Golf Benefits – Why Playing Golf Is Good Exercise
If you’ve not been bitten by the golfing bug yet, here are seven golf benefits that will hopefully make you see golf as an engaging sport.
There’s nothing quite like a game of golf in a gorgeous setting that pushes you mentally, physically, and sometimes even emotionally.
If you’ve never given the sport a try, however, you might not be aware of just how wonderful it is.
The following will explore the health benefits of golf, paying special attention to the ways that golf makes for good exercise.
7 Undeniable Golf Benefits
This is what your body gets when you play gold regularly:
1. Lots Of Walking
When people think of exercise, they often imagine lifting weights, running, or playing competitive sports. Walking very rarely makes the list of best exercises, and this is maybe a problem.
Walking has a ton of stellar health benefits like counteracting the impact of weight-promoting genes, taming cravings for sweets, reducing the risk of developing breast cancer, easing joint pain, and boosting immune system function.
This is one of the best forms of exercise there is, and when you’re golfing, you’re going to find yourself doing lots of walking.
This makes it fantastic cardiovascular exercise and can end up having you traverse around 3.7 miles for a standard 18-hole game.
2. Strength Work Out
Because golfing involves swinging an object that is heavier on the end that is furthest from you, it activates a lot of big muscle groups.
You’re also required to bend over a lot which is incredibly good for your muscles.
You might notice your quads and hamstrings, in particular, are sore after a game.
3. Variety Of Terrain And Challenge
One of the things that make golf such an excellent workout is the variety that is embedded in the game.
It was already mentioned above that this sport offers both cardiovascular exercise and strength training, but golf goes beyond that.
Golf involves dealing with a ton of variables that require mental focus and muscular precision — the terrain is uneven and varied, and each hole is going to be different.
You can research some golf tips and tricks to help expand upon this element of the game and really push yourself. Just be sure to practice with proper form as muscle memory is an integral part of golf.
4. Time Outdoors
In today’s busy world, a lot of exercises are completed indoors at gyms or at home.
Of course, exercise is wonderful, and you should do it no matter where you’re doing it, but exercising outside has a few extra benefits that you might want to keep in mind.
In particular, outdoor exercise helps reduce cortisol levels and lowers stress within the body. This, in turn, helps reduce the risk for a whole bunch of chronic illnesses.
Moreover, exercise outside leaves you beneath the sun where you’re exposed to vitamin D.
Vitamin D, sometimes called the sunshine vitamin, supports bone health, your immune system, and reduces your risk of chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, depression, and heart disease.
Sadly, it’s estimated that somewhere between 40 to 80 percent of Americans are lacking vitamin D.
5. Fresh Air
As well, studies have been finding that indoor air is far more polluted than outdoor air. Clean, fresh air has been shown to boost mood, improve concentration, and positively influence the body’s natural healing properties.
Since golf takes place outside in the fresh air, you’ll be adding these benefits to the standard impacts of exercise.
6. Improved Balance
Balance is a critical component of a good golf game. It’s also absolutely necessary for your overall health and requires a ton of muscle groups, including your abdominal muscles, buttocks, and lower back muscles.
Furthermore, balance is one of the most important things to focus on for aging people who want to maintain a high quality of life. It reduces the risk of injury in a ton of situations and can help keep people independent for longer.
7. Mind Workout
While golf is great for your body, as discussed, it’s also fantastic for your mind.
Golf requires concentration and mental focus. As you improve in this regard, you might notice other areas of your life improving in tandem, including your work performance.
The Takeaway
The above golf benefits have hopefully made it clear that playing this sport is a fantastic form of exercise.
Of course, in addition to all of this, golf is a fun game that appeals both to people who are motivated by competition and people who are motivated by precision and improvement.
A successful golf game can leave you feeling elated. As a bonus, it’s also a form of exercise that you can do socially, which adds a whole other layer of positive benefits as humans are social animals and need social interaction to stave off depression and anxiety.
