from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock on the fourth or fifth rep. Do four or five
of these then stop and rest. I could never make the first method work very well, so I just
stuck with the second method.
The emphasis is on short maximum output bursts of chain work and simply trying to
move the chain as fast and as much as possible. The type of muscles used for
generating speed tire very quickly, and it is important that you don’t train with tired
muscles. Work the chain for a maximum of 10 – 12 seconds and then rest until your
breathing returns to almost normal. Then go again. It is important to not over train, and
to stop when you tire.
Before each workout, record your swing speed with driver for four swings. After working
the chain for three 10 second bursts, rest and then check your swing speed. If your
swing speed has fallen below the slowest of your pre-workout swings, you should stop.
You are tired - now all you will be training for is slow.
As far as actually moving the chains, it becomes apparent very quickly that you will not
get much action using your hands and arms. I showed the chain to one of my students
and had him work it for a few reps; then had him hit his driver, telling him - just swing
your driver the way you did the chain. Swoosh….5-7 mph more than his swings at the
beginning of the session. I experienced this same effect, seeing a jump of about 5 mph
after my first very first use.
This is in line with the claims of the speed chain company and user testimonials. By
using the chain, you are learning to swing faster, and the learning is very efficient. The
chain teaches you “on the fly” how to use your big muscles to “swing”, and it isn’t long
before you start understanding just exactly what it means to swing with “your body”.
The Workout
It is important to establish workout limits, and to adhere to these limits. The consensus
among users is that most users tend to over do the training, and then they burn out, and
lose the efficacy of the training. It seems counter intuitive that practicing less yields
better results than practicing more, but I am learning that acquiring speed is whole
different animal.
You want to work out with the chain no more than three days a week, with a day of rest
between each workout. This will give your body a chance to recover and make sure that
you keep the gains. After the third workout rest two days and begin again.
As has been mentioned, you want to record your swing speed so you can establish a
baseline and track your progress. It is very exciting to watch your swing speed increase
as you continue to use the speed chain.
Make sure you warm up before beginning your workout. You can jog in place, do
jumping jacks, or if you are into a fitness thing, do your low intensity aerobic portion of
your workout. DON’T over work your warm up though. Just enough to get your muscles
warm and the blood flowing. You want to have plenty of energy for your chain workout.
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Work the chain as hard and as fast as you can for no more than 10-12 seconds, using
either method one or two as described above. This is one set. You want to rest between
each set, using your breathing rate as your cue to begin the next set. Once your
breathing has returned to just about normal, begin again. Do three sets, which I call a
group then after your rest, record your swing speed. If your swing speed is still faster
than your pre-workout swings slowest swing you can continue to work, if not you should
stop as this is an indication you are fatiguing. A few times, after the first set, my swing
speed was slower than my slowest pre-workout swings. I knew I wasn’t tired, as I had
just begun, so I figured that was a bad swing, and recorded another, and it always was
back to normal.
You can workout as much as time permits until you are fatigued, and depending on your
fitness level and rest in between sets, you should be able to get three to four groups
done in less than 30 minutes. That’s not a huge time expenditure for the benefit
received – and as you will see below, the benefit is substantial.
Results
So, does the chain work? Short answer yes...it works… very well. Doing just the training
with the speed chain, I have realized an increase in my swing speed an average of 13
mph with a high of 135 mph! Most club fitters and launch experts say that for each mph
of additional club head speed you will see an increase of 2.2 to 2.5 yards – depending on
launch angle, spin etc. That means I have increased my carry about 30 yards! But not
just for driver, I will be hitting my irons longer too. Driving further and hitting shorter
clubs into the greens will mean lower scores (if I can putt!).
Below is a chart of my progress. The number is the average of the swing speed I
recorded after each three set group. In other words, I would do three sets (10 second
bursts is one set) and then rest and then record my swing speed:
To me the most amazing thing is how fast the speed has picked up relative to the
amount of work and time put in. As you can see, I have done a total of 15 workouts
since beginning, and each workout has been about 30 minutes. In those workouts, I
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have executed on average 3-4 sets per workout out. That is a maximum of 15 to 20
swings per workout. That I was able to acquire that much clubhead speed with so few
reps is truly amazing.
One question I had since I was training “dry” - without hitting balls; was how was my
swing being affected - if at all? As I mentioned, I already had a pretty good swing, but
still this was new training, and perhaps I was building in some swing flaw or bad habit.
So about a week and a half before the end of the test, I visited an indoor golf dome and
played some shots. I took the swing radar so I could verify my clubhead speed with
driver while actually hitting balls. I am happy to say that my swing suffered no ill effects,
and that MY SWING SPEED HITTING DRIVER WAS THE SAME AS WHEN HITTING
AIR. The ball flight was as expected for both driver and irons, and my swing survived
intact.
How or why does it work? I wish I had the scientific expertise to explain it. All I can say is
that you “learn speed”. Plain and simple, and for me that is enough. If you need the
science, you are on your own – the speed chain website has a pretty good explanation, if
you want to read it. I am just after results! In order to move the chain, you have to move
your body a certain way….this way is in conformance with swinging a golf club, and so
you are building muscles and learning processes that will yield more explosive speed
when applied to swinging a golf club. That is about all I can say.
Conclusion
The speed chain is a viable training aid that delivers on its claim to increase club head
speed in 30 days. It is a high quality product with superior craftsmanship. The speed
chain company customer service is excellent, their tutorial videos adequate, and you
can begin training with it “right out of the box”. It is easy to use and the learning is
intuitive with little need for outside instruction. Training should be done with adequate
allowances for rest between sets and groups and workout days so as to allow for
adequate recovery time and to avoid burning out. With the speed chain, less is more. If
you have a reasonably sound swing, and want more distance, you can begin training
with the chain right away.
If you are reading this report, it is because you have an interest in improving your swing
speed. I can absolutely say that the speed chain delivers on its promise. If you are
interested I ordering the speed chain, you can purchase it from me at a 12% discount
from retail.
Kevin McMullen
Authentic Golf
kmcmullen@authenticgolf.net
440-667-1504
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