Playing sports is something many love to do, I for one love to take up sport as a great way to keep fit. For others it is something they loved doing when they were younger, but long ago they just stopped and the opportunity hasn’t arisen where they have started actively participating once again. And this is such a shame.
There are two obvious reasons that I tell people to take up sport. The first is that it is a fun thing to do. The second is that playing sport on a regular basis goes a long way in maintaining your physical and mental well-being.
Well, sports have always been a big part of my life. As a kid I would play football every minute I could, and played competitively till I got to about 25 when gym workouts became my number one activity. Although I still enjoyed playing squash for the competitiveness that it gave me, and badminton for the fun and social side. Nowadays I still have my squash, badminton and tennis rackets close to hand in case I get a game and I know sport will always be something I simply want to do. I suppose the sport I was once best at was table tennis, having played at quite a high level, and I still feel the buzz when I have the bat in my hand, even though I only do this when I’m on a holiday.
Sport has always been a big deal to me, and as you know there’s nothing I enjoy more than cycling, running or rowing in the gym, or challenging my body with weights, the latter in particular.
What I know is sporting activities can actually improve your health, fitness levels, wellbeing and overall quality of life, and it can be so much fun, everyone should be doing it. Sport is considered as a healthy activity that not just keeps you fit but also has lots of other benefits. Let’s take a look at what these are.
There are many Physical Health Benefits. From cycling, swimming to running, football, rugby, hockey, and all kind of sports are a good form of exercise and help in maintaining good overall health.
- It helps in reducing glucose level and keeps you fit.
- While you play you burn calories so great for weight loss.
- As you engage in physical activities you develop your fitness levels build your physical strength and cardiovascular conditioning.
- It boosts your endurance. As a result, everyday chores will eventually no longer feel as tiring.
- You will have more energy and be able to do more feeling less fatigued.
- In addition sport activities will strengthen your heart and make it pump the blood more efficiently and It will lower your blood pressure and cholesterol.
- Sport activities will dramatically reduce the risk of a number of diseases including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and even some types of cancer.
Also you will gain many Mental Health Benefits:
- Sports teach you to accept defeat without losing heart, thus helps in making you mentally stronger.
- You learn how to handle both success and failure. It helps you develop good sportsmanship. As you play, you learn how to accept defeat with style and celebrate victory with humility.
- Playing sports teaches you to think on your feet. You need to devise strategies to win, you need to decide whether to take an offensive stand or a defensive one. You need to judge your opponent’s strategy and modify yours accordingly. This definitely involves clear thinking, which sports encourage.
- It often leads to a sense of accomplishment. As you score that memorable goal you pump yourself up emotionally.
- Sport is a great way to prevent stress from affecting your health. Physical activity stimulates release of a certain chemicals in your brain which help you relax and improve your mood, while the sport itself forces you to focus on playing which in turn makes you forget all about the difficulties at work or home.
- It is natural to feel good about yourself when you have fun, do something worthwhile and become more competent at what you do.
Improvements in Your Sleep Cycle
All kind of sports involves lots of physical activity and in turn makes you feel exhausted, so games can be a good solution for an extremely comforting night sleep.
Development of Social Skills
Sports teaches you to interact with other people especially in team sports. It offers you the opportunity to develop camaraderie. As you see and play with others on a continual basis, you are likely to become friends with some of them.
So I hope you are starting to see some good reasons for you to begin taking up sport once again.
If today finds you unfit and terribly unhealthy start taking up a sport and I would go as far as to say it will be one of the best things you’ve ever done.
My suggestion to anybody is try out different sporting activities to find out what you like. Some people love the gym while others are fans of the great outdoors. You will find an activity that you like and feel comfortable with which means you’ll enjoy exercising and will keep coming back for more.
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