Lydia Ko is making time for a sweat session while on vacation – in her workout gear. In a new social media post the golfer shows off her amazing body while hitting the gym with her hubby, wearing a two-piece exercise set. “The husband is helping me get abs in a different way,” she captioned one of the Instagram Stories. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Cardio
ShutterstockA few years ago Lydie dropped 15 pounds by infusing cardio into her routine. “For somebody that does zero cardio to just a little bit made a huge difference,” she told Golf Week. If you want to amp up your cardio routine, try walking. Going for a daily walk can be a game changer in terms of exercise, especially at a brisk speed. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.
Pilates
She also took up Pilates, which helped elongate her physique. “I don’t feel bloated, which I think is a huge thing,” she said. “I’m trying to gain more muscle and lose a bit of the unnecessary fat. Everybody seems like they are hitting it longer and longer.” Why is pilates a good workout? According to the Mayo Clinic there are lots of benefits to the workout, as it “strengthens the body's inner core while increasing its flexibility resulting in improved overall health.” It can also promote longer, leaner muscles, injury prevention, relief from stress and back pain, enhanced athletic performance, and heightened mind-body awareness.
Protein
ShutterstockLydia makes sure to get enough protein. “I am a one-protein-shake-a-day person,” she told Golf Digest. According to clinical trials, consuming more protein than the recommended dietary allowance not only reduces body weight (BW), but also enhances body composition by decreasing fat mass while preserving fat-free mass (FFM) in both low-calorie and standard-calorie diets.
Rock Climbing
Lydio Ko /Instagram
Lydia also loves to rock climb. “I can’t say rock climbing alone has transformed my game, but naturally when you think of grip, upper-body strength, twisting and manipulating the body and more, rock climbing feeds into all the requirements you have when you are out there on the golf course,” she told RSNG. According to the NHS, rock climbing boasts mental and physical health benefits. It can improve stamina while working multiple muscle groups at once. “Climbing involves concentration and thought, as well as physical exercise, which helps to keep you focused, clear your mind of outside worries, and build your confidence and self-esteem,” they add. “This may help to alleviate the symptoms of some mental health problems.”
Building Power
Lydio Ko /Instagram
Lydia strength trains for a number of reasons. “Firstly, I love food – when you travel to so many places I actually think it’s really important to embrace the culture and to show respect for that. Although golf is an active sport, when you’re competing there is a lot of time sat around waiting, so I don’t think I was in the best situation in the first place,” she says. “The idea of building power was also just to do something different that might add a new dimension to my game. I have always been relatively short on the fairway and needed to pull out shots to make up ground on others. To be at a disadvantage like that is not good, and I needed to give my game a shot in the arm, so that was it.”
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