Well, it is emphasized, the only way to live a longer, healthier life is by keeping fit and eating a balanced diet. Maintaining a balanced diet is always an easy achievement; you only need to have a balanced ratio of carbs, proteins, and vitamins infused in your everyday meal. The fitness bit can be a hustle that you must sweat out to achieve. There are several best sports for overall fitness that one can get involved in to enhance their overall health. Each sport works on several muscles, while some ensure your whole body is worked.
What is fitness?
In our context, fitness is defined by every aspect of your health. It is the state of being physically fit mentally healthy and emotionally healthy.
In this article we will focus on sports events that will keep you both fit and healthy.
What components does an activity offer to be categorized as a fitness achieving sport?
Generally, the sport must be able to improve;
- Cardiorespiratory endurance: The longer your heart, lungs, and muscles work together while excising, the better since you can exercise or engage in an activity for longer without running out of air.
- Muscular strength: The higher the force produced by your muscles on a single effort improves body alignment, increases your metabolism and performing everyday actions like walking become more tranquil.
- Muscular endurance: How well your muscles can sustain repeated contractions against a resistance for long periods.
- Flexibility: The range of movements your body and joints can perform to induce a bending motion. The more quickly you can bend, the better. Though this could be subjective in terms of age, younger people are, by default, more flexible
- Calorie burn Burning or reducing calorie levels on our bodies increases our mobility and improves heart functionality
- Injury risk: Attached to the muscular endurance, your muscles’ ability to resist, withstand, and recover from wounds or fatigue increases its ability to reduce injury risk.
Toping our list today Best sports for overall fitness
Squash
According to Forbes, squash sports top the list of the sports for overall fitness. That’s because the game targets almost all your body muscles while you play. As you alternate in striking the ball hitting a wall with racquets on the playable surfaces, you are forced to move back and forth. Your shoulders, arms, chest, quads, glutes, back, and hamstrings will contract and strain against the resistance. Therefore it works all your muscles. But that’s not all; the game demands speed, agility, balance, and endurance that will improve your overall physical performance and mental health.
So while engaging in squash, you get to burn calories, boost flexibility, develop muscle strength and power, and your hand-eye coordination is much improved.
Cycling
While cycling is seasonal for most people, I find it the best and easiest way of keeping fit while having fun too. Also, it doesn’t have to be seasonal, you can cycle within your neighborhood, while on vacation, cycle to work, and still be fit regardless.
Cycling is a low – impact way in burning calories up to 1200 calories at high speeds, leaving you a more flexible body. It is an excellent aerobic exercise as it works on your thighs, back, and arm muscles boost your muscle strength, allowing you to produce higher power and engage for longer. Since you race against the wind, your cardiovascular fitness is improved, and your brain becomes stronger. Studies show that people who cycle more often happier. I agree!
Swimming
Swimming ranks as the best sport for your heart. It is a low-stress activity that puts your heart and lungs capacity to the test. You need to take in gasps of air and move your arms and legs while maintaining a body balance over /underwater. These activities engage your entire body, enhancing your lung capacity and improves your heart functionality. You get to build stronger muscles with high endurance while burning calories. Swimming allows one to gain a healthy body balance.
Not to leave out, swimming is a fun event you can engage in all year round, both indoor and outdoor, regardless of age.
Running
Running is among the best cardio exercises that set your heart into racing and get your muscles in motion. It demands high physical engagement that makes the bones grow stronger, thereby reducing risk of bone and muscle loss. Racing towards or against requires you to balance your air intake ad breathing. Continuous constant running increases your cardiorespiratory endurance so you can run for longer.
It is a sport for both the old and young to participate, and you do not need a set-out stadium to do so. Run at the park, or along main roads for a great fit and healthy body. Marathoners confess to having improved mental health and concentration.
You also get experience the famed “runner high.”
Gymnastics
You need to be in great shape and flexible to be a gymnast. It requires both your physical and mental facilities to perform well. A gymnast is subjected to a high concentration and mental focus. You get to become a thinker and decision-maker. A minor wrong decision, and you miss your stunt. It also helps in balancing body weight.
Tennis
Up your aerobics by playing tennis and burn up to 600 calories in a single session. All the sprints, slams and pivots that take you from edge to edge make you exert energy in bursts. These help in increase arm strength, cardiovascular health and improved coordination.
Rowing
Rowing is a water based sport that will ultimately increase arm strength while you row. Studies show rowing helps in reducing weight with tough muscles and low risk injury. The sport is enjoyed outdoors, so have fun and cut down!
Basket ball
This is a high energy sport that will leave you all sweaty and tired. Regardless, it comes with tons of benefits for your body. First it boosts your confidence and self-discipline, next your cardiovascular health is improved. Thirdly you get to have a proper balance, coordination and spatial awareness. You also get to concentrate better and endure high energy activities. Your bones also become strengthened.
Wrestling
Well with wresting you not only gain physical fitness but also acquire useful self defence mechanisms. Though wresting is feared by most, lately, it has increased in popularity as more people are joining in whether for fun, fitness or in competitions.
The movements and stunt you make while wrestling improves body mobility and also burn some calories thereby aid in weight loss. One gets higher concentration and mental focus with an improved coordination.
Cross-county skiing
Skiing is a full body work out that burns out the highest calories than any other sport. Mountaineering will burn out about 1000 plus calories in an hour. Proven, it is a physical activity that will help you cut out that weight while increasing your cardio health.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the best sports for overall fitness cause motion and strain to almost all the body muscles. Repeated contractions on the muscles work your body, thereby reducing risks of bones, joints issues. As you enjoy your sport take caution not to overdo it. Workout within safe limitations to minimize risk injury. Almost all sports activities contribute to your fitness. Choose one that you enjoy and keep at it, you will experience all the above. And for the dedicated sportsmen and women train as necessary and bag that win!
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