A healthy lifestyle will benefit your golf game

• By Justin Bruton, SwingFix instructor
• Nov 16, 2012 4:30 PM ET

If you have any doubt about the importance that a healthy lifestyle plays in a sound golf game, look no further than the best players in the world, the majority of whom have made fitness a major component in their lives.

RNEW is a concept that I came up with years ago that’s an easy acronym to explain the foundation for a healthy lifestyle, something that is sure to benefit your golf game.

• R stands for Rest: We need six-to-eight hours a night and this is one of the most important of all these factors. Without the proper amount of rest our bodies and minds cannot recover from the constant stress of everyday life.

• N stands for Nutrition: We need to eat right with heavy doses of fruits and vegetables, along with lean proteins, nuts and seeds. We should try and limit or eliminate the amount of refined carbohydrates and sugars we eat. A good way to think of it is to limit anything that’s not natural. If we didn’t eat it 1,000 years ago, we shouldn’t be eating it now.

• E stands for Exercise: As humans, we are designed to move, and the reason we have a brain is to process and understand complex movements. We need to move enough every day to get our heart rate up. Our bodies need to perform different movements each day, such as walking, running, climbing, lifting, jumping and crawling. These various movement patterns are so important for our overall health and wellness.

• W stands for Water: Hydration is vital. Without hydration the other three factors don’t really matter as much because they can’t compensate for a body that is not properly hydrated. Water needs to be the primary liquid that you consume throughout the day. An easy rule of thumb is to drink 50 percent of your body weight in ounces of water everyday. If you are outdoors in the summer months with higher temperatures, drinking 75 percent of your body weight is more appropriate.

So remember to RNEW your body for better health, lower scores and a longer, happier golfing career.

Take an online lesson with Justin Bruton.