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Going Strong, Life, Lifestyle

Improving Your Golfing: 7 Proven Ways to Lower Your Handicap

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Your handicap doesn’t have to mean the end of your game. You can improve your handicap with practice. You may also be surprised to learn that improving your short game is actually more effective than getting longer off the tee. There are lots of strategies that can make your golf game better quicker. Here are seven fail-safe ways to get you a lower handicap.

1. The Right Clubs

When you have the right tool for the job you’re able to do a good job. The same is true for golfing. Get yourself a good set of clubs so you can step up your game. Be sure to have golf wedges for high handicappers.

2. Glove

Wearing a glove on your non-dominant hand can give you and your game a good amount of support. You can improve your grip while creating a safer swing. A good quality glove is one of the golf essentials to most players, helping to keep your club’s grip dry on hot days and prevent the club from turning in your hands while you swing.

3. Improve your grip

The way you grip your club matters. There are multiple proper grips options, so it’s a good idea to check out your options and see what feels good to you. And which is most effective for lowering your handicap. A popular hold has your index finger and thumb in the shape of a V, it is often referred to as the “neutral position.”

4. Mark Your Ball

Balls are a dime a dozen, so make sure you’ve got plenty. As long as the golf ball is yours, break out a Sharpie and draw some straight lines on your ball. In fact, some balls are manufactured with guide arrows to help you better line up your shot and better align yourself.

5. Practice Putting

Putting takes more energy than many may think. You’ll need to practice both patience and thoughtfulness. Change your putting goals. Stop trying to sink putts outside of five feet. Instead go for two putts per green. If you can hit an effective second putt, you’ll be more likely to sink more shots and get better scores.

6. Know the Rules

Knowing the rules of golf will definitely improve your game. You’ll be able to play to the rules and to your advantage. The ability to touch the line of play can be very helpful in aligning your shot and yourself. Knowing that you can use your longest club to measure your relief area can increase the relief area, giving you more leeway.

7. Target and Position

It’s a good idea to line yourself up with a target. It could be a tree very near where you are aiming your putt or even one near you. You want your body to be positioned in the right direction to get the most out of your swing. Center yourself and plant your feet, putting a little more weight on your back foot.

Whatever your handicap, remember that golf is supposed to be fun, so give yourself permission to enjoy the game. Put in some practice, watch a few videos, brush up on the rules and you’ll be celebrating a lower handicap in no time.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Lifestyle

How to Look After Yourself When You Work in the Outdoors

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There are advantages to working in the outdoors. You’re not stuck behind a computer all day, you’re using your body, and you’re usually helping to provide a valuable service, such as constructing a building or tending to gardens. However, while there are plus points to this type of work, it’s not as if it’s always a walk in the park. Far from it, in fact. It can take a toll on your body if you’re not careful. In this blog, we’ll take a look at a few essential tips outdoor workers should incorporate into their schedule in order to ensure that they’re always as healthy as can be.

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Sun Protection

Most people look out of their office windows on a sunny day and wish that they were outside, doing anything! But this kind of inside work does have its benefits. For example, it helps to avoid overexposure to the sun, which can be a problem both in the short-term and the long-term (sunburn can hurt, long-term problems include a greatly increased risk of skin cancer and premature aging). When you’re working outside, you might find that you’re spending more time that is recommended in the sunshine. So be sure to take precautions. Always ensure that you have sufficient sunscreen coverage, and wear a hat and sunglasses whenever possible. You can buy high quality mens sunglasses at affordable prices online.

Durable Clothing

You’ll be exposed to plenty of small threats when you’re working outside. You’ll be more likely to have issues with small cuts, grazes, and so on. As such, it’s important that you have durable clothing, which will help to offer an additional level of protection. And they won’t just help to keep you protected, either: the stronger your items of clothing are, the longer they’ll last. Wrangler jeans are particularly popular with outdoor workers because of their durability and quality. As well as your clothing, you’ll also want to invest in high-quality footwear — this is important at all times, but especially when you’re standing up and working hard all day.

Protective Gear 

You’ve got to feel sorry for people in the olden days, who would have to tackle their dangerous jobs with little thought for safety or equipment. That’s all different these days. No matter what your job is, if there’s any danger involved, then there’ll be safety measures and equipment that you can use to keep yourself protected. It’s all about reading up on best practices if you work by yourself, or having conversations with your employers if you’re a member of staff. 

Winding Down After Work
If you’re going to take sufficient care of your body, then you’ll need to have a strong after-work regime that’ll restore your body back to its best. Working outside really does take a toll on your body! It’s all about self-care. For example, taking a warm bath after you’ve finished will help to soothe your muscles. You will also benefit from creating a relaxing, comfortable space where you’re able to relax comfortably for a few hours. Your body will be happier for it!

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Life, Lifestyle

Strength Training Is The Secret To Healthier Joints

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We have multiple joints all throughout our bodies. The technical definition of a joint is that it is where two bones meet one another. Some of our joints are more well-known than others – like the knee, hip, ankle, and shoulder joints. We need joints to help us move around and perform specific tasks. 

For example, did you know that the way our thumb joint works allows us to have opposable thumbs? This means we can grip things with our thumbs, which basically sets us apart from chimps! 

Anyway, back to the main point! 

Joints are essential, but they are often injured. The more moveable joints in your body (the ones mentioned earlier) are prone to get damaged in multiple ways. You can twist the joint and damage the ligaments, you can get arthritis, you can dislocate them, etc. Joint pain stops you from doing many of your daily tasks and can cause problems in your life. While the chances of suffering from joint pain increases as you age, you can easily prevent it. You deserve to have healthy joints, and it is highly possible when you try strength training. 

What is strength training?

For those that don’t know, strength training is basically training your muscles to get bigger and stronger. Typically, this means you start lifting weights. As you keep lifting, your muscles adapt to the load and get stronger. By progressively increasing the weights, you will get harder muscles that look bigger and can handle more weight. 

Why does strength training help your joints?

Some of you might have heard that weight training is bad for your joints. I’ll forgive this as it seems like it should be the case. Surely it’s not good for your joints to add lots of extra force to them? As long as your form is correct, then your joints will be fine. 

In fact, they will benefit in the short and long-term from exercise and strength training. 

Look at the knee joint – probably the most prone to injuries. If you took a look at all the different knee injury cases, you’d find many happen in slip and fall incidents where the knee twists. Twisting your knee is preventable through strength training. How? Because building strength in the muscles around the knee will also strengthen the ligaments and tendons that hold the joint together. In essence, you reinforce the supporting structures. This adds more stability to the joint, preventing it from twisting easily. 

The same goes for other joints in your body – if you strengthen the attaching muscles, then the joint itself becomes more stable and less prone to injuries. 

Furthermore, one of the short-term benefits of strength training is that it increases the synovial fluid in joints. Think of this as oil for a gate. Joints need this fluid to move smoothly and prevent bones from rubbing against one another. Exercise and strength training increases the production of this, greasing your joints up nicely. In turn, this can prevent diseases like arthritis from forming! 

You see, strength training is the ultimate solution to healthier joints. If you want to live with less pain and more stability, then pick up some weights and protect your joints today.