Play your way to fitness and spend fewer hours working out in the gym. Taking up a sport and playing regularly can give you the benefits of a workout program while you are socializing and having fun. Forbes magazine published a widely referred to list of the 10 healthiest sports, breaking them down by types of fitness benefits. But there are even more choices for lifetime fitness, sports that tax your level of ability and keep you moving and playing hard at any age.
Tennis
Squash is at the top of the Forbes list because it's a fast, total workout for a busy Wall Street trader. In 30 minutes, you get a complete cardio workout, and the sprinting, twisting, lunging and racquet work build muscle, too. But a lifelong sport with less risk of injury is tennis, which you can play at a gentler pace. Tennis requires the flexibility, endurance, muscle strength and quick reflexes of squash, but it can be played at a wider range of fitness levels and tempos. According to the International Tennis Federation, 30 minutes of tennis burns more calories than a stationary bike, a rowing machine or time on the golf course. The running, sprinting, serving and volleys lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. The strenuous and constant movement builds muscle and keeps you flexible. You have the option to play outdoors and in accessible parks and community facilities. And you can play tennis as aggressively or moderately as your temperament and ability permit.
Swimming
Swimming is the third most popular sports activity for people in the U.S., according the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A handy pool is as good as a gym for keeping you fit, but form is the key to a healthy swimming workout. By using good form and setting up a regular, challenging program, swimmers develop tremendous endurance, upper body strength, cardiovascular conditioning, and flexibility. The risk of injury is lower when you are supported by water, and swimming is a good sport for rehabilitation or disabled exercisers. It has important bone health benefits for seniors. You do need some compensatory workouts or activities for lower body strength, and an alignment exercise like yoga is helpful for maintaining good form. Rowing provides an intense but similar workout -- stressing the upper arms, working the heart and the leg muscles. But rowing is less accessible and less likely to be a lifelong regular activity than swimming.
Running
Running is No. 7 on the Forbes' top 10, with plenty of caveats about limited fitness benefits and potential injury. Runners do burn calories -- the longer you run the greater the fuel expended. But running itself doesn't work the upper body and provides no flexibility bonus for the legs. Stress fractures, pulled muscles and joint injuries are a real concern, so a running habit needs supplementing with stretches, targeted weight training or swimming as cross-training options. Running and jogging are inexpensive and portable workouts that can be tempered to suit ability and age. Runners get outside, usually daily, so they are not vitamin D deficient. A complementary winter sport for days when blizzards have dumped snow on a favorite trail is cross-country skiing. It uses many of the same muscles and skills and has the same cardio advantage as a strenuous long run.
Member Comments