Haylie McCleney is enjoying retirement on the golf course. In a new social media post the recently retired softball star shows off her amazing body and swing while on the driving range. “Only took me a week to start swinging again—just traded the bat for a new club. Cheers to retirement!” she captioned the Instagram clip. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
“I always hear people say that it is important to work hard. It is a cliché term that is thrown around by coaches, parents and even teammates. People brag about how hard they work, how busy their schedules are and what they are doing that no one else is, but how is ‘hard work’ defined?” Haylie explained to MLB. “One word that comes to my mind is accountability. Holding yourself accountable means that you alone are ‘required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible.’ There is a growing trend of athletes blaming others for their lack of performance. Blaming bad coaches for bad at-bats, blaming umpires for bad calls that affect statistics, bad weather, bad field conditions. Honestly, none of that matters. No matter how young you are, once you realize that your success and failure is determined by your will and your mindset ALONE, your work ethic takes off, because you know that regardless of the circumstance, you are responsible for the outcome. You have to hold yourself accountable.”
When she was playing, Haylie’s schedule was filled up with training. ” I usually wake up in the morning and head to the gym. The hours from 9 a.m. to noon are typically when I focus on my training, whether it’s lifting, conditioning, hitting, or throwing — whatever I feel I need,” she told Style Blueprint.
Where can you find Haylie in her down time? “I love going to the beach and laying out in the sun. And any free chance I get, my nose is in a book. I’m a big fan of Brené Brown, Cal Newport, and Ryan Holiday,” she told Style Blueprint. One Harvard study published in Social Science & Medicine found that people who read books regularly had a 20% lower risk of dying over the next 12 years compared with people who weren’t readers or who read periodicals.
One of three things that Haylie “can’t live without,” she revealed to Style Blueprint: “Coffee, my journal, and SportsCenter,” she said. According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are several benefits of drinking coffee in moderation. “It acts on your brain to improve memory, mood, reaction times, and mental function,” they say, citing a study finding that caffeine can improve endurance and performance during exercise. It is also antioxidant-rich, can ward off diabetes, prevent neurologic disease, lower cancer risk, and ward off depression, they point out.
In her latest post Haylie reveals that she traded her bat in for a golf club. A comprehensive review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that golf’s health benefits are extensive, including mind, body, and even lifespan. Benefits include improved longevity, decreased risk of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke, good mental health, and improved strength and balance.