FACT:
As boredom increases during quarantine, so does the amount of screen time spent on televisions, phones, video games and computers. The stay-at-home restrictions still have many of us sheltered in place. As a result, device addiction is perhaps more prevalent now than ever, especially in youths, so it's important to have some fun, tech-free activities and sports to help get everyone away from the screens and more balanced.
With remote learning the new norm now, finding an alternative to the activities that keep us glued to the screen all day is critical. Here are a few examples that can fill some of that time, away from the screen.
Basketball or Soccer
For basketball and soccer players, there are plenty of at-home practice drills that can be done while quarantined—from shooting baskets on the driveway, practicing ball-handling drills like dribbling, to kicking a soccer ball into a net or against the garage door. There are also rebounding nets that can be easily set up against the basketball hoop to help with solo practice. So whether you prefer basketball or soccer, just get outside and get dribbling!
Ping Pong
One of the more popular indoor sports is ping pong (or table tennis as it is also referred to). Having a ping-pong table is, of course, the best way to play, but if you don’t have the room or don’t want to spend the money on one, there are ways to accomplish the same thing with just a portable net, kitchen table, a couple of paddles and a ping-pong ball. Another nice feature of table tennis is that you can practice by yourself against a solid backdrop, to start developing your skills, having some fun in the meantime.
Indoor Golf
While golf courses are slowly starting to open up under some restrictions after the complete shutdown of the past couple of months, there is plenty of golf that can be practiced at home in the meantime. Indoor putting greens are very affordable and offer a great opportunity to practice what many consider to be the hardest part of the game. While swinging a club around the yard at a Wiffle ball is very economical, another great option is to grab your sand wedge from the bag, a few golf balls, a bucket, and hit some chip shots from a few yards out in your own backyard. And when it's time to hit the courses outdoors, try the best golf drinks by LIFEAID: GOLFERAID.
Water Balloon Dodgeball
This is a very simple, but fun twist on the gym-class staple that—while tutoring or wrangling the kids at home—can be a nice release of energy with the added benefit of a cool, refreshing break once the weather heat up. Instead of those old-school bouncy balls, simply replace them with water balloons and have a good old-fashioned game of dodgeball. Be sure to include mom and dad in the fun! And just like the PE teacher always said, never aim for the head.
Doga
With nothing more than a yoga mat, you can discover the combination of physical and mental exercises that have been popular for thousands of years. The beauty of yoga is that you don’t have to be an expert to reap the benefits. Plus, with doga, it is not your ordinary yoga but rather a yoga hybrid you can do with your canine companion. I mean, who doesn’t love getting to spend more time with their dog while doing an activity they enjoy? Just don’t forget to make sure you and your buddy both have fresh breath for complete peace of mind during your doga session.
Whether you are young or old, fit or overweight, doga has the power to calm the mind and strengthen the body. It's easy to be intimidated by doga terminology, and complicated poses, but don’t be. Doga is a great sport for everyone and it is also beneficial to your dog to help calm him or her.
Gardening
Aside from the sports mentioned above, you can also try planting something indoors or outdoors. Start small, pick up some packets of seeds or a few starter plants you’d love to nurture. You may never know what your green thumb can do until you try! Plus, gardening can be a great outlet to help relieve mild stress and quiet the mind, while also snagging you some fresh air and much-needed vitamin D in the sunshine.
C O N C L U S I O N
However you decide to unplug and get away from the daily ‘screen life’ during these crazy times, just remember to focus on the activities and people in your life that help bring you joy and leave you feeling less stressed. So next time you’re tempted to rush through your day, just pause, put down your phone, breathe, move your body, get outside, and enjoy the moment. Because nothing beats that feeling of creating a little more balance in your daily life.
Cover photo courtesy of Unsplash.com
All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer who also owns a golf publication site, Golf Influence. He has loved golf since he was a kid and feels golf has been significantly helpful in improving his overall health.
> > > Stay well.
Cardio exercise is great for keeping yourself in shape and preparing your muscles for lengthy exercise and outdoor activities. Golfers need cardio for several reasons, one it helps prepare your body for a long day on the golf course, keeps your heart rate down between shots, and can even help prevent injury.
