“Where am I, and where do I want to be?”
I don’t want to get too philosophical or “self helpy” but the truth is I don’t really want to write some tips about what type of training is best for golfers. I do that on Twitter pretty much everyday.
I do want to help you improve at golf, and get fitter and healthier for life in general, but it makes no sense to view this a few months of off season work. I want this article to be a catalyst for commitment over the long term.
Review – Where am I?
How is your current fitness and health?
If you continue with your current exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle habits what type of physical (and medical) condition are you setting yourself up for in 5,10,20, 40+ years?
Do you proactively make exercise and nutrition priorities, daily?
This is what it takes to maintain a high level of physical function over decades. It can’t be an afterthought or occasional thing.
You need a system to follow that makes taking care of your fitness and health sustainable, automatic, and maybe even enjoyable.
Where do I want to be?
What’s the point of prioritizing exercise and health? Well, we’re all gradually getting older. Whether we like it or not, every day that slips by makes it biologically harder to maintain the health and fitness we previously had.
The good news is that we can massively influence how this occurs. The difference between aging and not prioritizing health and fitness, versus aging while prioritizing health and fitness are vastly different scenarios.
A common misunderstanding people have is that they think at ____ age, it is no longer possible to improve fitness or health. This is completely false. With sensible training, nutrition, and lifestyle factors, you can make progress at any age. This is especially true if you haven’t really been doing much. When you start, the rate of progress will outweigh the rate of decline due to “aging”. This is what allows people to be stronger, fitter, and healthier at 75 than 65, for example.
I want you to think far into the future. 10, 20, 40+ years from now. If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you love golf and are interested in health and fitness. Those are my main passions too.
Let’s imagine this look far into the future puts you at 75 years of age. What do you want to be able to do?
Get up and down the stairs no problem?
Walk the golf course?
Keep your drives over X yardage and still be able to play to a certain level?
Look after grandchildren?
Maintain your home?
Go out and get your own groceries?
Be independent and mobile enough to travel and enjoy retirement?
Be free of diseases caused by lifestyle?
Be able to run a 5k in X time or deadlift x weight?
Whatever your goals may be, I am sure you are picturing a strong, mobile, and fit person full of vitality. Who wouldn’t want that? The alternative certainly doesn’t sound appealing.
Whatever your long term fitness goals are, that is what you are training for today, tomorrow, and everyday thereafter.
It is irrelevant what your current age is or what your current fitness level is. Getting into better physical condition starts with a daily commitment to exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle.
Of course your current conditioning level will change the activity level you start with, but it doesn’t change the fact that health, fitness, and longevity is a daily commitment.
This doesn’t mean it is all consuming and you don’t indulge in anything just for the pure fun and pleasure of it. Remember what I said about “sustainable”. There will of course be room for days off and more relaxed periods, which can be very beneficial…..but those need to be earned. Whether you like it or not, your body is keeping score with how you are treating it. It is a living organism constantly adapting to the stimuli you provide it.
Before I release part 2, I encourage you to ponder the questions poised above. I also want you to sit down and go through your typical week and write down when you are going to exercise each day. I don’t care if you have 3 minutes or 60 minutes and it doesn’t matter for now what type of exercise it is. You just need to build the daily habit and mindset of being a daily exerciser.
Part 2 will dig a bit more into the specifics of how to measure where your current fitness level is.
Questions and comments are welcome. I will try my best to answer them all.
