Thursday, January 31, 2008

Getting the body ready for the golf season

With warmer weather coming, would be a good idea to get the old body ready for the rigors of the upcoming golf season. This is especially true if one has done an inordinate amount of sitting around over the winter reading books or watching movies or chit chatting with friends down at the local coffee house (that would be The Cabin or Dairy Master or Dairy Queen or Uncle Bucks around here), or even working and not playing. Personally, I have done a lot of resting-of-the-back-side activities over the past several months and find myself more than a little out of shape. And that is with a daily regimen of half hour walks.

What especially brought this to mind is a current backache that screams and yells at me when I'm trying to putt a little in the living room. It's one of those recurrent problems that pops up every now and then or when I over do any one particular thing. Don't like it; is restrictive; need something to do away with it.

Conveniently, an email from about.com lead me to 'Fitness and Health for Golfers', a good place to go to find something to get my back back in shape. Or at least more ready for the warmer weather coming our way and the surge in physical activity that will no doubt follow.

First up for me, the Cats up and cats down exercise to stretch and strengthen the lower back. Seems easy, is easy. Now to build it into a part of my exercise routine, that will be the hard part.

Or will it? If my back continues to give me problems, then I will have a pretty good reminder that it's time to get back to the stretch and strengthen exercise, the cats up and cats down. So, this is the mind imprint I'm looking for: back pain > stop current activity > stretch > strengthen. Got it.

There's more in the days to come. Check out the link and see if you can stay one step ahead of the aches and pains of too much of a good thing after months of too much of another good thing.