5 Practical Tips to Help Skinny Guys Grow New Muscles

In the gym, same as in life, we have to play with the cards that are dealt with us, and this saying refers to our body constitution and genetics. Yes, it is true, genetics DO play a tremendous role in one's ability to put on muscle mass, and some people are less fortunate than others. There is a name for them – hard gainers.

Building some serious muscle might be harder for these folks, but it is possible, and I am about to present you with some essential tips for going from scrawny to brawny. Enjoy!

5 Essential Muscle Building Tips for Hard Gainers

Tip 1) Bump up your calorie intake with the right foods

You've probably encountered a skinny gym goer desperately trying to put on mass by eating extraordinary amounts of food every day, but still no luck.

Most of them have started this eating “regimen” because someone told them that “To get big, you need to eat big.” This idea makes sense, but some of these poor guys are stuffed all the time without making any progress because they still don't consume enough calories.

Well, one crucial thing to realize is that more volume DOES NOT always equal more calories. For example, one big bowl of oatmeal can barely pack up 300 calories, while only 100 grams of beef contains around 250 calories.

By comparison, that same bowl of oatmeal will most likely fill you up but 100 grams of beef won't. Focus on calorie and nutrient-dense foods such as meats and healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds).

By doing this, it will be easier to get in enough calories, along with all the necessary nutrients, without torturing your stomach. There will still be a place for good quality carbs in your life but think of them as a filler or addition to the before mentioned foods.

Tip 2) More time under tension sets

“Feel the burn” is a phrase constantly thrown around in the workout community, but what does it mean? This saying refers to the burning feeling that arises when your muscles spend some time under tension, for example during the last few reps in your set. That is important because it challenges your muscles which ultimately produces progress (hypertrophy and strength gain).

The way to achieve this is to perform slower reps. As you may have noticed, the speed at which you do a particular exercise can make it easier or harder, and you are looking for the latter as a hard gainer.

To start, concentrate on the length of your reps and don't worry about the amount. 5-second reps would be a good beginning. Next, try to keep a steady tempo when doing the exercise; you can even get a buddy with a stopwatch to count the seconds for you.

Another vital thing is the form, and remember that you should NEVER compromise it only to get another rep. My advice would be to try this method with bodyweight exercises, such as pull-ups, and eventually move on to free weights.

Tip 3) Get more quality sleep

When it comes to putting on muscle mass, sleep is the elephant in the room that many people neglect, overlook, or simply do not wish to accept as crucial.

To clarify this point, we can start with the question – why do we sleep in the first place? Well, sleep serves many functions, all critical to our health and well-being.

It is the time when the brain gets much-needed rest which provides us with alertness and mental clarity throughout our waking hours. Also, quality sleep is a significant factor in hormone optimization without which there can't be such a thing as a healthy body.

During the night, testosterone and human growth hormone are released, both of which are responsible for muscle growth. Cortisol, the stress hormone, gets regulated and lowered during this time and insulin sensitivity gets better.

Besides this, hard gainers need to know that sleeping is the time when muscles go into the catabolic mode, therefore eating just before bed is a must if you don't want to lose any precious gains. Having a protein shake or a protein-heavy meal before slumber will prevent muscle breakdown and provide your body with much-needed nutrition.

Tip 4) Compound exercises for Hard Gainers

When it comes to your workout program, think more in terms of strongman rather than a bodybuilder. “What do you mean by this?”, You might ask.

Bodybuilding workouts, which are very popular with gym “bros” all over the globe, contain a lot of isolation exercises (e.g., bicep curls, triceps extensions, etc.) They can be great for some people, usually the genetically gifted kind, but for a hard gainer, it would most likely be a waste of time.

Strongman programs, on the contrary, are composed of compound, whole-body exercises such as squats, dead-lifts, chin-ups and so on.

Compound movements like these produce a response in your central nervous system which promotes serious muscle gains throughout the whole body.

For beginners, it is imperative to learn correct form first, before jumping into a 5-days-a-week heavy lifting program.

Some of these exercises can be overwhelming at first so if squats are too challenging, start with leg presses to build up the necessary strength.

Start with about 70-80% compound exercises in your regimen and over time the squat rack, Olympic bench, barbell and pull up bar will become your new favorite tools in the gym.

Tip 5) Worry about under-recovery instead of overtraining

Overtraining is a word that you can hear a lot among exercise enthusiasts. Some claim it's a myth, an excuse of the weak, while others say they've experienced its dreadfulness. The truth is, overtraining is real, in the world of professional sports.

If you are an average Joe, who lifts several times a week, this thought shouldn't even enter your mind. On the contrary, proper recovery should be a great concern, and this is where most recreational athletes fail. People who have overtraining-like symptoms most likely don't eat right, sleep enough or rest properly, thus they fall into a continuous under-recovery mode.

The majority will then assume that too much training is the problem, and then proceed to decrease their workout frequency and volume, and this will only take decrease or diminish any possible progress.

So how do you do it the right way? There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to putting on muscle, so hire a professional to write you a good program and stick to it, all while making recovery a PRIORITY. It doesn't have to be more complicated than this.

The list doesn't look too bad, right?

If you are still having second thoughts about some of this advice, I encourage you to do more research, and there is plenty of material for that online, this is time-tested and scientific information, guaranteed to produce results if you put it into practice correctly.

It will not be easy, but it will sure as hell be effective, and if you can gather some motivation to get you started, the results that you will see will keep you going.

