Golf and Your Health

If you are concerned about your health and fitness, some studies have shown that playing golf can easily be a very good workout. Simply by walking instead of riding in a cart, especially carrying your own clubs, you can make your 18 holes equal a 45-minute fitness class. According to cardiologist Edward Palank, walking while you golf can even decrease your cholesterol.

During a typical game of golf, you can expect to walk about 5 miles or more. This can, of course, promote cardiovascular fitness and burn about 300 calories, lowering your cholesterol and possibly speeding up your metabolism which makes weight loss easier. By carrying your clubs, you can also turn your golf game into a weight bearing exercise, which builds muscle as well as prevents bone degeneration and osteoporosis.

Through your golf swing you can exercise muscles that don't ordinarily get any attention. Your golf swing can not only impress your co-workers, business partners and friends, it can also build your strength, increase your flexibility and improve your agility and coordination.

In additional to such physical health benefits, golfing can reportedly have tangible effects on your mental and emotional health. By being outside in the sun, you can absorb Vitamin D, boosting your mood and encouraging psychological well-being.

It's also more difficult to play golf well if you are stressed and unable to concentrate, in order to focus on the game you must relax. Accomplishing this relaxation and focus can balance and improve your state of mind as well as keeping you sharp and aware. Playing golf requires an ability to capitalize on opportunities and minimize the intensity of your mistakes, a useful skill in business, in life, and also a valuable mental exercise for people of all ages.

With regular exercise, studies show you can fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly at night, increasing the quality of your rest. The benefits of a good nights sleep are numerous, I'm sure everyone can agree that you feel better overall after a healthy rest! Your muscles repair themselves from the damage of your daily activity while you sleep, but that is not all. Sleep also affects how quickly you can heal, as well as increasing your metabolism while improving your immune system and memory processing.

Golf is largely a social sport; this in itself facilitates some health benefits. When we interact with people, especially new friends, endorphin production is increased causing you to feel better and creating a more positive outlook overall!

If you're not already a golfer, isn't now a good time to start? And if you play regularly, isn't it time you use your own two feet and turn your game into a leisurely workout? If you have any personal experience with the positive health benefits of golfing, we urge you to share it with our online community!