With all the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Star Wars movie I thought it would be fun to tell you about a friend of mine who played one of the greatest movie villians of all-time Darth Vader.Dave Prowse is his name and he hails from England.Dave and I met a few years ago in London through a mutual friend when my wife and I were there on a vaction.Prior to starring as Darth Vader in the first three original movies he was a professional body builder and owned some gyms in England.He guest starred in numerous tv roles like the Avengers,The Saint,and played Frankenstein in a number of Hammer Films.He got the call from George Lucas after Lucas saw him in the movie Clockwork Orange where he played another strongman named Jullian.Dave told me that Lucas offered him either the role of a big furry sidekick named Chewbacca,or the Evil Lord Darth Vader.He choose Vader because everyone always remembers the bad guy.The rest they say is History! Dave's backround in physical fitness is what lead us to discussing developing a program for golfers to strengthen their bodies because of the wear and tear that golf can place on you.Dave never really played much golf because in England as it was difficult with his training schedule to find time and golf clubs being that he's 6 ft 8 inches tall.When he did swing he would hit a slice to the right prompting me to call him Darth Fader.His vast knowledge of weight training and nutrition is why he was really sought after helping to get actors in shape for movies like "Superman" to take a skinny Christopher Reeves making him look like the man of steel. After Dave asked me to show him the proper golf swing we started putting together some simple exercises created to helping golfers work specific areas of their bodies to increase strength as well as flexibilty.Stong wrists and forearms are a must to sustain the proper leverage in your swing.Strengthening your legs,stomach and lower back will help you have a sturdy foundation to swing around in order to create the necessary torque.In the next few weeks I will show you through these articles some effective drills you can use that can help define the areas where most golfers are weak.Dave mentioned that nutrionally golfers should watch their sugar or caffeine intake because in a sport like golf handling your nerves is critical in pulling off shots under pressure.When your on the course having some good snacks for your energy source is a good idea.Drink plenty of fluids(not soft drinks) to keep you hydrated. Dave Prowse will be in town May 13-15 for a convention for all you Star Wars fans.He's written a new book called "Straight from the forces mouth". I look forward to seeing Dave because I want to straighten out his slice,only if he promises to fix my broken light sabre.I promise you having Darth Vader training you to get in shape for golf will give you a whole new meaning to the line,"The Force is with Us".