Author Bio:

Annie Jones is the woman behind the BoostBodyFit.com website. She started off a bit on the chubby side, but went through the transformation and now enjoys excellent health and looks great.

from Dai Manuel: Your Lifestyle Mentor http://ift.tt/2xGK2Bs

How to Use Big Words Without Making a Fool of Yourself

This guest post is by Sarah Moore. Sarah is a freelance copywriter and the founder of New Leaf Writing, where she blogs about building quirky, high-paying, and meaningful copywriting careers. She is also a writing coach, helping others start their businesses and make the jump to full-time writing. She reviews books and offers tips o’ the trade on Instagram (@newleafwriter).

Have you ever used a word for years — like, maybe during your thesis defense or in a high-profile report for work — then realized one day that you had it totally wrong? Those big words you thought were making you look so erudite were, in fact, working against you. Turns out, coif is not the same as coiffure, and you never even realized it.

No one is immune from this, neither journalists nor poets, essayists nor novelists. The problem often stems from our natural inclination as writers to grab hold of an exciting new word and just run with it. Not only do we end up using big words just plain wrong, our enthusiasm leads to overuse as well.

By slowing down just a little bit, recognizing common pitfalls, and inserting some deliberate practice into your vocabulary usage, you can turn this trend around.

6 Big Word Sins You Can Learn to Avoid

We love those flashy mots, but in the pursuit of better craft, we often make our writing worse. Here are five common slipups writers make with big words:

Sin 1: Confusing Similar Words

You’ve probably come across the idea that only the first and last letters of a word are really important, while those between can be jumbled without losing meaning. This idea seems to contain the seeds of truth, which is bad for us writers who don’t parse vocab carefully enough.

At first glance, enervate and energize may look and sound the same, and seem to mean the same thing. Same with meretricious and meritorious. Unfortunately, these word pairs are opposites. To enervate is to drain energy; to energize is to add it. Meretricious means cheap or tawdry; meritorious means worthy or deserving of praise.

If you’re not careful to examine all of a word, you may end up using it wrong. Once you misapply it a few times, it gets cemented in your brain and will be hard to change. No Bueno.

Sin 2: Assuming You Know What Words Mean From Context

As writers, we’re used to absorbing vocabulary from what we read. That’s great, but only if you monitor the process. Otherwise, you can easily become confused. Take the above example of coif and coiffure. To coif is a verb; a coiffure is a hairstyle. You do the first; you have the second.

Luxuriant and luxurious are also frequently confused. Luxuriant doesn’t mean plush; it means lots of it. You have luxuriant hair; you get luxurious haircuts at expensive salons. If you’re not sure, follow my mom’s oft-repeated advice: Look it up.

“

Not sure what a word means? Do as your mother told you and look it up.

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Sin 3: Using the Word Multiple Times in Close Proximity

This … annoys me … so much. If you use a distinctive word too many times, I promise you readers will notice.

I’ll give you an example. Of late, fantasy authors have fallen in luuuuurve with the word “eldritch,” meaning bizarre or sinister. Now, this is a great word, but it’s not good enough to justify using more than once in a novel. There are other words for “weird and sinister,” starting with either “weird” or “sinister.” Just sayin’.

This can occur with phrases too. I love the Throne of Glass series, but my pet peeve is Sarah J. Maas’ use of “killing fields.” Yes, it’s a cool, if dark, term. But it’s so distinctive that at ten uses per novel, each new reference begins to grate. No matter how excited you are, keep your shiny new word to one instance.

Sin 4: Using Too Many DIFFERENT Words in Close Proximity

Like the above advice, readers notice when your prose or copy is suddenly crammed with four-syllable words. Keeping the big guys to a minimum is a good way to make those you do use stand out, so stick with one or two per page, at a maximum.

If it’s a word most people don’t know (eyeballing you, “eldritch”), give it even more space. Otherwise your readers will find your writing taxing, and they will get tired of it. You’re not James Joyce. Sorry.

“

Use distinctive words sparingly to make the greatest impact.

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Sin 5: Integrating More Than One Word into Your Vocab at a Time

I’m stoked you like the great authors. I do too. But while reading classic lit is a great way to expand our vocab, it’s also a great way to cram our brains full of words with which we’re only half conversant … and biff it in that thesis defense.

When you read a new word, dog-ear that page or write it down. Don’t just absorb it and conclude you “know” what it means. Then look words up carefully and practice (below) to be sure you know how to use them. If you come across many new words in a short amount of time, write them down in a document and reference it when you have some free writing time.

Sin 6: Using the Word in Dialogue When It’s Out of Character

The occasional professor or lair-bound scientist can fairly employ flowery phrasing, but chances are good your medieval heroines and subversive Nazi soldiers don’t have overflowing vocabularies. You can use that fancy five-syllable exclamation, but they probably won’t. Of course, you know your characters better than anyone else, but for the most part, you should keep their language simpler than your prose.

Choose Your Words

Phew, that was a lot of don’ts.

Luckily there is also a DO! Do use deliberate practice to improve your command of new words you stumble across. If you haven’t stumbled in a while, feel free to head to your favorite writing blog or dictionary, both of which commonly suggest new words to use. Stuck for ideas? Check out some of our favorite big words here.

When you encounter a new word you love the sound of, look it up and absorb its meaning. To deepen your understanding, check out a few examples of it in use — dictionary and encyclopedia sites are a handy way to do this, as they often offer sample sentences.

