THE CORE
movement-variability training. It helps your nervous system to stay flexible so that when things don’t go perfectly, you can quickly adapt.” Also important is hydration. A study in Scientific Reports found that even being a little dehydrated negatively impacts HRV. Also, brisk walking on a regular basis can boost it – another reason to ditch the golf cart. There is one more thing to remem- ber, Shear says. Rest and recovery are super important. If you go from a relatively inactive lifestyle to working out five days a week, or you begin hit- ting balls multiple days for hours at a time, that added stress will likely hurt HRV and potentially ruin all the hard work you’re doing.
tion, which looks at stress,” he says. “It can be used in athletic performance to accurately reflect recovery status, determine if an athlete is overtraining and identify when an athlete might be more or less adaptive to training. The measure can also predict when a play- er might or might not play well – and even when they are more susceptible to illness or injury.” In other words, monitoring HRV and working to improve it also is an impor- tant step to understanding when to train and when to rest. You know those days when you hit a bucket of balls for over an hour? Check your HRV the next day. Just a hunch, but the pacing between beats likely will be much more regular – meaning bad – than normal.
IT’S TRUE THAT ALL YOU need are two fingers and a stopwatch to figure out if your
If you’re interested in monitoring and improving your HRV, the follow- ing products ( below ) can be super help- ful. Even if you don’t want to invest in one, a lot of evidence suggests aerobic and strength training can make a differ- ence, says Golf Digest Certified Trainer Karen Palacios-Jansen. “I mix golf-spe- cific exercises with swing training, and that naturally works on HRV through ‘It helps your nervous system to stay flexible so that when things don’t go perfectly, you can quickly adapt.’
heart is in overdrive as you play golf. Your heart rate is a key indicator of how the sympathetic nervous system, the fight-or-flight nerves, are behaving. Knowing you are nervous is one thing, but what if you could better control those feelings and the manifestations it has on your body (shaky hands, jerky backswing, etc)? Many of the game’s best players know about a “hack” that you can also utilise
when you’re stepping on the first tee or standing over a testy four-footer. It’s something called heart-rate variability or HRV. If you’re not familiar
THE SPACE BETWEEN A healthy heart typically doesn’t beat uniformly.
HELP FOR YOUR HEART Here are some of the popular HRV products on the market, ranging in price from thousands of dollars to a few hundred. Many pro golfers use these, says golf-fitness trainer Ben Shear.
with the term, HRV is the measured time between heart beats. Just because your pulse is 70, that doesn’t mean the time between beats is uniform. In fact, it shouldn’t be. A variance in time between beats is a key indicator of good health, says Ben Shear, Golf Digest’s Chief Fitness Advisor. Shear has trained many pro golfers (includ- ing European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald) and is the architect of Golf Digest’s Fitness Trainer Certification. His gym is in Jupiter, Florida. Although the science of HRV has been around since the 1960s, the train- ing for it has become increasingly pop- ular among elite athletes only in the past decade or so. There are a number of devices that can improve HRV, but even holistic techniques such as meditation, sleep and breathwork can improve the variance in the gaps between beats. If your HRV improves, so does your ability to adapt to stress, to squelch the sympathetic nervous system, to im- prove endurance and to recover from fatigue. In a gruelling match, winning can come down to three things: (1) How stressed your brain is, (2) How nervous you are, (3) How much energy you have left. If your HRV is better than your opponent’s, Shear likes your chances. “HRV is a measure that reflects the ANS (autonomic nervous system) func-
Hoolest Pro, $799
Whoop 5.0 ( left ), $239
Shiftwave Pro Chair ( below ), $9 950
These headphones are designed to activate the nerves that work with the vagus nerve. The “vagal” nerves carry signals to your brain, heart and digestive system. They’re a key part of your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the “rest-and- digest” part (hoolest.com).
This lightweight band monitors your HRV, among many other useful health metrics, and comes with a 12-month subscription. It can go up to two weeks without needing to be recharged (whoop.com).
One of the best products for rest, recovery and improving the autonomic nervous system, Shear says. The designers say it “uses gentle pressure waves that work with your nervous system to slow your heart rate, quiet your mind and put your body in a deep rest-and-recovery state” (shiftwave.co).
Truvaga Plus ( right ), $499
This device, synced with your smartphone, stimulates the vagus nerve, which controls a host of body functions related to better health. Activate the device, hold it to your neck and monitor your progress (truvaga.com).
Pulsetto Lite, $474
Jostle the Jitters A cool, sciency way to overcome first-tee anxiety and putting nerves BY RON KASPRISKE
This device is worn around your neck and is also designed to stimulate vagal nerves. The inventors suggest you use it two or three times a day for up to an hour per session (pulsetto.tech).
22 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 23
MARCH/APRIL 2026
MARCH/APRIL 2026
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