Each of the three cardio benefits listed above is critical for success on the golf course. Although not a high-impact sports like soccer or football, golf requires a fair amount of cardiovascular health to maintain performance on the course. On long summer days, golfers with poor cardiac health will find themselves cramping. Plus, the heat can be uncomfortable too, so wearing your bucket hat and looking into your cardio health is life-changing.
If your muscular structure is not used to being stressed or variations in oxygen content, your performance will suffer. Increased cardiovascular health can even add distance to your shots by increasing muscle performance. As the heart is able to pump blood more efficiently through the body, oxygen is forced into muscles providing a boost in performance. Also, before a round of golf, you may enjoy an energizing caffeine-free GOLFERAID performance blend drink, the best golf drink on the market.
One thing that separates top-level golfers from the rest is being able to score big shots in critical moments. The brain is the control system of the body and the more oxygen going into the brain, the more rested and performing it becomes. Although many golfers ride in carts, walking a round of golf can be a cardio workout. Some courses have terrain differences, hills, and non-flat surfaces.
Because cardio is not as important in golf as it is in marathon running or soccer, you can maintain healthy cardiovascular health without running for hours on end. A few ways to maintain cardio health include taking brisk walks or walking on an incline. If you don’t have access to a treadmill you can find a hilly location to walk up.
Walking on an incline has a lot of benefits compared to walking flat. Not only is the cardio workout better compared to walking on a flat surface, but it is also a better workout for your legs. Again, you don’t need to be sprinting up hills to receive a good cardio workout.
Looking at golf from a cardio perspective, if you walked a 7000-yard course, it translates to roughly 4 miles. If you are able to walk 4 miles a week, you will be able to manage walking a course. Breaking down the 7000 yards even further, taking an average hole length of roughly 400 yards which is about a quarter-mile. Walking a quarter mile is only one time around a track which can be done in a few minutes’ time.
Going deeper, your longest continuous walk on a golf course will be between 250 and 300 yards, likely from the tee box. This is under a quarter-mile. A good tip to keep yourself in golf cardio shape is finding a short hill and walk up and down it several times a day. And of course, a good pair of golf shoes is a must. A quarter-mile only takes ten to fifteen minutes depending on how fast you are walking.
C O N C L U S I O N
Overall good cardio health is needed to maintain a consistent golf game. You don’t necessarily have to be a marathon runner to get in excellent golf cardio shape. A short quarter-mile walk every day will give you enough stamina and strength to play an entire round of golf without any issues.
Cover photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer who also owns a golf publication site, Golf Influence. He has loved golf since he was a kid and feels golf has been significantly helpful in improving his overall health.
> > > Stay well.
Source: PGA Tour video | April 2019
After being diagnosed with chronic fatigue in 2015, GOLFERAID athlete Scott Stallings changed his lifestyle. With two top-10s and a third-place finish in the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Stallings is looking to earn his fourth career victory at the Valero Texas Open.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
"The only time I really truly felt good is when I worked out. So when I was training and stuff, I felt great. It just kinda became a routine. It wasn't a matter of if and when I was gonna do it, it was just a matter of what time of day."
—Scott Stallings
Just in case you missed GolferAid athlete Ryan Moore's epic hole-in-one shot on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass of the 2019 PGA Tour, check out the unbelievable moment here:
Congratulations, Mr. Moore — what a shot!
♦ ♦ ♦
Whether Ryan Moore is on or off the course, he proudly chooses GolferAid to help optimize his performance.
GolferAid provides the clean nutrition you need to help you level up your golf game with the following ingredients:
GolferAid is best enjoyed ice-cold during your next round of golf, 15 minutes before tee-off or at the turn. Each can contains no Taurine, no added caffeine, no sodium, and no artificial sweeteners. Lightly carbonated with a refreshing Tropical taste, GolferAid is the perfect addition to your golf game for improved performance and recovery. Available at golf courses, pro shops and retailers nationwide.
Click here to learn more about GolferAid and how you can drink clean on the green!
> > > Live well.
By: Natalie Schmett |
What does "warming up" before a round entail?
If you only had five minutes to get to the tee box, what would you do? Most would say, "Hit as many golf balls as possible." However, I disagree. So many players spend time beating golf balls on the range with no intent, which ultimately does nothing to their game on course. It’s important to develop good habits before hitting the links, no matter how much time you have to warm up before.