Big and uncommon words can be the perfect things to make your prose sizzle. By avoiding these egregious sins, you’ll ensure each one packs a punch. Don’t stop using your fancy vocabulary! Just make sure it’s working for you, not against you.

What’s your favorite uncommon word to use in your writing? What’s a word you often see overused or misused? Let us know in the comments.

PRACTICE

Now it’s your turn: Find a word you’re unfamiliar with. Flip through a dictionary, or pick one off this list. Then, take fifteen minutes to write three paragraphs, using the new word once in each.

Post your practice in the comments section so we can all see your work and boost our vocabulary skills along with you! And if you post, be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers!

The post How to Use Big Words Without Making a Fool of Yourself appeared first on The Write Practice.

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First Look – TaylorMade TP Red CollectionPutters

When TaylorMade launched the Ghost line of putters, it had a story. The offering was something totally different. With input from optical experts, as well as putter guru Dave Stockton, the company claimed its Ghost putters were scientifically proven to be easier to line up. The putters were white because of science. The new TP red putters are red because well, Jason Day said make me a red putter.

Forgive us if we sound a bit cynical, but the red putter trend and the layers of plagiarism upon plagiarism in the putter category are boring. Jason Day asked for a red putter because red is his favorite color, and so red putters became a thing.

Sergio finally won the Masters using a red Spider, one of approximately 212 different putters he has used this season, while Jon Rahm has also looked like a superstar holing putts for fun with his Spider.

Professional golfers are a funny bunch, and some equated Jason Day's success with his red Spider and borrowed inspiration from it. What everyone seems to forget is all the success Day had with his dinged-up Ghost White Spider (incidentally he’s recently been seen testing a new version of that one). Jason Day is one of the finest putters of his generation. The fact he was putting well with a red flagstick had nothing to do with it being red, but it was easy to spot, and golfers seemed to take to it, and so now we have an entirely paint-driven putter trend.

Putter innovation being what it is, Odyssey quickly launched its own range of Works Red putters, including their now ubiquitous #7 Fang model. Turnabout being proverbially fair play, TaylorMade has launched its own version of the Fang in - you guessed it, red. Perhaps uninspired, perhaps an overt middle finger pointed in Odyssey’s direction; it certainly feels like TaylorMade is copying the copier.

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So what new technology has TaylorMade brought to the party? Diddly Squat, if we’re being honest. All of the new putters feature the 6061 Aluminum Pure Roll insert used in the TP Collection. It's a polymer filled groove design, not essentially different from what TaylorMade has been doing for the last ten years. Purportedly, the groove grips the ball to impart topspin and promote a faster time to roll. It feels soft and the roll is good, but with 3.5 degrees loft, there’s an argument to made that the company is a bit behind the curve for modern greens.

Each putter has movable/adjustable weights, which can be purchased separately, and come stock with a love it or hate it Super Stroke Pistol GTR 1.0 grip.

There are technically six new models in the new family. But really, there are a two and a half, with some variations.

TP Red Ardmore

First up is the Ardmore. A full mallet design, this is a classic shape, very much like an Odyssey V-Line. There is also an Ardmore CTR, a center-shafted design. While not generally a good fit for a majority of golfers, it’s good to see them in OEM lineups for those you the design works for.

TP Red Ardmore 2

The Ardmore 2 pays homage to the Odyssey #7. Remove the center portion from the Ardmore, and voila you've got the Ardmore 2 - wings and all. Featuring a simple alignment aid; the Ardmore 2 is available in with a face-balanced, double-bend hosel and an Anser style L neck.

The Ardmore 3 features a single alignment line inside the cavity, and with the short heel hosel design most recently popularized by Jason Day, offers significantly more toe hang.

TP Red Chaska

Finally is the Chaska. We understand golf brands follow naming conventions, and those designs undergo iterations, but an Anser will always be an Anser. So, we can’t quite understand why the Corza, a design that has been knocking about since 2010 is now called a Chaska.

 Bonus: TP Silver Collection

Outside of the new TP Red line, there are two updates to the TP Silver Collection. Again, we have the Corza, sorry Chaska. And we also have the Balboa. Now that is a punchy name. Often called a No.9 now, following Odyssey and Phil Mickelson re-popularizing the heel shafted small mallet design, the connoisseur will know it’s actually based on the old TPA XVIII design from the 80's that was originally a TaylorMade model.

These are by no measure, bad putters. In fact, the Ardmore models look particularly good at address. They’re just not particularly inspired. TaylorMade has been playing it safe for a long time with their putters, and frankly, we’d like to see them innovate beyond the paint can. With these likely being the last models of the TMAG era, perhaps the next putter release will offer more of a legitimate technology story.

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How to get into ‘ketosis’ and why you should care

You've probably arrived at this article because you typed something about weight loss into Google. I'm not an advocate of “lose weight quick” schemes. Weight loss takes discipline and effort. But if you are looking for a way to shave off those pounds you might want to consider a ketosis based or ketogenic diet. But like any weight loss program, it should be followed correctly and after you've done some research.

What is ketosis?

We've all heard of low carb diets and how they work. In theory, this type of diet burns off fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. Instead of expending glucose for energy (glucose is derived from carbs and stored in the liver or muscles as glycogen), the body will break down fat stores. Creating ketones (a type of acid), which are a source of fuel, just like glucose is.

Ketones get eliminated in urine, so if you measure your ketone levels through urine analysis (i.e., strips from a pharmacy) and they are high, you know you're in ketosis, this means that your body is breaking down fat and converting it into energy. And so the weight loss begins.

