Disc Golf is Socializing

[DiscChainBasket18]

Get outside much doc?

Take your doctor to Richmond Hill:http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=453
It's like a hike in the mountains with some disc golf thrown in. Lots of elevation. Lots of huffing & puffing chasing your roll-away discs down the hill. opcorn:

 

[bradharris]

I didn't realize there is actually a debate about whether walking is exercise or not (let alone disc golfing). Have you guys played three rounds in a day? Are you not tired afterward?

I could see debating whether it is a workout or not. Depends on the course in my opinion. Try playing some of the courses that are built on ski hills (ie. Hanson Hills or Hickory in northern Michigan) and tell me disc golf isn't exercise, let alone a workout. Hill climbs are a part of tons of training programs.

There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but the majority of players on the majority of courses are not getting exercise. The fact that you're out and moving is certainly not harmful to your health, but it's also not particularly helpful.

Fatigue comes in many forms. I'm tired after a long day at work - and I walk about as much at work as I do on the disc golf course - but that doesn't mean I'm getting exercise.

In reality, disc golf is not much different than, say, going to a BBQ. You're outside, you're spending a lot of time on your feet outdoors, maybe even playing some lawn games that involve walking around in the yard. But it's not exercise.

 

[The Hammer]

I'm laughing at the people that think disc golf is a work out. Get real.

It's amazing that Americans have gotten so lazy sitting on their ass in front of a computer all day, that they consider a daily stroll a workout.

 

[coast2coast]

Depends how you play. With even one other player there is a lot of standing around. On your own and briskly walking without taking more than a few seconds to line up your shot it is no different than hiking. Better probably because throwing uses tons of muscles that merely walking doesn't.

 

[atay87]

DG is great exercise. I lost 10 pounds the first few months I started playing with no change in diet (I'm 6'1'' and I went from 200 to 190). Playing with a 10lb bag on a hilly course, five times a week for an hour at a time is better than running 30 minutes two or three times a week.

I'm laughing at the people that think disc golf is a work out. Get real.

It's amazing that Americans have gotten so lazy sitting on their ass in front of a computer all day, that they consider a daily stroll a workout.

You guys must play a lot differently than me. I'm definitely getting a workout when I play.

 

[grodney]

Had heart attack in 2001 and have been on a beta blocker (carvedilol) to lower heart rate since then.

Thought I remembered that and figured as much. The local Greek joint had one of those pulse-rate-for-a-quarter things and the owner always offered free gyros if you got below a 60. My dad was a champ due to his medication -- although I'm not sure the gyro was the best reward!

Anyway, seeing your graphs I really must buy a heart monitor now.

 

[ohtobediscing]

It may depend on the course how high your heart rate my get. Here's my actual heart rate data while playing the Steady Ed course at the IDGC compared with my heart rate while working at the computer.

Those spikes in your heartrate while working at the computer. What thread were you lookimg at?
A. ROC LOVERS UNITE!
or
B. The Sexiest Woman on Earth

I think we all know...

 

[DeadEye]

You guys must play a lot differently than me. I'm definitely getting a workout when I play.

Exactly. Don't lump as all together if you're a lazy ass who thinks of DG as a daily stroll to get out into nature. Half of the problem with disc golf is how it's perceived to be non-athletes... makes it even worse when your own community is full of people who are so apathetic about their own game they sound like bitter old men.

 

[The Hammer]

Exactly. Don't lump as all together if you're a lazy ass who thinks of DG as a daily stroll to get out into nature. Half of the problem with disc golf is how it's perceived to be non-athletes... makes it even worse when your own community is full of people who are so apathetic about their own game they sound like bitter old men.

Go see a trainer and get a real workout. Then come back and tell me how tough disc golf is.

 

[Sir Puttsalot]

Imo what matters is how hard you're doing an activity, and not the activity itself.

I knew this one local dger that would bust through 4 rnds under 2 hrs speed walking, before doing it again at another course. Another local runs the course, playing at least 2 rounds. Both were solid dgolfers as well.

Some say that such a pace is not normal for dg, and I would agree. But dg is the reason these guys aren't jogging around their neighborhood.

 

[ForTheGlory]

Play two rounds at Hawk Hollow and tell me that's not exercise! Long steep hills...both ways!!!

I've mostly played courses in VA and NY and it's ruggedness definitely qualifies it as more than just hanging around at a BBQ. But this past Christmas I had the opportunity to play a handful of courses in the NW Arkansas and while they were fun courses, they just didn't have the elevation change. I easily played two rounds and didn't feel wiped out physically. I did feel worked tho. Still more than hanging out at a BBQ.

