The Quest
During college and through my twenties and early thirties my handicap ranged from scratch (0) to 3 and I had a lot of success in local and regional golf events. With marriage, a family and growing work responsibilities my handicap had climbed to the 7 to 9 range by the time I reached my late forties. By the time I reached my mid fifties, my handicap had grown to the 10 to 12 range.
During a typical round of golf, even riding a cart, there was often a noticeable loss of concentration and resulting increase in my scores over the last four or five holes. To make matters worse, I could not even shoot close to my handicap during any kind of competition.
Well, at age 58, I decided that it was time to try and regain the golf game of my youth,"The Quest". When I began my quest to regain the golf game of my youth the first thing I had to do was realize that at age 58 my physical condition needed improvement.
It wasn't hard to figure out that I was twenty pounds overweight and in poor shape--all I had to do was try and climb two flights of stairs quickly.
So, I embarked on a six month conditioning program at a local exercise gym that included regular physical workouts and nutritional counseling.
The remainder of this section describes how I was able to get my handicap back down into 5 to 7 range through a physical conditioning and a more healthy diet program.
During this program I learned the importance of monitoring body fat content along with overall body weight, and why vitamins and minerals are vital to our daily well being and long term health.
My physical workouts, three times a week, began with five minutes of stretching, then spent progressively longer periods up to 30 minutes on a treadmill and then concluded with 30 minutes of exercise machine workouts for all of the large muscle groups of my body.
The exercise program had four goals:
1) Burn calories to help me lose some weight
2) Improve my cardiovascular health
3) Improve my overall physical strength and flexibility
4) Raise my Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) so that my body could be more effective in burning fat.
I kept a daily log of what foods I ate and kept track of my caloric intake versus the targets set for me to lose twenty pounds over a six month period. Other than minimizing foods like french fries and sweets like chocolate and soda drinks, the hardest area for me to master was increasing my water consumption up to four or more glasses of water per day. I also began taking a group of vitamin and mineral supplements to complement the exercise program.
Within two weeks of starting the program, I began to notice several improvements. I began sleeping more soundly and my small muscle control / coordination began to improve in areas like my handwriting.
Within two months, my golf scores had started to improve due to my improved flexibility and muscle tone. My stamina and late round concentration had also definitely improved.
At four months, my weight was down 14 pounds, my blood pressure had dropped ten points and my at rest pulse rate was consistently in the low sixties. And, my golf handicap had dropped from the 10-12 range down to the 7-9 range.
At six months, my weight was down 19 pounds and I began to play equally well regardless of whether I was riding in a cart or walking. My scores under competitive conditions matched or bettered my handicap.
The six month concentrated program taught me a valuable lesson about physical conditioning - it is a lot easier to fall out of shape than it is to climb back into shape. While the exercise machine portion was important to my weight loss program, I believe the most benefit to my golf game came from the muscle stretching / toning and cardiovascular exercises, and the improved diet and nutritional supplementation.
So,at the end of the six month program, I decided to continue the flexibility and cardiovascular exercises, and the nutritional supplementation.
Body Fat Control
Body fat percentage is nothing more than the ratio of your body fat content to your overall weight. A male college athlete will measure about 14%, a sedentary person who is 20 to 25 pounds overweight will measure 25% to 35%.
Body fat percentage is typically measured using a caliper type device to determine the thickness of a fold of skin at three representative locations on your body, the upper arm, the back and the hip usually. These measurements are then converted into body fat percentage using conversion tables. It is also now very convenient to use a special conductivity scale that accurately measures your body fat percentage at the time you weigh yourself. These scales cost about $100 and can be programmed for up to four individuals. They must be programmed for male vs female and for the height of the individual being weighed.
An individual's body fat percentage reading will vary during the day depending on eating habits, fluid intact or loss with exercise and other factors. So, for monitoring purposes it is best to pick the same time of day for each measurement.