The Ketogenic Diet: What is it?

When your body adapts to this kind of diet, you will be less hungry too, which means fewer snacks, more energy, and a highly functioning brain.

No, ketosis is not the same as starvation. While you are forbidding carbohydrates, you should be balancing your diet with the correct levels of protein and fats so that your blood sugar levels are stable. Creating ketones and burning fat is a better way of dieting than just reducing calories or starving yourself.

Other benefits of ketosis

Some studies of ketosis have shown that ketosis is beneficial for cancer as it starves cancer cells, which feed on glucose and cannot use ketones for fuel. Being in ketosis can also benefit those who have epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's due to its neuroprotective nature and its ability to slow down or stop cellular death.

As you're storing less glucose, there is also less chance for neurotoxicity, one of the leading causes of brain disease.

What is Ketoacidosis?

A ketogenic diet is a short-term solution to weight loss, but like anything, beware of overdoing it. When ketones build up in your blood, they become acidic which eventually leads to a metabolic state called ketoacidosis. The main causes of this state are too much alcohol, starvation or an overactive thyroid.

It is important to note that if you have diabetes -particularly type 1 diabetes- and decide to go on a ketogenic diet; please consult a medical professional first. A drop in insulin means that your body cannot properly process the available glucose and could cause some serious impact on your health.

Ketosis simplified: How to get into ketosis

Here's the lowdown on ketosis. Your body becomes a fat burner and not a sugar burner. Even though you will be replacing carbs with fats, it does not mean that you can walk into your nearest BK and eat the patty without the bun. You will still need to eat a balanced diet to get enough nutrients to fuel your body like high-quality fats, organic vegetables that don't contain starch and good sources of protein.

Takeaway: For your daily calories, aim to get 75% of your calories from healthy fats, 20% from protein and 5% from carbohydrates. However, for the first 2 weeks, aimed at keeping your carb intake to less than 20 grams per day. After that, you can eke up to as much as 50g per day. Be sure to use your keto sticks to monitor your level of ketones in the blood, ensuring you are still in ketosis.

To continue learning more about the ketogenic diet, read the following articles:

from Dai Manuel: Your Lifestyle Mentor http://ift.tt/2fzMeGn

Writing Discipline: Why Talent Isn’t Enough (And What You Need Instead)

When I was twelve, I loved golf.

I had huge dreams for my golfing career and told everyone my goal: to win the Masters.

For those who don’t know, the Masters is a golf tournament featuring the game’s best players. At twelve, I decided that I was going to win someday. To fulfill that promise, I played competitive golf on my high school team and in summer tournaments. And for a while, I was good.

But I wasn’t getting better. In fact, as the years wore on, I just got worse!

The breaking point came on the seventh hole during a tournament when I shanked a drive into the woods. I teed up another. And then another. Both shots disappeared into the trees.

So I slammed my club into the ground until it splintered like a twig, and threw the pieces into the woods.

I decided to quit. I drove home, threw my clubs in the garage, and never came back to the course.

Golfing and writing are very different activities — but when you do them, one thing they have in common is that they rely on one person: You.

And when you have huge dreams weighing on your shoulders, those dreams can crush you as you throw yourself at projects over and over again, and still fail.

Why does this happen? Why can’t our talent and dreams make us successful?

Are we doomed to smash our computers like a 4-iron and quit?

Thankfully, there is a way to do things differently and live a joyful writing life that will lead to success.

The Problem With Talent Alone

“You don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone!” —Coach Herb Brooks, Miracle

Here’s the truth about why I failed golf: I hated practicing.

I didn’t want to stand on the driving range for hours and hours. I wanted to be out on the course, constantly chasing a better score.

Yet the course did nothing to develop my discipline. Instead, it angered my sense of Pride, and made me demand success from myself immediately. “Why am I not winning now!?” I would ask.

I should have been in the practice area honing my swing, zeroing in my chip shots, and learning to putt like Tiger. But Pride, ever the merciless master, kept tempting me to skip the range and head out to the course, and before long, I imploded.

How does Pride do the same thing with our writing?

Pride may tell you a number of things. One thing it is probably telling you is this: “You should write and publish a bestseller immediately. If you don’t succeed now, then you’re a failure.”

So you give in to Pride’s demands and power through a draft, only to assume that your novel is ready for publication the moment it’s finished. When I finished the first draft of my novel, I wanted the world to throw me a parade. I was exhausted, and the thought of more work made me sick.

This is Pride’s lie: “Your talent needs to be enough now. If it isn’t, then it will never be.”

That lie is going to do the same thing to you that it did to me: You’re going to break things until you break yourself.

If you do, then you’ll be farther from your dreams, and more tempted to quit, than ever before.

“

Pride says you must be a master writer NOW. The truth is, you just need to practice.

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What Practicing Looks Like

So what does “practicing” look like for us as writers?

How do we obtain the Disipline to produce great work on a regular basis?

As with anything worth doing, writing requires many forms of Discipline. Some of them are obvious and visible:

Visible Writing Disciplines

• Write every day
• Read every day
• Blog
• Set goals with daily timelines
• Read coaching blogs (like The Write Practice!)
• Comment on those blogs
• Enter writing contests
• Participate in writer’s groups

When we do these activities, it tends to feel good. They feel, and often are, productive. And productivity feeds our Pride.

While productivity can be a great thing, it is often a mask for toxic problems simmering below the surface of our consciousness. Heading onto the golf course looked, and felt, “productive” to me. But it did nothing to address the issues that were boiling inside of me like magma.

