No matter how good a player you once were, these fitness tips for golf seniors will be of benefit to you as you grow older and you find it increasingly more difficult to maintain your handicap. Everybody loses flexibility as they age, and rotational flexibility in particular is essential for a good golfer. So too is strength, and here again cellular respiration tend to become less efficient as we age.
There is no getting away from the fact that your body changes with age – accept that fact and you will be better placed to make the compensations a golf senior needs, not to grow old gracefully, but to grow old with a good handicap!
Here are some fitness tips for golf seniors that if followed will enable you more easily to maintain a good accurate length and get you round 18 holes without falling over! That last part intended to be taken jovially, but for some it is all too accurate
A. Stay Flexible
Many people, men and women, tend to stiffen up as they age. That’s why many golf seniors get back backs or find standing up and sitting down such a chore. Part of the reason for that is that many give in to old age, and do not exercise enough. Your joints stiffen up due to a lack of lubrication by the synovial fluid within them and inflammatory conditions are permitted to develop.
A good diet containing colored fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, raspberries, broccoli and peppers will go a long way to helping you maintain peak fitness. Always eat a sandwich, or even better, a banana, before your round to give you the blood sugar you need for the extra energy golf seniors like you will have to generate.
By carrying out stretching exercises every day you will help keep your joints and muscles flexible, so that when you tee up and cock for the drive, you are still able to get that driver way behind your shoulder and give it a full bloodied drive and follow through that will send it straight down the fairway for as far as you could always send it.
A simple exercise for golf seniors is to stand erect with a club held in your arms behind your neck. Gently twist to one side as far as you can probably go, hold it for 3-4 seconds and then back. Now do the same in the other direction, and repeat this about 5 times or whatever seems comfortable. Within a week or so you should find that you can drive a lot easier with less back pain and hit the ball farther. You could try this once or twice just before your round as a warm-up exercise.
You can do the same sitting down at home. Sit erect, hold an apple or orange in both hands (and even better – a medicine ball) and twist first to one side, hold it a couple of seconds, and then to the other side and repeat 4-5 times. Do that five times daily or what feels comfortable,
B. Walk the Course
Give up the buggy – keep the trolley, but walk the course, and if you have not saved to a buggy yet then keep away from it until you can walk no more. That’s one of the best fitness tips that golf seniors can take heed of. Walking the course rather than riding it will keep you fit and give you the stamina to hit as long a drive on the 18th as on the first. Reward yourself at the 19th!
Walking the course also gives you time to reflect on the shot you have just played and what you did wrong if it was bad. What to do next time you have that shot to play. You also have more time to think of your next shot – size it up and be clear in your mind what might be needed before you get to your ball. The great golf players always walk the course when they play.
C. Warming Up
Golf seniors should make a point of warm up before every round. Some good stretching and flexibility exercises such as those outlined above will warm up your muscles and stop you singing a muscle or getting a cramp. A good 20 minutes or so stretching will keep you supple and trouble-free during your golf round. It will also stop the aches and pains you will begin to experience once you reach a certain age.
Golf-related injuries are also very common in older golf players and many golf seniors warm up with stretching exercises before tee off simply to avoid injury during their round. These are just a few of the fitness tips that senior golfers will find useful in enabling themselves to maintain peak performance and to avoid injuries as they grow older. It happens to all of us, but you can take steps to make sure that you play the best golf game you possibly can once you become a golf senior.