Two identical individuals each starting at a weight of 180 pounds and a body fat percentage of 30% could each lose 20 pounds but yet look dramatically different depending on their final body fat content. If one of the two lost their 20 pounds strictly by dieting, they would lose approximately 6 pounds of body fat and 14 pounds of lean muscle mass. Whereas, the other one of the two by exercising could maintain their muscle mass at their starting level and loss all 20 pounds as body fat.
At the end both would weigh the same but one would have reached 160 pounds with a muscle mass of 112 pounds and body fat of 48 pounds (30%). The one who had exercised would have reached 160 pounds with a muscle mass of 126 pounds and body fat of 34 pounds (21%). With 14 less pounds of fat you can imagine how much better looking and healthier the individual who exercised would be.
Most people don't realize that without regular exercise, the body loses about 1% of its lean muscle mass per year. This means that at age fifty without a regular exercise program, you will have lost about 30% of the lean muscle mass you had at age twenty! Couple this factor with a slowing metabolism as we age and it's no wonder our shapes begin to change as our body fat percentage begins to climb.
Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation
WHY Minerals -During my six month conditioning program, I had begun to take nutritional supplementation seriously for my general well being. The following information made a strong impression on me and has changed my life for the better. I hope it can help you as well.
Minerals are absolutely essential for our bodies to function properly. Even a deficiency of one trace mineral can lead to poor health and eventually a shortened life span.
Our body can not produce its own minerals, as it can many vitamins.
We must obtain minerals from whole foods.
The whole grains, fruits, and vegetables we eat are significantly lacking in good mineral content, especially the trace elements, due to our mineral depleted soil.
The following quotes and facts will change your understanding of nutritional supplementation and consequently, could change your whole life for the better. This information builds an inescapable and absolute case for Full Nutritional Supplementation.
"You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency." Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of 2 Nobel prizes
"The top 10 causes of death in the United States are diet related degenerative diseases. Ninety-four percent of deaths in America could be directly linked to degenerative diseases that resulted from nutritional deficiency." Dr. Everett Koop, 1988 Surgeon General's report to Congress
The importance of minerals in our diet is often seriously overlooked. Minerals are necessary for 95% of the body's functions. Although the body can function poorly without vitamins, when deprived of minerals, the body suffers tremendously.
2000 years ago when the soil was rich in minerals and before the earth was polluted, plants yielded much higher and more potent levels of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Most of the minerals in today's food supply have been lost due, in part to soil depletion and poor crop rotation.
Cost effective, powerful new nutritional supplements are now available to provide these valuable vitamins and minerals to us. They are available through pharmacies and health food stores.
Stopping Golfer Aches and Pains
Do you struggle with your golf game because of sore/stiff wrists and shoulders, sore/stiff knees or a sore/stiff back?
Is reduced flexibility causing you to lose distance?
Do you feel stressed and anxious when facing a challenging situation on or off the golf course?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions I sincerely believe I can help you.
I would like to share an amazing experience I recently had that has saved my golf game. At this writing I have just turned 70 and until the past six weeks had spent the previous 10 months physically unable to play and enjoy golf for the first time in over 50 years.
About eleven months ago, I had injured my left shoulder/rotator cuff area by trying to dig a shot out of thick rough without having warmed up sufficiently.
For a few months I experienced a dramatic loss of strength in my left shoulder and could not even swing a golf club. Then after about six months of inactivity, my arthritic wrists, back and knees had tightened so much that trying to make a full back swing was quite painful. And, with all of the tightness my club head speed was off dramatically. My left shoulder hurt so much I had great difficulty sleeping on my left side. I was really concerned that my golf playing days were over.
Then, six weeks ago I was introduced to an amazing new all natural non-prescription wellness drink that has gotten me back on the golf course pain free.
This new class of wellness drinks is highly effective in combating inflammation in the blood vessels, muscles, and joints at the cellular level.
This amazing new wellness drink product is made from a Sonoran Desert Cactus and is called Nopalea. Produced by TriVita Corporation, it is a great tasting berry flavored liquid that is specifically designed to combat inflammation through out the body. It can help joints, muscles, blood vessels and organs. I believe this new product, Nopela, can help almost any golfer feel better and play better.
No comments:
Post a Comment