This is why it is the Invisible Disciplines of writing that will eventually make someone truly great:

Invisible Writing Disciplines

• Talk with, and listen to, your readers
• Spend time with family and friends while not writing
• Spend time at work (interacting with humans) while not writing
• Emphasize giving over selling
• Build relationships with other writers and content creators
• Tangibly forgive yourself for failure and frustration
• Believe in the value of BOTH the final product and the journey
• Journal, meditate, and pray
• Take healthy breaks, or Sabbaths, from writing (especially when it consumes you)
• Accept that you have very little control over your own success

These aren’t just activities. They’re behaviors.

When mastered, they become deeply engrained in one’s character, and truly transform who you are from within.

The 3 Fundamental Writing Disciplines

While this is a long list, and possibly an overwhelming one, I want you to focus on a few of these to get started, as the majority of these disciplines will grow when you adopt and master these first three.

1. Write Every Day

A Visible Writing Discipline, daily writing flexes the very muscle you are seeking to grow. The best thing about writing every day is that this can take many forms.

You can write:

• a chapter of a novel or a draft of a story.
• a poem.
• a letter.
• emails and memos for work.
• notes, especially about your story ideas and revisions, in your phone.
• by hand, by keyboard, or by screen.
• comments on blog posts (like this one!).
• hand-written “Thank You’s,” or other notes, to your spouse, children, family, friends, or roommates.

The point is that you write, and you do it every day. Flex the muscle of daily storytelling, and it will inevitably grow.

Notice that this has nothing to do with talent. Talent cannot possibly prepare you for every context you will write in. It cannot anticipate your future readers’ wants and needs.

And talent is useless when the desire to use it is destroyed by failure and pride. Talent is merely a tool. You need to become a hard-working craftsman.

“

The mark of a successful writer isn’t their talent, but their discipline to write.

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2. Emphasize Giving Over Selling

Last November, I made a commitment: For all of 2017, I wasn’t going to “sell” anything.

That doesn’t mean I shut down my CreateSpace or Amazon accounts. I just chose not to promote them.

The only things I’m promoting are free giveaways. I wrote an entire book, The 10 Reasons Readers Quit Your Book (and How to Win Them Back), in order to give it away.

Why do this?

The idea of a “free giveaway” is nothing new in the blogging world, but what might be new is the mindset it provides. When you approach the craft and discipline of writing with a Giving attitude, everything changes.

It’s no longer about you.

It’s about the Reader.

Selling, while essential for an artist to survive, focuses on short-term goals. While some authors regularly accomplish their selling goals, most of us don’t. When I launched my novel, I failed miserably at meeting any of my goals and was tempted to quit writing altogether, just like I did with golf.

But I was able to right the ship by remembering why I do any of this: to build relationships and Give.

Here’s the kicker: You have to practice the daily discipline of Giving. It is wildly opposed to our everyday human desires. We wish to be served, not the other way around. Developing this Discipline takes time and sacrifice over many months and years.

But when you do serve, you will find a world of freedom and joy waiting for you. Doors open that you could not have imagined. Your whole writing game changes in wildly fun and freeing ways.

But you have to practice. You have build the Giving muscle. So begin by putting your readers’ needs first and trusting that this healthy relationship will build a platform that eventually puts food on your plate.

3. Journal, Meditate, and Pray

The successful writer is a reflective, self-aware writer.

Few masters of the craft suffer delusions about themselves. You will find that the most successful artists have some kind of daily practice of quieting themselves and spending time alone, away from their computer or website.

This practice has saved my life many times. It saved my life after the launch of my novel when I chose to “Sabbath,” or rest, from writing for a month. It saves my life daily when pause from work and communicate with God, and with myself.

After the failed launch, I took my family to the mountains for a much-needed retreat. My favorite activity every day was sitting on the porch with a journal and pot of coffee, and just being. I would breathe, think, feel, wonder, and converse with God about this journey I was on.

It was awesome.

For every day I’m not in the mountains, I seek solace in a quiet room of the house, or the solitude of my commute to and from work, or in my headphones at a coffee shop. Sometimes I just need to be, and for me that means journaling in prayer, journaling in thought, and journaling with raw, free emotions.

That’s far better than smashing a golf club to smithereens.

Do you do this? Do you value solitude, quiet, and time to communicate with your god and with yourself?

Whatever belief system you have, it must be an essential part of your daily functioning. And when you participate in this daily function, you must submit your writing and your work to whatever eternal truth you believe in.

Don’t mistake my meaning here: I’m not talking about asking God, Buddha, or Santa Claus to make you rich or famous. Do that, and you’ll quit harder than I did (and lose more than your passion for writing).

I’m talking about bringing your Truth with you on this writing journey, and sharing that experience with the deepest parts of your spiritual self. If you don’t, you will surely succumb to the same temptations that made me hang up my golf bag: anger, self-deceit, and the death of your dreams.

So take a moment every day to journal, pray, meditate, or enjoy some time alone with yourself (and with your god) to reflect on your writing. Talk to yourself about what is going well and what is not. Learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes.

This will transform your creative life. It might even affect your success in other areas of life, too. How might your marriage, parenting, friendships, or “day job” be positively impacted by this?

So make the commitment to spend time alone, even if it’s five minutes a day. You need it, and you deserve it.

And your readers will appreciate it when you begin producing your best work because you are truly your best, most Disciplined self.

Writing Discipline Wins

There is no doubt in my mind that I had the talent to be good at golf. My coach told me all the time. So did my family.

