March 26, 2011 – Orlando, Fla., USA – The latest technology to make waves in professional golf has nothing to do with clubs or balls, but it does flow undetectable electrical current through the athletes who use them. Curious players at the Arnold Palmer Invitational have signed up for sophisticated body composition analysis by InBody, unveiled here at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. This opportunity has attracted a variety of age groups, body types and nationalities, including the tournament’s halfway leader (28-year-old Martin Laird of Scotland and Scottsdale, Ariz.), a two-time heart transplant recipient (Erik Compton, 31), and even the 81-year-old tournament host. All were intrigued by a diagnostic tool that provides golfers with pinpoint data for specific body composition goals that could maximize their skills, improve overall health and possibly lengthen their careers.
“A lot of people are into it,” said Sean O’Hair, one of the first players to be tested. “I think you’re definitely going to see some excitement about it, and you’re going to see guys who are conscious of how their body is and where they want to head as an athlete. I think it’s a huge tool to help you be better.”
Total muscle weight broken down for left and right arms to hundredths of a pound? Even in a sport in which inches are often the difference between victory and defeat, this raises the question, why? Jim Furyk’s three-word reply: “Lean mass balance.”
“Let’s say I was tested and learned the left side of my body is more muscular than the right side,” said Furyk, 40. “In golf, certain things like that can happen to your body. But I also now realize that if I become much stronger on my left than on my right, that could be a problem. Because if your body is out of balance muscularly, you’re more prone to injury. My trainers talked about that for 10 years in the fitness trailer. Now we can actually measure it. I think there’s going to be quite a few guys out here who are going to see a big imbalance, they’ll realize it, get a tool to manage it and maybe prolong their career.”
The ability to measure lean mass balance between the right and left hemispheres, then focus on the weaker side for spot gains, is one benefit of the technology. Others include a bone mineral density reading and, in the InBody 720 unit that will travel in the PGA Tour’s rehabilitation trailer, a body hydration number that reveals whether a player has consumed the proper amount of fluids.
One of the most practical benefits, to elite athletes and weekend warriors alike, is the technology’s ability to precisely gauge fat and lean muscle – valuable knowledge for players looking to shed pounds. Jason Stodelle, one of two physical therapists traveling with the tour, said that giving players a specific body composition target for weight loss was an immediate benefit of the InBody 720. “Some guys came in and were kind of apprehensive about it, like, ‘I know I’m already overweight and I need to lose 40 pounds,’ ” Stodelle said. “Then they get on it and it tells them they only need to lose 13 pounds. These guys are professional athletes, walking 30 miles a week, and the standard numbers for the normal population don’t necessarily apply. Because even though a few might be overweight, they all have a higher lean body mass versus body fat.”
Stodelle said that 15 percent body fat is considered healthy for a tour player. Although the players’ body fat percentages are confidential, O’Hair said his was between 12 percent and 13 percent and Furyk revealed his as “11-ish.”
O’Hair said: “This is all about finding out what you’re good at, what you’re not good at and how to become better. All this does is breaks it down to where you can really get specific on how to work smarter with your body.”
Compton, continuing his three-year climb back from his second heart transplant to tour leader boards, views the technology as a tool to gauge progress in gaining strength and endurance. He boils its value to him down to every golfer’s search for an edge. “I’m just trying to hit golf shots and make the putts,” he said. “Trying to get into contention. That’s what I’m building to try to do.”
Inner Image is first-to-market within the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area delivering InBody’s newly released premium body composition analysis technology to the general public. The InBody 770 is the company’s most advanced equipment to date, and has received ringing endorsements from the medical, research and athletic performance communities. To have this informative experience made available to your organization, school, team, hospital, company, or club, please contact Inner Image at 973-979-0789 or visit us on the web at
www.inner-image.com.