At the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, the world was ecstatic to know that Paris, France, will be the following host country. The excitement surrounding the recently concluded sports event still hasn’t subsided, especially given that it still managed to deliver the true essence of sports despite it occurring amidst a pandemic.
The athletes who got to join the Olympics are the best of the best. But behind their perfect performances and medals are countless hours of hard work and training. Aside from sports being away for incredibly skillful athletes to join major sporting events, it also helps people achieve a fit and healthy body and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Most sports included in the Olympics, like marathons, cycling, and gymnastics, feature highly intensive routines that will indeed have you sweating buckets. If you’re aiming for a fit and muscular physique, why not try some intense sports that make the Olympics?
Running
You don’t have to train like Usain Bolt during your running sessions; you can run at your own pace and increase your distance and speed from there. Even with the littlest full-body moves, you can already break a sweat. So if you go on a run, even just for thirty minutes, you’re guaranteed to sweat a ton and burn unwanted calories.
Swimming
The trademark of a cardio exercise is that it works out most areas of your body. Though it doesn’t look like it, swimming does just that. Even though most people play this sport to relax, swimming is a powerful type of cardio, mainly if you perform challenging strokes within a time limit. For you to reach both ends of a pool, powerful strokes and efficient breathing techniques are vital, letting you not only work most muscle groups in your body but also keep your heart and lungs healthy.
Cycling
Like running, cycling treats you to beautiful sceneries while building and toning your leg muscles. Whether you’re riding on flat and smooth roads or traversing rocky and uphill trails, you can increase your heart rate and improve your endurance and stamina. Doing so gives you an effective cardio workout.
Soccer
Soccer is a game that requires you to be physically fit and needs you to develop foresight. That will enable you to think ahead and create winning strategies. With soccer, you’re constantly on the field, looking for an opening to score a goal, keeping both your mind and body active. For added training flexibility, you can also try football from time to time. But you must wear proper gear, including a high-impact mouth guard and cleats, to protect yourself during matches.
Tennis
As with other sports, tennis also comes with plenty of benefits. For instance, while you’re training to hit the tennis ball, you also enhance your arm muscles, speed, and hand-eye coordination. Furthermore, this sport helps improve your flexibility and strength, given that you have to swing a racket and hit every high-speed ball. To add, it’s also beneficial in helping reduce your blood pressure and body fat.
Martial Arts
Unlike other sports, martial arts will surely give you pain, especially after matches. Bruises and cuts are inevitable parts of this sport. To withstand your opponents’ blows, you first have to undergo plenty of intensive training sessions and rigorous diets. Muscle strength and endurance are vital for different martial arts. You can achieve them through thorough training so that even if you don’t get to participate in official matches, the routines alone already make for an effective cardio workout.
Hockey
Hockey, like other sports, also comes with the benefits of a cardio workout. But what sets it apart is the fact that it’s focused on enhancing coordination. Since this sport requires players to move within a vast playing field, it helps develop their balance, hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills, and spatial thinking. When you think about it, the advantages are helpful even in real-life situations. Besides achieving a fit and toned physique, you also get many other benefits.
Volleyball
Volleyball is a group sport wherein you coordinate with other players, making it great for enhancing teamwork. This team sport requires players to get a feel of their teammates during matches to prevent collisions and successfully return the ball to the other side of the court. Aside from coordination, this team sport also offers many physical benefits. It primarily concentrates on toning the muscles on your pecs, arms, shoulders, upper and lowers back, core, glutes, thighs, and calves.
For now, using sports as exercise may be a way for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In the future, with great determination and the right sport, who knows? You might land a spot on the Olympic team and find yourself in the 2024 Olympics.