But I never understood his phrasing. Yes, I had the talent, but talent is just a place to begin. It takes talent to be good at something. Talent is not goodness in and of itself.

On its own, Talent loses. Without Discipline, Talent is useless.

Talent is merely the jump-off. It is the inkling, the inspiration, the thought to visit a blog like this one and get coached into excellence. It is the full measure of your untapped potential.

The only way to reveal your true talent, the talent you “think” you have, or “hope” you have, is to dig deep and live a disciplined writing life. And when you do, it will be a joyful life. It will be a fulfilling life. And it will be a victorious life.

Because Discipline wins.

What daily writing discipline do you maintain? How has that helped you to grow as a writer? Let me know in the comments.

Practice

Today, we’re going to practice the second writing discipline: emphasize giving. This comes to you in three steps.

Step 1: Think of your reader. Who are they? This might be someone who is already a fan of the book you published. They might be a friend who likes the same kinds of stories as you. They might be your mom, or your brother, or someone who just needs a note of encouragement. Whomever they are, think of that person and the kind of writing they would love to read today. Is it a story? A poem? A letter?

Step 2: Take fifteen minutes to write something just for them.

Step 3: Share your writing in the comments. Then, be bold and share your writing with the person you thought of in Step 1. You wrote it as a gift, so give it away!

Be sure to share thoughts and encouragement with at least three other commenters!

Happy Practicing!

The post Writing Discipline: Why Talent Isn’t Enough (And What You Need Instead) appeared first on The Write Practice.

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PXG’s University Program Exposes the Gender Gap in Collegiate Golf

“It is beyond me that the men’s and women’s golf teams are frequently afforded different levels of support” - Bob Parsons, PXG

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PXG recently announced a sponsorship platform where it will provide tour level fittings and equipment to both men's and women's programs at six major Division I schools - Duke, Cal, SMU, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt. However, in a departure from typical pieces on PXG, the equipment itself isn't the most important part of the story.

Providing elite amateurs and collegiate players with free equipment isn't new. It's the reason why you see a plethora of Ping and Titleist clubs in matching Ping and Titleist bags at high-level state and national junior tournaments. The idea is simple; build (or technically buy...or maybe rent) loyalty during a player's formative years, and if player goes on to play professionally, it's likely that player will stick with the brand as his career progresses. There will always be Bryson DeChambeau scenarios where a player works closely with one OEM (Edel) during amateur play only to sign with another (Cobra) for more money, but this is more the exception than the rule.

The costs associated with this version of marketing are simply a part of doing business for many OEMs, but there is a spending limit. Because budgets allow for a finite amount of equipment to distribute, the equipment sponsors must decide who are the haves and who are the have-nots.

The HAVES

When it comes to equipment sponsorships, every OEM targets the elite of the elite – those with more robust playing resumes. From a quantitative perspective, this group represents a higher-percentage wager. These are the equivalents of First Round draft picks and they get taken care of regardless of gender, college attended or their duration of stay.  See: Jordan Speith, Leona Maguire.

Then, there's the "at large" population. These are players who are good enough to make a roster at a Division I school but have procured equipment through more traditional means during junior golf. Put bluntly, male players have a distinct advantage, and according to the current Division I coaches I spoke with, are routinely provided OEM (TaylorMade, PING, Titleist, and Callaway) equipment, free of charge, while members of a collegiate team.

HAVE-NOTS

Conversely, female players at the same institutions, at best, can hope for reduced prices via collegiate pricing programs. There are, however, times when coaches call in favors from other sources to gain access to equipment for players, but again, these are exceptions and not indicative of a well-balanced system. With that, I'm not suggesting the system has any moral obligation to treat male and female athletes equitably, and that's what makes this move by PXG noteworthy, if not entirely unprecedented.

Often, this is collegiate discounts are the same as those offered to high school players across the nation. In a strictly monetary sense, female Division I scholarship golfers are often treated the same as the local high school golf team – which speaks volumes regarding the equipment industry's view of female players in so far as their collective ability to provide exposure and bring value to the brand is concerned. I don't believe any company purposely excludes female golfers because of gender; rather it's a matter of resource allocation and the reality that a line has to be drawn somewhere. In this case, the delineation is largely gender-specific.

THE GENDER GAP

There's no revelation in suggesting men and women are not treated equally. In the arena of professional golf, prize money is dictated by how (and how much) revenue is generated by each tour. The PGA Tour (via TV contracts and corporate sponsorships) brings in nearly 10X the revenue of the Ladies PGA Tour, and thus the men play for much larger purses on a weekly basis.

Comparing players who won similar events, women received approximately 20% of what their male counterparts made.

The revenue-driven argument loses some of its luster in an examination of an event like the U.S. Open, which is put on by the USGA; an organization charged to act in "the best interests of the game for the continued enjoyment of those who love and play it." Given the USGA's non-profit status, one would think it would be committed equally to both men and women, but monetarily speaking, it's not even close. Men's US Open Winner, Brooks Koepka, took home nearly 2.5X what Park Sung-hyun did for winning the women's version of the same event. For those scoring at home that's 2.16 million vs. 900K.

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Enter MyGolfSpy’s Giveaway!

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Within the collegiate golf world, the differences are equally as stark. One coach I spoke with detailed the awkward, yet undeniable contrast of watching the men's team go through a fitting with a large OEM for its newest gear, while her girls practiced on the opposite side of the range. It would have been more bothersome if it wasn't so commonplace.

