fatigue/stamina

[stenvee]

Hi all

I play a full 18 holes once a week, the course where i play has a relatively flat front 9 followed by a very hilly and undulating back 9 which also has 4 of the most difficult holes on the course. Problem is I struggle with stamina and feel quite fatigued on the back 9 which noticeably costs me shots. I know i could stand to lose a few pounds but what can i do to increase my general golf fitness. Also what mid round 'snacks' are good for fuel

[sportsnut]

greetings good snacks I find are bananas, nuts (I like to have almonds), peanut butter & jelly, oranges or hard boiled eggs. I would recommend a walking exercise if you are not doing that already. I had the same problem a combination of mental and phyiscal fatigue but I got used to the course now and it has not been as bad. not sure about gatorade type products. You could I'm sure do a mild exercise routine building up as strength improves, a series of bending and stretching exercises should be very good. Good Luck with the quest.

[Motley01]

Get one of those "Tigers Milk" protein bar. It really helps me get through the round, I eat it when I make the turn.

[Tuflehundon]

Muscle Milk Protein drinks are great if you take a cooler. They have 30grams of protein, very low carbs and almost no sugar. I always also pack a sandwich. Now that my daughter plays with me we take trail mix and beef jerky with us to.

[saevel25]

If you want to improve your stamina,

1) Loose weight, every lb counts. Believe me, this comes from a guy who played golf at 280, now plays golf at 200 lbs. I can walk 18 in 90+ weather and still have energy through out the day.

2) DRINK WATER, the idea you need food to sustain you is foolish. Your body carries fat, lets say you weight 200 lbs with 20% fat, thats 40 lbs of fat, thats 18160 grams of fat, or 163,400 Kcal of energy yo have at your disposal. Not that golf is a low heart rate activity, meaning you are burning majority fat anyways. If you need fuel for golf, eat some nuts (not peanuts they are legumes) before the round. But the key is water, if your body is low on water, it can't use your body's energy effeciently. Keep Hyrdated. I found on a hot day its about 3 bottles of water per 9 holes is a good amount for me.

3) Lift Weights, get a full body workout program and gain some muscle mass, you'l be able to carry that bag better and your body can take the golf round better

[stenvee]

Thanks for all the replies some good tips here that I'm certainly taking on board.

Fluids wise I'm drinking a 500ml isotonic drink throughout the round, I do quite a lot of walking as we have a recently got a puppy so we'll be increasing the distance we can walk together. I'm working on getting my weight down, but generally have struggled with motivation, but now I've set myself a goal of losing around a stone by the end of this year, playing to my handicap (28) more consistently and getting it down, and entering competitions at my club. If i could play the back 9 to the same standard as the front I would be shooting high 80's to low 90's.

[joekelly]

you can build your muscular and lung capacity through physical effort, yeah i mean working the muscles.  obviously this takes time, just like losing weight takes time but each week a payday.  as your body works harder the number of small blood vessels, the capillaries, grows to accommodate the need for more oxygen to support  the muscles. the lungs grow in their capacity to absorb oxygen,  the rib cage muscles learn to stretch, etc. start with the biggest muscles, the legs and butt. walking  uphill is more work than on the flat. walking uphill with a back pack filled with water bottles more work, walking up the stadium steps for 1/2 hour with heavy pack will really work and build the stamina. but if you go too fast, get too aggressive, you will soon become exhausted and maybe quit.  learn to measure yourself, you are the only one you should be concerned with, avoid comparisons with others. take some yoga lessons to incorporate whole body/mind workouts. next year on this date, you can be a new man. your woman will applaud too.

[joekelly]

Saevel25, what do you think the difference is between, say , Almonds and Peanuts?  I think very little difference, mostly in price.  Probably other tree nuts similar to almonds. Look here http://healthnut-em.blogspot.hk/2010/01/peanuts-vs-almonds.html .   Me? I am choosing raw shelled peanuts for 2 principle reasons: cost and food value compared to corn chips, which are a personal favorite. I add 3 drops of olive oil to the fry pan and fry up a cup of the peanuts for a few mins. let cool, add a bit of  salt or soy sauce and snack out.  or carry on the road. way better, and cheaper, than processed food, and lots of fiber.  Losing weight a tough game since we all must eat and what we eat is mostly habit, taken at mother's knee. i can find little good in highly processed pastries, breads, crackers, cookies, sugary drinks,  all those high glycemic index foods upset the body processes. look here http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm and notice where peanuts place, and corn flakes or OMG, baked potato !!

[Mattplusness]

Legs and back workouts.

[stenvee]

played today shot my personal best of 99, didn't struggle so much on the back 9, I've also lost 5 and a half pounds coincidence??

[NuclearMike]

Drink Gatorade or Powerade or something along those lines.  I used to get more worn out than I do now, and I think it was because I'd sweat out electrolytes and need to replace them at a faster rate than I was doing.  Standard hydration is great but if you play in a dry climate you perspire pretty much without realizing it since the sweat evaporates almost immediately.  Humid areas like Houston and its environs, believe me, you know when you're dehydrating.

[WUTiger]

First of all, I make sure I have a good meal before I go out and play. Also, I drink extra water the night before to build up my hydration.

I have discussed this with a marathon runner at work, and he said that golf - although not as vigorous as a marathon - stretches over four hours. Thus, you need to replenish fluids and energy along the way.

My snack at 9 includes a good-sized power bar (about 200 calories) and some sports drink. For two hours water is OK, but after that more water will just lush electrolytes out of your system. And, I take the sports drink on the back 9. In really hot weather, if I try 18 holes just on water I start to get leg cramps about the 15th hole.

Some players eat a banana at the turn - a good source of potassium - but I tend to get an upset stomach from bananas. Just doesn't work for me, but sports drink does.

On weight loss: If you end your round "between meals," eat a small snack or have a protein drink. Otherwise, you may feel ravenous around supper time and eat way more than you should. Also, if you squirt some lemon juice in water and drink it 15 minutes before a meal, this will keep you from feeling so hungry, and help you eat less.