So I guess it's all relative to where you live. Tromping up and down forested hills or converted ski slopes is going to get the heart going. Walking thru the flatlands of our country will still get the blood moving more than standing around at a BBQ.

But in addition to moving through the environment we are also bending over and straightening back up several times. We fling things and force energy to move thru our bodies. We shout when we hit trees, or birdies.

We don't just work our muscle fibers, we work our eyes out also. From finding the right line, releasing on that line, watching the disc fly, and eventually searching for it in some deep schule. Image recognition keeps the mind sharp. Hand-eye coordination does too.

And then if you do play with others you are building social skills. And that gets you out golfing more often. So then, where does "exercise" end? It's not weight-lifting or x-country running. But it's not darts or chess either.

Whatever it is you're not going to get me to stop it.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Those spikes in your heartrate while working at the computer. What thread were you lookimg at?
A. ROC LOVERS UNITE!
or
B. The Sexiest Woman on Earth

I think we all know...

Likely something more mundane like going to get the mail two floors down or getting a snack.

 

[Halcón]

Go see a trainer and get a real workout. Then come back and tell me how tough disc golf is.

Please. Nobody is saying DG is the same as a strenuous workout with a trainer at the gym.

 

[onemilemore]

This has been an interesting read. I am curious as to what courses people are playing who are getting this massive workout from disc golf. My local course is hilly and demanding, but I only get marginally winded walking between holes 6 and 7.

I run every day, so maybe that is why disc golf feels like less of a workout for me. Regardless, it can have health benefits but is not some magical panacea that can replace running, biking, swimming, or other cardio-based activities.

I would venture that the mental health benefits of disc golf - getting outdoors, challenging oneself, etc. - are greater than the physical ones.

 

[garublador]

You guys must play a lot differently than me. I'm definitely getting a workout when I play.

If you're playing disc golf in a way that makes it aerobic exercise then you're either playing differently than 99%+ of the population or in horrendous shape. If you're playing in a way that anyone would consider a resistance based work out then you're either incredibly weak or using very illegal discs.

Burning calories is good, but that's not enough to make something an exercise in the context the doctor was using or a work out by most any standard. You burn calories all the time but you have to be doing something that improves your physical fitness by strengthening your heart and lungs and/or your major muscle groups to be "exercising" or "working out." Unless you're very out of shape, running the whole time you play or are throwing very heavy objects you're just participating in an activity, not exercising or working out in the context that doctor was using.

 

[bradharris]

Play two rounds at Hawk Hollow and tell me that's not exercise! Long steep hills...both ways!!!

I've mostly played courses in VA and NY and it's ruggedness definitely qualifies it as more than just hanging around at a BBQ. But this past Christmas I had the opportunity to play a handful of courses in the NW Arkansas and while they were fun courses, they just didn't have the elevation change. I easily played two rounds and didn't feel wiped out physically. I did feel worked tho. Still more than hanging out at a BBQ.

So I guess it's all relative to where you live. Tromping up and down forested hills or converted ski slopes is going to get the heart going. Walking thru the flatlands of our country will still get the blood moving more than standing around at a BBQ.

But in addition to moving through the environment we are also bending over and straightening back up several times. We fling things and force energy to move thru our bodies. We shout when we hit trees, or birdies.

We don't just work our muscle fibers, we work our eyes out also. From finding the right line, releasing on that line, watching the disc fly, and eventually searching for it in some deep schule. Image recognition keeps the mind sharp. Hand-eye coordination does too.

And then if you do play with others you are building social skills. And that gets you out golfing more often. So then, where does "exercise" end? It's not weight-lifting or x-country running. But it's not darts or chess either.

Whatever it is you're not going to get me to stop it.

No on is saying "don't play, it's bad for you." We all know and recognize the benefits that disc golf provides.

My point in this thread is that when a doctor asks you if you're getting regular exercise, the mild physical benefits that disc golf provides are not what he has in mind.

If you adapt to play speed golf, running between throws, you're no long disc golfing, you're running. However, disc golf provides the fun and motivation to make running easier mentally.

 

[The Hammer]

My point is that people have become so lazy, that they see anything that raises their heart rate for a little bit as their workout. In just about any other country, our "workouts" are their daily routine (i.e. commute to work/school/store). DG sure has a lot of out-of-shape "athletes". I guess they are just cultivating mass for the upcoming season.

 

[The Hammer]

How many of you "athletes" are also sucking down a cancer stick while you are "training"?

 

[grodney]

At least you're consistent.

 

[onemilemore]

This thread is turning into the pro vs. Average Joe thread. People don't take marginal criticism of disc golf well. I think, for playing a largely fringe sport, we need to come to grips with the fact that it isn't the ultimate best thing in the world ever always.