Another coach recounted her numerous conversations with players asking for equipment, which puts her in the position of trying to sell the idea that getting a significant retail discount is something special. However, the scores of Pro V1s and stacks of long brown boxes full of free equipment for the men's team sprawled all over the back of the office say pretty much all that needs to be said about the way things are.

At some point, the inequality becomes normalized and female golfers (and coaches) became resigned to the realities of lesser treatment. This is the backdrop against which PXG entered this conversation and when Bob Parson's stated “It is beyond me that the men’s and women’s golf teams are frequently afforded different levels of support,” his response conveys a moral imperative to work to level the playing field – or in this case, the tee box.

I reached out to numerous college coaches for this piece and unsurprisingly, only two replied, both women. The implicit message is this move by PXG meant more to women's programs because frankly, they needed it more.

Can you imagine asking a Division I football player to buy a helmet? It sounds ridiculous because it is. Why major OEMs provide equipment to one gender and not the other is treated as a matter of simple economics, but maybe that rationale won't' suffice any longer.

Should OEMs be required to provide equal support for men's and women's programs at the same institution? You tell us.

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Quirky Travel Photo: Little boy by a stream in Rwanda

Little boy in Rwanda

On a very long coach trip through Rwanda from Kigali up to Volcanoes National Park, we stopped en route for a ‘comfort break.’ As soon as we got off the bus, we were surrounded by a gaggle of children and adults who seemed to appear from nowhere. All curious, some holding back and others venturing closer, they wanted to say ‘hello’ and see what we were wearing and holding. This little boy caught my eye with his delightfully shy smile and, as I crouched down to talk to him, he came closer and closer. Finally he reached out a tentative hand to my camera so I handed it to him to have a look. Another member of our group came up and called to him to have his photo taken.

I stepped back, clicked and got this shot. He sums up the warm welcome and friendly faces we saw throughout our memorable trip to Rwanda with Uber Luxe Safaris, a country coming to terms with a tough past and and embracing an exciting future.

Read more on Rwanda

Up close with Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda

5 great reasons to visit Rwanda

Love it? Pin It!

The post Quirky Travel Photo: Little boy by a stream in Rwanda appeared first on The Quirky Traveller Blog.

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7 Killer Tips for How to Write a Bio

You have just opened your email from the magazine you submitted your article to. You read the email you have been hoping for and dreaming of: “Hey there, we want to publish your article. Please reply with a fifty-word killer bio. We will post it at the end of your article. You can include up to three links.”

Wow, your writing has been accepted! Now you have to say who you are.

Writing your biography can seem almost as challenging as writing the piece you submitted. But it is a necessary part of publishing your writing. How will your readers know who wrote your wonderful article if you do not tell them?

7 Killer Tips for How to Write a Bio

A good place to find examples of other writers’ biographies is right here on The Write Practice. You can meet the Write Practice team on the About page. The Write Practice also includes bios with all guest posts (you can click on any post on this page to read the author’s bio).

But you do not need a bio from the About page of The Write Practice. You need a bio for your own amazing article that is being published soon. So now it is your turn to write a killer bio.

Let me share with you seven tips on how to write a bio.

1. Write your name

Start with your name. Might seem obvious, but you want to make sure readers know who you are.

2. Share your accomplishments

Don’t be shy. Say what you have done. You can mention things like where you went to school and where you have been published. This is not a time to brag or list every award you won since grade two. Pick the ones that are relevant and recent.

For example:

Mary Jones, a graduate of ____________, had been published in____________ and ______________.

If this is your first publication, you can say:

Mary Jones, a graduate of _______________, writes about ________________ and ______________.

3. Use third person

Write in the third person, even if you are the one writing it.

Instead of saying, “I have lived in Tokyo and have six cats,” say, “Pamela has lived in Tokyo and has six cats.”

4. Say something personal

End with a personal statement about you. See the ending of these examples.

Here is Stephen King’s biography from the back of his book On Writing. It has 65 words.

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are 11/22/63, Under the Dome, Lisey’s Story, Duma Key, Cell, Dreamcatcher, Hearts in Atlantis, and Bag of Bones. He was the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Maine with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Stephen King’s biography begins with his name and then lists his accomplishments. But it ends on a more personal note. Now you know that he lives in Maine and his wife is a novelist. This helps you to connect with him as a regular human being, not just a very accomplished celebrity.

(His biography is long, though. If you were Steven King, and they said, “Mr. King, you have only fifty words,” what would you take out?)

Or read this biography from the back of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This one is 42 words.

Steven Pressfield is the author of Gates of Fire, Tides of War, The Afghan Campaign, The Profession, The Warrior Ethos and Turning Pro, among others. He lives in Los Angeles. In 2003, he was made an honorary citizen of Sparta in Greece.

If I wanted to know what books Steven Pressfield wrote, I could look up his page on Amazon. But I would not know to look up whether he was made an honorary citizen of Sparta in Greece.

Take a look at this one, from the back inside cover of Jon Acuff’s new book Finish. This has 49 words.

Jon Acuff is the New York Times bestselling author of Start, Quitter, and Do Over, among other books. He is a popular public speaker, blogger, Tweeter, and the creator of the “30 Days of Hustle” online challenge. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Jenny, and their two daughters.

Jon Acuff’s biography tells me about his accomplishments. Then it ends with a note about his family. It is a good idea to share a piece of personal information about yourself so readers can connect with you.

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Include a personal note in your bio to connect with your readers.

