MAKATI CITY - PlayItRight.Golf is now pushing into its third month of existence and one thing that is evident to readers is the amount of space we devote not just to golf but also to health. We've written about keeping fit and boosting the immune system especially during this time of pandemic, for at the end of it all, what is golf to us if we are not in the best of shape to play it?
By now, all of us know the basics of protecting ourselves from the novel coronavirus - wearing our masks, washing our hands frequently, and eating healthy. We've even gone to writing about IV drips. However, there’s one more component to boosting our immune system that seems to go underestimated: regular exercise.
What most of us don’t realize is that exercise does more than just contribute to our general health, and in fact has direct effects on our immunity: Exercise increases the circulation of our immune cells, distributing them across our bodies at a higher rate and in higher numbers.
With many still concerned with the safety of going to gyms, and with reports of injuries from self-guided home workouts, I wanted to find what other options there were to staying active. I also wanted to know how our top golfers keep themselves in shape.
Thankfully, we had the opportunity to check on Miguel Tabuena, the country’s highest ranking professional golfer. Miguel shares with us how he stays in top shape despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic.
“I continue to train with a coach using the Zoom platform. During this pandemic, it has become sort of a silver lining for me to be able to continue to stay active and in shape with coaches at Pinnacle Performance located in Makati. They don’t just leave me with a list of random workouts to do, which can result in injury more often than people realise. The program takes recovery and nutrition into account. I think this helps make sure I stay in tournament condition despite the lack of competitive golf at the moment”, says Miguel.
Furthermore, Miguel shares that since the results to his fitness have to be measurable, he has to turn to Pinnacle Performance to take good care of these metrics. By creating a bespoke fitness program for his unique needs as a golfer, Pinnacle Performance coaches make sure that every single unit and layer of his body is optimised and operationalised. And indeed, the numbers are there to back up the progress.
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| Coach Bernice of Pinnacle Performance guides Miguel via Zoom. |
In the past 4 months, Miguel’s swing speed has increased 6%, which for him means that he is already at par with some of the world’s top golfers.
His Maximum Deadlifts and Push Ups, which measure two different sets of upper body, lower body, and core strength, have grown 12% and 33%.
Lastly, Miguel's power and explosiveness, measured by his Hang Cleans, Squat Jump Height, and Broad Jump Distance, have grown 10%, 20%, and 7% respectively.
PlayItRight.Golf asked Miguel's lead coach, Bernice Atienza, about the goals they set for an athlete like Miguel and she replied, “We believe that world-class athletes are not built by chance, so our goal is to make sure we are able to track the progress of our athletes meticulously. We measured as many aspects as we can in Miguel’s fitness — including his hours of sleep, strain produced, caloric burn, and even his Rate of Perceived Exhaustion (RPE). Understanding how our athletes’ bodies progress is the only way we can keep them growing. This is the same commitment we give to any of our members, whether they’re an enthusiast, a professional, or an Olympic athlete."
“I know and feel that the program set for me has been very effective. I have noticed the numbers and I have seen a very positive change to my golf game overall. I wasn’t consistent with Pinnacle until the lockdown, to be honest. But now that I have seen the results, I’ve put my faith and trust in them for my fitness, moving forward.” Miguel shares.
Having checked with both Miguel and Coach Bernice, we see that regular exercise is important, but it should also be the right kind of exercise - the kind where programming takes into account his body’s unique needs, and builds his body as a whole unit.
Pinnacle Performance is located at Unit 3, 28th Floor Centuria Medical Makati, Century City, Kalayaan Avenue, Barangay Poblacion 1210, Makati, Metro Manila,
Email: info@pinnacleperformance.ph
