Golf is an 8 1/2 km fast ‘interval’ walk carrying 20kg.
This is great training by any way in.
Not even sure why I’m choosing to justify this. I don’t think it’s guilt, or maybe it is given the way it can be viewed at times as it can take a while. I know I didn’t play much when our boys were young. I’ll settle on the fact that I’m just explaining how I can use mindsets on activities to see them and embrace them positively. James Clear would call it habit stacking.
Aside from the fact that it takes a ‘little’ longer than a normal 8 1/2 km, the numbers speak for themselves, but there is a catch. I’ll get to that in a sec. Here are the numbers.
2 things stand out:
- Calories burned – which isn’t completely accurate, because it isn’t calculating for the 20kg bag I’m carrying. And I’m not mentioning this for the sake of calorie burning, it’s more that it shows just how strenuous this can be.
- Elevation – 80m hill work
- 8.6k is 8.6k and they all count and help
- I can’t count
Have you spotted the catch? I know you have because you’re a clever bunch…
This only really works as great exercise if I actually carry the bag. It would be pretty good if I walked with bag in buggy. It’s great if I carry the bag. Rucking is a hugely popular exercise phenomenon (wow, how cool a word is that to spell and you can say it in a really fun way if you break it into phenoh-menon – you’re welcome) that’s gathering momentum.
This is rarer and I generally get some fairly interesting looks or raised eyebrows when I tell people I carry the bag.
Understand that for most the minimum with golf is to put the bag in a ‘buggy’ which is a carrier on wheels that you push along. This at least means that you have to walk which is good. The ‘non exercise’ way to play golf is to hire a cart. Yeah, that’s one of those false exercise sporting afternoons.
Each to their own of course … each to their own course? Ok ok enough bad golf puns, of course (just one more ok) people play golf for their own reasons and I’ve been one of those guys to go off road in a cart and tear it up the middle of a fairway.
I’m just being clear how golf can be used for a great bit of exercise.
And so I’m counting it… thank you James!
11 down… ? to go.
Let’s keep going #whileistillcan
