The Number One Sport…Golf

Golf just may be the best sport to keep fit. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! You Golfers know what I am saying already.

And I know others of you may be thinking, "Are You Nuts? That is a Lazy persons sport, how could it possibly be the perfect sport?"

Well, allow me to persuade you and maybe you will believe. There are other sports, like football and basketball, which obviously require lots of energy, strength, and endurance. Golf, on the other hand, does not require as much of those.

I know Golfers use Carts to drive around in, or maybe even a caddy to carry the clubs, and may not really walk any farther than to the next tee, sipping on their favorite beverage and a snack, which does not sound like an extensive cardio session to maintain peak fitness levels…but on the other hand driving a cart or having a caddy, and even the snacks and beverages are choices the golfer makes.

OK maybe it is the norm, but no one forces us to make those choices. If I am motivated I can easily turn golf into something much more advantageous to my fitness goals. First off I can make a choice to carry my own clubs. Humping around my bag around the course cannot help but build strength and challenges my cardio and endurance abilities. If I at least walk the front nine, instead of automatically jumping into the cart, I am ahead of the game. I can even drag out the pull cart, if it is a longer course. Nine or eighteen holes add up quickly. In fact, if you walk the entire course for one round of golf, you will be walking as much as four miles. Or, the way I play, it may be closer to five?!.

An article in the Harvard Men's Health Watch, stated that if you walk 18 holes, three to five times a week, you'll get an optimal amount of endurance exercise for your heart. If you pull your clubs or carry them, you'll burn more calories per round, and benefit even more."
Another point to consider as you age, is that golf can be especially helpful for the elderly and people with heart problems. A study published in a 2004 issue of Aging Clinical and Experimental Research was designed to determine how much time was spent at different exercise levels for male golfers, in relation to age, while walking a typical 18-hole golf course.
The researchers concluded that walking an 18-hole golf course is equal to moderate and high exercise intensity for the elderly, mainly low to moderate for middle-aged men, and low for younger men.

Another study, in the American Journal of Medicine, looked at the effects of regularly walking a golf course on various health and fitness indicators in middle-aged men. For this study, healthy male golfers aged 48 to 64 years who had been largely inactive during the 7 months leading up to the study were compared with age-matched, similarly sedentary controls. The study participants in the intervention group were encouraged to play golf two to three times a week over a 20-week period.

At the end of the study, it also concluded that, "Regular walking had many positive effects on the health and fitness of sedentary middle-aged men. Walking during a golf game is characterized by high adherence and low risk of injury and is therefore a good form of health enhancing physical activity."

Another good thing about golf: While it is a low impact sport, it (unlike swimming or other water exercise) requires lifting the clubs. This gives you the double bonus of being relatively easy on the joints while still working to build or preserve bone density (which is what helps keep our bones strong and more resistant to fractures). Golf doesn't require more extreme measures such as running, jumping, diving, tackling, etc. Thus, as long as you are using correct form and taking the proper precautions, you have a relatively low risk of sport-related injury.

So golf can be a perfect sport, and not just physically. When I play golf, I mainly compete against myself. Even when I am playing against other golfers, I am trying to beat my last score or the best score on that hole. Competing with myself helps motivate me to always do my best in everything I do. Also, with golf, I am outside, getting fresh air, and communing with nature. Golf courses are beautiful places, with rolling green spaces as far as the eyes can see and beautiful tree lines. It can be a very peaceful place.

And while many parts of golf can be peaceful, it can also be a very stimulating and social endeavor. There are always business decisions that get made, or issues resolved on the course. It not only provides a great opportunity for networking with your peers, it also could become a great family event. Moms, dads, siblings, grandparents and even the kids can all get in the game. What we have here is a low impact, weight training, endurance building, outdoor way to increase physical activity and family time all at the same time. Does it get any better than that? I think not!

And although golf can be very beneficial to your health, here are some tips to minimize risk of injuries:

- A very important tip: Stretch daily. Make sure to target the areas that are more golf specific, like the back, shoulders, and arms, and waist.

- Warm up for 10-15 minutes before teeing off.

-Consider taking lessons. When you use correct technique, you are defending yourself from injuries...and of course, learning how to play the game better, instead of working around all the bad habits.

-Make sure you pay attention to your body. If you feel yourself overdoing it, take a break. Switch golf with other activities that work different muscles.

The weather has been great recently and I have a coupon book full of bargains, so this is the perfect time to participate in a "perfect sport". I think I’ll go outside for a walk, in the sun. I’m grabbing the cleats, glove, golf bag, and heading on out to the course.

Later

What About When Your Mind is Numb And Your Gluts Are Sagging?

I have often said that for me a mental tired is worse than a physical tired, and since I spend most of the day in front of my computer now, I can back that statement up. Even though I try to take regular stretch breaks during the day, by the end of work my back and neck are sore, my body is stiff, and I really don’t feel like doing any training. I definitely don’t want to exercise for another hour when I’m already stiff, tired and sore from work.

The mental sluggishness and physical aches from eight hours behind a desk comes mainly from sitting, and doing the same tasks, stress and boredom. You get to work a few muscle groups, like wrists, shoulders and neck muscles, but the major muscle groups, like hamstrings and gluts, are pretty much unused. Constant contraction leads to tension, and disuse leads to stiffness, both of which create soreness. The psychological drain from both over-demand (stress) and under-demand (boredom) is often made worse if you are in a location with poor air circulation and poor lighting. In addition, the lack of physical activity at work means that the body is not getting expanded blood circulation, so the cells of the body may be undernourished.

Because all of this makes me feel so fatigued, it seems like what I need to do is to fall on the couch for a night of vegging out with beer and pizza, while channel surfing the tube. Sounds good but … What is really the better choice, physically and mentally, is to make up for the lack of movement and slow metabolism of the work day with a good exercise session. Activity is the antidote to the sedentary lifestyle. Even just a moderate 20-minute walk will ease the tension in lower back muscles and improve metabolism and circulation. A more strenuous cardio session will really help get oxygen to the blood, nourish the cells, and clear my head. Strength and flexibility exercises should get the large muscles going, loosen tight muscle groups, and promote better balance for the entire body.

I already know how good exercise is after I do it, but the problem is getting started. The key is to make the choice automatic, and limit the last minute, after work decision process. Here are some tips and mental tricks to help me to Just Do It!

Reminder: Exercise is an important part of counteracting work stress and fatigue.

Reminder: Regular exercise is necessary for health, not a part time option if I feel like it.

Reminder: I really do enjoy my exercise time. It’s time I take just for me and I feel better because of it.

Schedule training times like any business or personal appointment.

Make it easy to exercise by using convenient facilities, carrying exercise gear with you, scheduling a time right before or right after another commitment, etc. I have a treadmill in the Family Room.

When I am really whipped, I can skip the high demand exercise session and choose something light, easy and enjoyable, rather than forcing the hard work or canceling altogether.

Learn simple workouts, like a walking trail or a home treadmill, for times when it is difficult to do more elaborate training. Resistance Bands or the always popular push ups and sit ups.

Make a commitment to classes, a trainer, a friend or a training group to help you meet the obligation to yourself. It is always better for me to workout with someone so I don’t get bored or lazy.

Alternate activities to keep them fresh and provide variety. Isometrics, Weights, Treadmill, Bike, Elipticals, Rowing, Stairs, alternate different muscle groups, etc.

If you miss a session, or even a few days, just get yourself right back into exercise. It is counterproductive to beat yourself up psychologically.

A realistic exercise routine after dinner, works for me, and almost always makes me feel a lot better, physically and mentally.