Nearly 75 years old, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has hosted the best players in the business. Golfing demands peak physical and mental conditioning. This article delves into the diet and fitness routine of Brooke Henderson, offering a glimpse into how she maintains her competitive edge. We'll also touch upon broader fitness and dietary trends among LPGA players.
Brooke Henderson's Holistic Approach to Fitness
Golfer Brooke Henderson is dedicated to her health, fitness, and staying on top of her game. Brooke Henderson shared her approach to training in an interview with The News Press. “You kind of have to pay attention to that and remember you’re in a tournament, you need to wake up early, and you need to go through your regular routines,” Henderson said. “Just because when you’re on the road week after week you really get into the routine. She recognizes the importance of consistency, especially when traveling for tournaments. Her routine encompasses various aspects of well-being, from physical activity to mental and spiritual health.
Golfing as a Core Activity
This one might be a little obvious, but golfing is a big part of how she stays active and fit. She’s driven and inspired by the women in her industry and hopes to make them proud. She travels and welcomes new experiences on the road.
Embracing the Outdoors: Hiking and Exploration
She loves exploring new places and hiking. In a series of photos of her spending time outdoors, captioned “Sedona, Arizona 😍🏜️ #RedRockCountry,” she shows one way she enjoys getting fresh air and soaking in the sunshine. According to the American Hiking Society, “walking is one of the lowest impact sports around.
Spirituality and Mental Fortitude
She’s incredibly spiritual and has faith, remaining thankful for her blessings. “Thank you Almighty God for everything! 😊 I am grateful for these amazing opportunities and to live my dream out on tour! “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” - Philippians 4:13 May all Honour and Glory be God’s!
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Mobility and Flexibility Exercises
Mobility is incredibly important for getting the most out of your swing. Whether you spend 40 hours a week at a desk or you play golf every day, you probably don’t focus enough on your mobility. If you feel tightness in your hips, aches in your lower back, tension in your neck and shoulders or just feel fatigue after a long day, you could benefit from a good mobility routine. Any of this sound familiar? If so, it’s a common issue among amateur golfers and weekend warriors. As Rachel Duvall, NASM CPT explains, this happens because sitting messes with your muscles and movement patterns which leads to muscle and joint dysfunction, instability and misalignment.
Here are some exercises that can help improve mobility:
- 90-90 Hip Stretch: Sitting with one leg at a 90-degree angle in front and the other behind you at 90-degrees, place your hands on the floor outside your front leg. Lean forward, bringing your belly button toward the ground and keeping your chest up. Sit up and rotate toward the back hip, landing in a 90-90 position on the opposite side. Repeat 10 times.
- Open Book Stretch: This stretch will target your thoracic spine. Start by lying on your side with your knees at a 90-degree angle and your arms straight out in front of you. Rotate your top arm toward the ceiling and around your body. Try to get both of your shoulders to touch the ground, keeping your knees and shins aligned.
- Iron Cross: Laying on your back with your arms out to your sides in a “T” position and your legs out. Lift one leg straight up and rotate across your body. As you do this, try to keep your shoulders down and the resting leg straight. Engage your core to lift your leg back up.
- Lizard Lunge to Rotation: Starting in a plank position, bring one foot up and outside the same side’s hand. Shift your weight forward over your hands and rotate your same side arm up to the ceiling. Step back into the plank position and repeat on the opposite side for 10 reps.
- Windmill: Standing with your feet hip width apart, put one arm straight up to the ceiling and the other arm pointing straight down to the ground. Sit your hips back like you’re going to sit in a chair. Rotate your torso and reach down inside the same side’s leg to the ankle. Keep your core tight and squeeze your hamstrings as you stand back up. Repeat on the opposite side.
- Walkouts: In a standing position reach down and put your hands on the ground. Walk your hands out win front of you until you’re in a full plank. Slowly walk you hands back to your feet and stand tall.
