It’s Tuesday, the third day of spring. And golf season is knocking at our front door (for those of us poor saps who live in a 4-season climate:)
And like clockwork. I see golfers making the same mistake every year around this time.
They dust off their clubs. Break out the polo shirts. Take a look in the mirror. And panic b/c the spring is here and the vision they had on January 1st of looking like Rory in their golf attire hasn’t happened.
New Year’s resolutions are long gone. So, now they make this classic faux pas:
TOO MUCH TOO FAST
“I need to lose lbs now.
I need to get in shape yesterday.
I need to improve my flexibility tomorrow.”
It’s not entirely our fault when we live in the instant-gratification world where we can order a dozen balls on Amazon from the couch, then they magically arrive at the front-door the next day.
Unfortunately, Amazon can’t help us get in shape.
Now, what I’m about to share with you is not meant to scare you back to the couch. My goal is to keep you safe. And get you started down a long-term success path.
Here goes:
After a period of “hibernation”, we tend to do too much exercise too soon to make up for lost time. Exhaustive activity, especially following a period of inactivity, is a perfect recipe for injuries.
I see a lot of incidents of injuries because our bodies are not prepared for the new stress we’re suddenly introducing.
When you buy a new car, they tell you not to go over 65 mph for the first 1,000 miles. Odds are the car will be fine. But your chances of pushing an ill-prepared vehicle to the point of failure is much higher.
Same with our bodies.
I’m just as guilty. This is going back probably ten years when I first did P90X – I wanted to hit the ground running so I could look like Tony Horton on the cover of the DVD. The result?
I jacked my back up so friggin’ bad I could barely tie my shoes, much less swing a club. My cousin Ryan did the same thing, but pulled the bejesus out of his calf. He couldn’t walk without a limp for weeks.
Point is this: Slow the F down!
Start with lower weight, then gradually build. Make sure you have active rest days between workout days. Don’t starve yourself.
I know you don’t wanna hear this, but being fit is a marathon. Not a sprint.
If you want to get started like we figured out, then I would start with the Golf Body Blueprint – Activate in the 18STRONG App.
It’s your first step off the couch to strength and mobility…but done safely!
Otherwise, just get your body moving.
You’ve got this,
Jeff Pelizzaro
PS – Two weeks ago, the captain on my son’s soccer team was injured and couldn’t play. I’ve never seen a player more anxious to get into a game. It was like trying to hold back wild horses.
I bring it up b/c you’re no good to yourself or your team/buddies if you injure yourself and can’t play golf – our last competitive outlet.