Each individual player will have different routine, but the point of warming up on the range before a round is to actually warm your body up. I've come across so many players who are way too concerned about how they're hitting the ball versus getting their body loose and ready for play.
1. Find a stretching routine that works for you.
Include a combination of the following:
1. Hip stretches
2. Arm stretches
3. Neck and back stretches
2. Start with short wedge shots—don’t rush!
3. Quality over quantity.
Choose a few different clubs to hit throughout your entire warm up. Take your time, and do a lot of short game before you even head to the tee box.
C O N C L U S I O N
Keep your warm-up simple and get your body loose!
This will benefit you immediately upon tee off. Follow the above steps and you'll be ready to start scoring on the first tee versus finally feeling loose on the back nine! And to boost your golf performance on the green, try the best golf drink on the market, GOLFERAID Performance Blend.
> > > Live well!
By: Natalie Schmett |
Oftentimes we hear the horror stories of being stuck in the sand. Most players are extremely afraid to hit in the bunker and even more nervous to get out of it.
Now, the dreaded bunker shot can be taken advantage of by following these pro tips!
-
Set-up is key.
Nine out of 10 players I see have an incorrect set-up when they approach their ball in the bunker. Set-up must be correct in order to get a solid strike and gain confidence with your sand play. The stance must be wide and open to the target, with ball position towards the front heel. Open that club face!
-
Don't be afraid to swing aggressively.
Turn through the ball and create speed. Acceleration is crucial in getting the ball up and out of the bunker. Take a few practice swings with the club finishing in front of you versus sticking in the sand.
-
Finish face-to-face.
Maintain the angle of the club throughout your entire swing, start to finish. The club face should be pointing towards your face at finish.
C O N C L U S I O N
When in doubt, be confident and be aggressive!
Follow these tips to refresh your approach on a bunker shot & still make par. And to boost your golf performance on the green, try the best golf drink on the market, GOLFERAID Performance Blend.
> > > Live well!
Hydration and Performance in a Tasty Blend
During a round of golf in AZ, it is almost impossible to drink too much water. While it might not feel like you are sweating a lot because it evaporates so quickly, you need a significant amount of hydration while playing in the desert. While water is most useful, sometimes something a little more tasty is desired as is some mineral intake. Soda, beer or a sports drink might hit the spot, but their caffeine, alcohol or sugar isn't going to benefit your game. GolferAid offers good hydration with numerous performance minerals as well as a lightly carbonated citrus flavor. You can get hydration and performance in one drink.
GolferAid is a product by the LIFEAID Beverage Company that makes a number of performance/health drinks. Obviously, GolferAid has a specific focus. The first thing I appreciated is a drink without caffeine or taurine. Many "performance" drink include one of those ingredients which I'm not really a big fan of. It also isn't pure sugar so that too is another nice feature of trying to limit that as well. So even if you are on a pretty strict diet, you should be able to enjoy the best golf drink for a day on the course, GOLFERAID Performance Blend.
I didn't find too many local courses that carried GolferAid on their beverage carts so I brought my own. I often would have one to start, one at the turn. (I still had water in between.) While maybe it was just a placebo mental boost, but I did play some really good golf while drinking GolferAid. The list of vitamins and minerals is rather long for a 12-oz can. I don't know what each one does or how it impacts your golf performance, but if nothing else it had a citrus (hint of pineapple flavor) to it so it was enjoyable to drink regardless of gained golf performance or not.
GolferAid is a nice alternative to many other drinks out there. I like that it wasn't just a shot of vitamins, but a hydrating drink as well. It would be cool to see them offer it in a few more flavors like berry and fruit punch, but for not the light citrus drink will be my go-to pre-/mid-round beverage. I can't promise that you will lower your scores just by drinking GolferAid, but it certainly isn't going to harm your game like many of the other cart girl's beverage choices. You get hydration and performance in a tasty drink.
For more information, visit LifeAidBevCo.com.
+12 oz. for hydration
+Light citrus flavor
+Lots of performance vitamins and minerals
+No caffeine or alcohol
+Low sugar
—One Flavor
SOURCE: http://www.independentgolfreviews.com/golferaid-performance-drink.html