Diet and Nutrition Among LPGA Players
Sophia Popov revealed that she loves to cook. “I put a lot of emphasis on my healthy diet, which is really, really important to me, because if I don’t eat as clean as I do then I get very tired at times and fatigued,” she said. Danielle Kang shared what is in her golf bag in an interview with Golf Digest. In it, she also talked about her diet. “I work with nutritionists to create my on-course eating plan,” Kang said. Beatriz Recari opened up about making changes to her diet to Golf.com. “I don’t get as tired, first of all,” she said. “That’s for me the biggest change that I noticed, because I inevitably compare with the last few tournaments that I played last year. And then in terms of strength, I am stronger. I know that because I lift more. I feel better. I do more. But the main difference for me is the ability to go to a tournament Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then feel good for Thursday, Friday, and the weekend,” she continued. Lydia Ko is a big fan of drinking protein shakes. She told Golf Digest, “I am a one-protein-shake-a-day person, though if I could have as many as Bryson DeChambeau and play that good, maybe that’s the option. Marina Alex shared what she has in her golf bag in an interview with Australian Golf Digest. She says that she makes sure to bring healthy snacks with her. “I learned the hard way not to eat anything sugary on the course. I used to eat bananas - great for you but with all that natural sugar, I’d crash a few holes after eating one.
Additional Insights from LPGA Players
Nelly Korda makes sure to do workouts that will benefit her on the golf course. One thing she likes to do is Bulgarian split squats. Korda shared this video of herself doing them, and some other exercises, on Instagram. In the video, she is also seen holding dumbbells. Jin Young Ko shared her approach to training with Golf.com. “For me, I think the more difficult process is when I’m preparing for events and when I’m training. And it’s also more fun at the time when I’m actually training because I think it’s fun to feel the improvement that you make after hard work. Georgia Hall shared her at-home workouts with BBC Sport. “I’ve got resistance bands, mats, foam rollers so I do a bit of that. But as my one form of outdoor exercise I probably go for a 30, 40 minute run which is something I never used to do, never. I’m forcing myself to run which is really good for me and for my willpower because I never used to be that good at it. Minjee Lee talked about her approach to playing golf in an interview with Australian Golf Digest. “I’ve always been process-driven and believe a lot of tournaments are won in the off-weeks, preparing. So, I’ve always felt confident in those big moments because I know that nobody has outworked me. Brittany Altomare shared how she prepares for a golf tournament with The Health Journals. “To get started, I go over the holes in my mind,” she says. “I put together a plan of attack by taking into consideration factors such as wind and weather conditions. Stacy Lewis loves to run. She told Runner’s World, “My family ran growing up. My dad was a runner. It’s something we’ve always done. My sister and I swam and part of swimming was we did a lot of dry-land work, a lot of running. Any time there were races around town, or the Thanksgiving ones, we always did those. Mel Reid opened up about the importance of mental wellbeing to Lessons Of Badassery. “The mind is the most complex part of our body, and we don’t have a manual to work it, so it’s [about] trying to figure it out. But I do also think that if you have a golf swing that is very repeatable, that can help [your golf career] hugely. If you haven’t got good technique but a great mind, it’s only going to take you so far. It’s a definite combination of both, but the mental side is probably slightly more important. After winning the 2021 Women’s Open, Anna Nordqvist opened up about her struggles with mental health. “It was hard because I kept pushing but it was hard because it was like your feet kept slipping and I didn’t have that extra gear I was always used to. When things got tough, I could always push it through mentally, but I just never had anything and I just felt really weak. Angel Yin came up short in the Women’s British Open last year. However, she didn’t let the loss get to her. “I think I’ve just come a long way,” Yin said in an interview. “I’m just really happy with who I am, where I am, and what I’m doing right now. Just a lot to appreciate. Hannah Green opened up about playing golf in an interview. “I really enjoy the golf course. I feel like even though it’s short it’s rewarding for those who hit the ball well. I feel like this year I’ve been pretty consistent with my play, so I’m just hoping that the putter warms up a little bit. And then, yeah, going back home to Australia, that always gives me good, gets me in a good mindset as well. I guess a lot of the girls have been posting about Proud Mary Cafe, an Australian style cafe, so I’ve been eating there already. Carlota Ciganda wants to inspire girls to play golf. She talked about this after winning the Solheim Cup to National Club Golfer. “I hope it is big, I hope a lot of girls and women have watched the Solheim Cup and hopefully the golf in Spain can grow. Hopefully we can have more girls playing and some of them can play in future Solheim Cups. Lexi Thompson opened up about her decision to retire from golf on Instagram. “Since I was 12 years old, my life as a golfer has been a whirlwind of constant attention, scrutiny and pressure. The cameras are always on, capturing every swing and every moment on and off the golf course. Social media never sleeps, with comments and criticisms flooding in from around the world. Inbee Park tells ESPN that she wants to be a role model for fellow South Koreans. “Obviously, we are very proud to represent South Korea on the world level. If I’m able to put a Korean name on such an historical trophy - putting my name into the history of golf - I mean, all of Korea is watching me, and they are very proud of me.
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