Fitness Friday News Roundup #FitnessFriday

Here are a few golf relevant fitness and health stories that I ran across this week:

Why Golfers Lift Weights; Addressing Trepidation In The Media

Over the last year, strength training has received criticism from several members of the media and golf community. We thought it might be helpful to address some of their trepidation from our perspective of having worked with thousands of professional and amateur golfers over the last two decades.

The most prominent spat came in February when Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee voiced his concern over Rory’s physique and penchant for strength training. Rory infamously responded by tweeting a video of him doing squats which further fueled the debate (TPI instructor Jason Glass addressed Chamblee’s comments in a video we posted on our site). Just before the Masters, Brian O’Connor of the Irish Times (whose bio describes him as a Horse Racing correspondent) shamed Rory for his dedication to fitness. Most recently, Michael McCarthy of the Sporting News agreed with Johhny Miller’s Open Championship rant that Rory’s failure to win in 2016 was the result of an obsession with “tight shirts” and too much time in the gym.

One common element in these three examples is that none of the authors interviewed a single performance coach, offered any background about Rory’s workout programming or took the time to educate themselves about WHY golfers lift.

The article , from trainers at the Titleist Performance Institute, explains the benefits of strength training, including power, speed, mobility, balance, endurance and coordination. Hre’s another quote I like:

During the swing, the average mail recruits about 30 pounds of muscle and uses nearly every joint in the body to produce 2,000 pounds of force in less than 0.2 seconds.

I’m a believer. Since I’ve started strength training, not only have I felt better, but I have avoided the back injuries that have plagued me prior to my regime.

Cutting Calories By 15% Can Help You Stay Young

(Study) participants lost an average of about 20 pounds each by the end of the first year and maintained that loss during the second year.

“The calorie-restrictive diet also caused a reduction in sleeping metabolic rate by about 10%,” Redman said. This remained true after one year, when weight loss peaked, and after two years, when weight remained constant.

A slowed metabolism means the body has become more efficient in using fuel — whether from food or oxygen — to derive energy.

“It’s important because every time we generate energy in the body, we generate byproducts,” Redman said. These byproducts of normal metabolism, also called oxygen radicals, accumulate in the body and over time cause damage to cells and organs, she explained. And this damage is “what has been linked to a shortened lifespan,” she said.

Not only did calorie restriction slow the metabolism of participants, lower levels of oxidative damage were seen when measured by a compound in urine. Calorie restriction, then, mimicked some of the healthy aging signposts seen in long-lived individuals, Redman said.

The calorie restriction study, reported on CNN and elsewhere, found that participants enjoyed a decrease in the oxidative stress that has been tied to diabetes, cancers, Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases.

What I can’t find, however, is what the baselines were.  Should I use the baseline for a man of my age, height and weight and drop 15% from that, or drop 15% from what I already consume (somewhat less than the height/weight/age recommendations).