Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two-time Masters winner Bernhard Langer is currently in lockdown at his house in Boca Raton, Florida. The Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador is currently money leader on the PGA TOUR Champions, but the golf season has come to a standstill. Therefore, the German golf legend keeps on exercising at home and shares his workout routine and recommendations for staying fit during self-isolation.
“You need to be creative and use what you have. Everyone has that opportunity”, explains Bernhard Langer. The 62-year-old must deal with social distancing around his home as the local golf course and its facilities are closed. “We have a wonderful fitness centre about 300 yards from our house which I use every day when I am at home. But they have had to close that down for social distancing, so I have had to be a little creative,” says Langer, who plans his own fitness routine without a personal trainer. “I can work on my swing and the relevant muscles with my heavy club – a seven iron with lead down the shaft – and I can do that in my fitness room. I also have a treadmill and exercise bike. Additionally, I have mats to stretch on and do body-weight exercises.”
As many people are currently in lockdown and not able to exercise with their club or team, Bernhard Langer shares his recommendations on keeping fit while staying at home. “You can do sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups and benching just using your body weight. You don’t need a lot of other stuff. I cycled yesterday for an hour and I enjoyed that. It was beautiful and good exercise.” The training regime of Bernhard Langer is golf specific and mimics the demands which every player faces when playing on the course. “The last time I played golf was with my son two weeks ago before they closed our golf course,” Bernhard Langer says. “I have not played competitive golf in four weeks. If it goes on for another month or two then it will be very unusual.”
Herein lies a little reminder to Bernhard Langer’s rivals on the PGA Tour Champions: don’t rest on your laurels for long during this break from competition, because the money leader will be fresh and ready when tour golf resumes. Bernhard Langer gets asked all the time what the secret is to his enduring success, but this is not a fairytale. There is no magic potion, no special Black Forest gateau (although Langer readily admits his sweet tooth is a weakness) and his tour colleagues know this. If they want a chance to beat Langer they need to start by out-working him, and that is hard to do.
Despite focussing on staying fit and healthy, Bernhard Langer is also looking at the bigger picture. “There are far more important things in life than playing golf, even though golf is my profession,” he says. “The better we do at social distancing, the sooner this will be under control.”
