By Kyle Panek, Director of Performance, The Golf Performance Center
Last week I wrote about the process of gaining speed out on the course and it is just that “a process”! There are no quick fixes, no special equipment, no secret sauce, just putting in the hours of work down in the gym and on the tee line! Read last week’s article if you want to learn more about it!
It is the same way with nutrition for gaining speed out on the golf course! I mentioned the process of first teaching your body’s joints how to stack upon each other, then adding strength to that position and to your frame. This is where nutrition comes into play! If your nutrition is off you will not be able to increase your strength, which unfortunately means no power and no speed out on the golf course. So what does proper nutrition to build strength, power and speed look like?
It all starts with protein intake! If you don’t have a sufficient
amount of protein coming into your body you will never be able to gain the proper amount of strength, this is due to protein being the main driver of rebuilding and repairing muscle tissue. If the muscle can never recover, there is no chance it will ever be able to produce power and speed. The suggested amount of protein while training is .7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. This can come from sources like protein powder, red meat, chicken/pork and nuts. This is one of the main reasons we offer everyone a protein shake post workout!
Next in order to have enough energy to gain strength and speed on the golf course you need a sufficient amount of carbohydrates to sustain your high energy output when trying to attain this goal! The suggested amount per day for athletes is anywhere between 2-3 times your bodyweight per day! These can come from sources like fruits, veggies, pasta, rice, potatoes, quinoa and many other sources.
The last focus in nutrition is fats. Fats are our second source of energy when there are no carbohydrates left in the system. They also regulate hormones and keep the body healthy. The suggested amount is anywhere from 20-30 percent of your overall calories for the day! This will be plenty to help you on your journey to gaining speed on the golf course!
So as you can see, still no quick fix from the nutrition side to gaining clubhead speed! If you want something in life, it comes with hard work and dedication and not skipping the steps in the process. No matter if it is gaining clubhead speed, getting to you dream job, or getting to your dream University, it all comes from simply following the process and putting in the time and dedication to achieve it!
If you have any questions on the nutrition side of it come see us in the Performance Zone, we’d be happy to help!!
Good luck on your journey!
