Golfers got used to Trackman numbers, then various fitness trackers and now, thanks to Rory McIlroy who is always one step ahead of the rest when it comes to staying fit, they’ve discovered the importance of glucose meter data.
If you don’t know it yet, in fact, the images of the number 1 in the World Ranking in Dubai, in the final of the European circuit, went around the world and on the web, wearing a strange device glued to the skin of his right arm.
Immediately, among the most observant of things on the green, the alarm went off and thousands of people asked themselves in the depths of the net: “If that’s a glucometer, will Rory suffer from diabetes?”
None of this.
Rory McIlroy, statements
Don’t worry, McIlroy is as healthy as a fish, indeed more. Rather, to better prepare for the winter break and the physical training that will mark his next weeks, with that strange object that he kept on his arm 24/7, he was just monitoring the blood glucose trend at various times of the his day.
But here the question arises: why is the level of sugar in the body so important for athletes?
“Simply, because glucose is the fuel for our muscles,” explains Dr. Alberto Saccarello, a diabetes specialist for over forty years.
“Glycemia – continues the expert – counts with our muscle performance: when we are under physical effort, the blood sugar level tends to drop and thus the performance of the muscles is reduced, which at that moment begin to function less well , because they are overloaded, among other things, also by lactic acid”.
The good news, however, is that with the glucometer it is possible to study the variations in the presence of sugar in our body in the various phases of the day and, if we intervene with the right diet, we can greatly increase physical performance.
Rory himself explained that his goal this winter will be to add lean mass to his body in the best possible way, because it is known that for golfers the equation “+ muscles = + clubhead speed = + flying yards”.
“Through the data from the glucometer – continues Dr. Saccarello – it is in fact possible to better study the diet to follow and the best training to undergo in the gym”.
The good news for neurogolfers on the planet, however, is another and that from tomorrow they will be able to gorge themselves on chocolate on the pitch without any more guilt: after all, they are only doing it to obtain better muscle performance.
