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Section: Life & Leisure
Good Health, and a Great Golf Swing
By Anthony Chabala
In the dictionary, next to the words disciplined, dedicated, and relentless should be a picture of Western New York’s own Frank Garcia Sr. As a teaching professional at Niagara Frontier Country Club in Youngstown, Garcia has the good fortune of not only sharing his copious knowledge of the golf swing, but also acting as a motivator for others to get in better shape and “treat their bodies better than they treat their cars.”
Garcia is 52, but his doctor tells him he has the body and flexibility of an 18-year-old, and he feels better than he has in years. His body is as toned as his near-flawless golf swing, and people constantly wonder how he does it.
His advice to others aged above 50? “If you don’t use it, you lose it. I’m not much different than anybody else — I’d like to sleep in once in a while. But I feel it’s my duty to my body to get out of bed, eat healthy foods and exercise each day. You’d be amazed at how beneficial simply stretching for 10 minutes a day can be for your overall health.”
Frank Garcia Sr. feels it is not only his duty to his body to work out, eat right, and try alternative methods towards wellness — he feels it is his duty.
“My body is like a sponge when it comes to hardship,” he says. “I was not far from taking a dirt-nap when I had mercury and arsenic poisoning. I have a 25-percent broken spine, I’ve combated cancer, and my allergies are almost totally debilitating during the summer, but I feel like I was given these hardships so that my body can be used as a guinea pig. Maybe some cure can be discovered and help the next person.”
He refuses to be defeated by any ailment, and never stops trying to carve his body into a finely-tuned, healthy machine. “We need to treat our insides better than we treat our outsides, and a lot of people simply don’t do that. They take a shower everyday to clean their outsides, but they never detoxify their insides, and that just doesn’t make sense.”
Interested in feeling as healthy as Frank Garcia? Here is a slight glimpse of the dedication involved:
For breakfast, he starts out with four teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and honey, followed by three organic eggs fried in coconut butter, a piece of specially made bread, and 12 cherries to help control the acidity in his body.
For lunch, Garcia has a couple handfuls of almonds that he roasts himself, and a protein shake.
For dinner, he has a salad, and a nice piece of meat (either filet mignon, Cornish hen, lamb, veal, Alaskan salmon or organic chicken). He ends the night with a piece of organic dark chocolate.
Is Garcia’s diet for everyone? Absolutely not, but the plan is a sensible one. His secret ingredient? “You have to drink water — tons of good-quality, purified water. I purify my water and then run it through an alkalizer.”
Garcia’s workout has been custom-fit for him by the people at the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) to keep his near-perfect golf swing in the greatest shape possible. (Luckily, this is not something limited to golf pros only; it’s an ideal way to take your golf swing to the next level.)
His workout consists of a lot of stretching, aerobic activity and a little weight training. “Falling apart happens at such a rapid pace once you get older,” he says. “You really have no choice but to get out of bed and make the most out of your situation so you can manage the process and fight back.”
While Garcia takes time to relax and with his wife Virginia and two children, Frank Jr. and Dana, he’s always working on his craft, and his health. “My goal is to keep making improvements to my body. Most importantly, I never want to be a burden,” he says. “I never want someone else to be forced to take care of me, so I’ll try my hardest to ensure I’m in good shape in my later years.” Forever humble, it takes a lot for him to admit he is in good shape.
Garcia’s dedication to the game of golf has led to his playing in the Porter Cup three times, and to an endless resume of star golf students and credentials. If you told him he was the greatest golfer, or greatest golf instructor, or the fittest or healthiest person you know, he would reply with a chuckle to acknowledge your compliment, but let you know that he has a long way to go in his mind. That is what makes him so special.
To book a lesson with Frank Garcia Sr., call 440-5736.
Anthony Chabala is a teaching professional at Tan Tara Golf Club in North Tonawanda. He is a PGA Apprentice and instructs multiple local club champions and top-ranked amateurs. To ask a question or book a lesson, contact him at anthonychabala@yahoo.com.
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