If you are sold on the "New Year, new you" gig, that's awesome. If you decided today is just a brand new day and your ready to get started, that's great too! Certainly, your golf game can benefit from a healthier YOU, so what's the best approach?
Getting Fit In The Gym
The gym is where we make GAINS. We gain strength. We gain power. We gain speed. We gain consistency. We improve cardiovascular fitness. What I didn't mention just now relates to our waistline and our body fat percentage. The amount of calories we burn might attribute to 10-30% of a caloric deficit, but that is easily destroyed with one or two bad meals or snacks in the day. So, what we eat after our workouts really matters.
Shrinking Your Insulation
Who wants to talk about fat? Not me. I prefer to call it insulation. Wink, wink. Although it's cold during the snowy Buffalo winters, we don't need to keep those extra pounds from the holidays; winter coats work wonders. The way most of us make the greatest impact on fat loss is in the kitchen. Making healthy, low carb/low sugar meals has proven to be effective time and time again. I like to follow this rule when cooking or plating my food: protein, fat, fiber. Protein is the first and foremost item to fill our plate with, then we want healthy fats (avocado, avocado oil, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.), then the rest of the meal should be carbs from vegetables grown above the ground.
How Your Fit Body Improves Your Game
If you're looking for a greater swing speed and more distance from your clubs (why the heck not), a strong and lean body will get the job done much easier, not to mention all of our golf clothes look sharper too. A great way to get all new golf clothing for the upcoming season is to make sure none of your old stuff fits...in a good way. Persistent, daily efforts make all of this happen. Go get after it!!
Author: Marie L Hall
MS, ATC, TPI CGFI MP3, SFMA, FMSC
Golf Fitness Expert, Performance Coach, Functional Movement Specialist