Health and Fitness – Road to Recovery

Recovery is the single most important component of your golf fitness program. With all of the hours spent on the course and in the gym, it is imperative that you commit time to allow your body to repair itself. Rest days are critical to your golf performance for many reasons, both mental and physical. Physically, using a variety of recovery techniques allows your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones to repair, while rest will help reduce the mental exhaustion that is commonplace in the golf world. Building in recovery days is especially helpful for recreational golfers, helping maintain a better balance between home, work, fitness and golf goals. 

Reasons Why Recovery is Important

Muscle Growth: Recovery enables your body to grow stronger by allowing the muscles that you have broken down through exertion to heal and recover. Your body cannot regenerate without proper rest.

Injury Prevention: Without taking the time to recover, not only will you experience a performance reduction, you also dramatically increase your risk of injury.

Mental Strength: As detrimental as physical fatigue is, mental fatigue may be even worse. Taking recovery days allows your mind to recharge, eliminating the possibility of burning out.

Hormonal Balance: Hormone levels related to muscle recovery, stress and mood are often adversely affected by inadequate recovery. Getting plenty of rest and recovery allows the restoration and proper balancing of your body’s hormone levels.

Signs of Inadequate Recovery

Low energy levels

Chronic muscle or joint soreness

Fatigue

Training plateaus or regression 

Poor mood 

My Favorite Recovery Tools & Treatments

Dry Sauna

Hydrotherapy: Cold-water immersion contrasted with hot water immersion

Assisted Stretching 

Foam Rolling: Hamstrings, Hip Flexors, Back, Lats

Just like setting your daily or weekly workout goals, set your recovery goals as well. Schedule out rest and recovery days as well as what specifically you will do to heal your body on those days.

Josh Biard is the Fitness Director at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club. He oversees the daily operations of the fitness center including personal training, small group training, nutrition, analytics and the fitness desk experience. While at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, Josh became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Sports Fitness Specialist and Wellness Coach. You can contact Josh at 972-717-2592, josh.biard@fourseasons.com