Walking Rounds Of Golf Can Extend Your Life #FitnessFriday

Walking rounds of golf can extend your life.

Outside Magazine recently reported on a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that touts the health benefits of walking:

The main study in the BJSM special edition surveyed more than 50,000 walkers in the United Kingdom—a variety of ages, both men and women—and found that regularly walking at an average, brisk, or fast pace was associated with a 20 percent reduction in all-cause mortality and a 24 percent reduction in the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

The primary source article is behind a firewall, so I’ll have to rely on Outside’s interpretation of the data. But it seems on the mark. A similar study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine came to a similar conclusion.: 150 minutes of brisk walking a week is linked to a 20% reduction in mortality from all causes.

Given those studies — and other like them — I think that I can legitimately argue that I’m getting in my exercise by playing golf.  For example, after my round today, my Fitbit reported that I walked five miles in 163 minutes and that I was in the “Fat Burn” zone the entire time. Seems brisk to me.

I don’t carry my bags any more. That’s my concession to age and protecting my back from possible strain and injury. But I still get in that brisk walk.

If you don’t already, I suggest that you get out of the cart and walk. Start with nine. Then go on to the full eighteen. You’ll play better and you’ll feel better.