Tweet this

Tweet

5. Be funny

Include humor if it fits the publication you are submitting to. Remember, you don’t want to make off-color jokes in your biography, so pretend your mother is reading it.

Unless, of course, it is for an adult magazine. Then you can write humor that fits that publication.

6. Link to your writing

Use only one link. Decide what is the most important place you want your readers to find you. Twitter? Instagram? Your blog signup list?

If you only have one link, have it go to your blog signup page. An email list is the most important, as it gives you direct access to make friends with your readers. You own your blog; you don’t own Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Unless, of course, you are Ev Williams, the director and co-founder of Twitter, or Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.

“

Include a link in your bio so readers can find you and follow your writing.

Tweet this

Tweet

7. Follow the rules

Follow the rules. If they ask for a fifty-word biography, don’t give them 324 words. Stick to fifty.

Bonus Tip: Be Yourself

It can seem intimidating to write a killer bio. But you are a writer. You have already written an article or story so amazing that someone wants to publish it.

Do not stress about this. Now you know how to write a bio, and you will write an amazing one.

Do you have any tips for how to write a bio? Let us know in the comments.

PRACTICE

Take fifteen minutes to write a fifty-word biography. This is the length of biographies Alice, my editor, asks for on The Write Practice.

What will you include in your biography? Share the bio you write in the comments. Tell us what you cut out. Or, if you have any questions about what to include, ask those here.

Please read other readers’ biographies and help them write a clear biography. Ask questions, and let’s help each other.

xo
Pamela

The post 7 Killer Tips for How to Write a Bio appeared first on The Write Practice.

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Want to Fix Your Game at “The Best Golf School In the World”?

The Best Golf School in the World.

That’s a mighty bold statement – one that admittedly doesn’t fit well with MyGolfSpy’s Datacratic model. So, if you want to have a small rant about clickbait before moving on for the day, no hard feelings, but I’ll tell you this much; Martin Chuck believes he operates the best golf school in the world, and he’s stepped-up to try and prove it.

I know what you’re thinking: That’s an entirely subjective opinion. It’s next to impossible to quantify, and not for anything, as the owner and operator of the Tour Striker Golf Academy, Mr. Chuck might be a little biased on the subject.

Yup. I don’t disagree

What’s also true is that in MyGolfSpy’s near decade of existence no other golf coach has reached out to ask us to be evaluated. Martin Chuck wants his Tour Striker Academy reviewed to the Most Wanted standard. In fact, all of this started when Martin contacted us to ask why we don’t have a Most Wanted Golf School Category.

Short answer: Logistics.

Longer Answer: As much as I’d love to travel the world in search of the Svengali golf coach who can fix my abysmal golf game, there are prohibitions, not the least of which is my wife. I’d also hazard a guess that some of the guys with reputations to lose want no part of opening up their schools to MyGolfSpy.

Fortunately, we found a simple workaround that also creates an awesome opportunity for one of you.

Win A Trip to a 3-Day Golf School at the Tour Striker Academy

Martin Chuck has invited one of you to spend three days at his Tour Striker Golf Academy at the Raven Phoenix Golf Club.

He’ll cover the cost of airfare, lodging, and the golf school. All Martin asks in return is you show up with a desire to improve your game and a commitment to provide a fair and honest assessment of your experience.

Here’s what the winner can expect during the 3-Day Tour Striker Experience:

• World-class instruction from Golf Magazine Top 100 instructor and Tour Striker Inventor, Martin Chuck and his team of coaches
• Data-driven evaluation and analysis using modern technology like Trackman, GEARS, and BodiTrak
• An individual instruction plan designed to target and eliminate your bugaboos (those core issues that cost you strokes on the golf course)
• Supervised on-course play to work on shot selection, technique and decision-making in real golf situations
• Take-home materials and ongoing engagement to help you build on the fundamentals established during the golf school

Martin believes that, above all else, it's the continuing relationship with his students that truly separates the Tour Striker Golf Academy from the pack. Perhaps that's why he's received so many consistently positive reviews from his students.

It’s not pixie dust. It’s knowledge and the right plan. – Martin Chuck

Want to win a…

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Enter MyGolfSpy’s Giveaway!

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Contest Details – Please Read Carefully

• A spot has been reserved in the golf school running from Thursday, December 7^th through Saturday, December 9^th  (You'd likely need to fly into Phoenix on the 6^th and out late on the 9^th or on the 10^th). If you cannot attend on these dates, please don’t enter.
• Prize includes airfare, lodging, and golf school admission.
• This contest is open to USA residents only, and as always, void where prohibited.

HOW TO Enter:

As you know, MyGolfSpy takes its product testing very seriously and that’s true of this Golf School review opportunity as well. All of our reader reviews are published in our Community Forum (click here to check them out). We expect a lot from our reviewers – writing a thorough, detailed and honest review is a commitment, as well as participation in the Forum itself to answer questions and discuss your experience at the Tour Striker Academy with other golfers.

That means that to enter, you must be a registered member of the MyGolfSpy Community Forum, where you’ll find thousands of like-minded golfers from all over the world anxious to talk about golf equipment.

To apply to attend a 3-day golf school at the Tour Striker Academy, here's what you have to do:

- First, if you haven't already, please sign up for the MyGolfSpy Community Forum (click here to register).

- Second, apply ONLY in the Official Tour Striker Academy Thread in the MyGolfSpy Community Forum (click here to enter).

 

We'll be announcing our golf school reviewer in the MyGolfSpy Forum in two weeks.

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