Sports & Physical Activity

The importance of sports & physical activity

If you think about sports and physical activity as one thing, then they both involve using movement and agility to perform a certain task. This might be as straightforward as running a certain distance to see who is the fastest. There again, it might involve throwing something, jumping, or a combination of activities. In addition, sports or physical activity will often include the use of specialist equipment. The sport of road cycling, for example, will usually mean investing in very high-tech materials for the most efficient movement. However, the physical activity associated with cycling on an exercise bike will not necessarily need such modern equipment because the exercise is being carried out non-competitively and merely to burn calories and improve cardiovascular health.

As mentioned, any sports or physical activities are good for heart and lung health. Twenty minutes of strenuous exercise a day is recommended to help maintain good cardiovascular health, which will help to prevent conditions like heart disease. Also, frequent physical activity sessions help to lower cholesterol, fight off obesity, and build muscle tone. Moreover, there is a mental health benefit, too, because taking part tends to release hormones in the brain that are known to stave off conditions like anxiety and depression. This is especially the case when sports activities are carried out with friends, so they become sociable sessions.

Physical activities help people to remain fit or to get fitter. In turn, this helps to drive better performance when taking part in competitive sports. For example, a tennis player may commit to regular training sessions with their racket and ball to help improve their serve or backhand returns. However, also taking part in running, swimming, or cycling sessions will help to improve stamina and concentration even though

Playing sports in families often means needing to account for different abilities and physiques. Turn-based sports, such as rounders or croquet, are often a good choice for families. Equally, non-competitive physical activities where the whole family plays as a team work out well. Throwing a frisbee around to one another without dropping it is just one example. Swimming is also suitable for families because races can easily be adapted so that fair competition is possible.

Overall, sports and physical activity differ when there is a competitive element involved. As soon as someone can be declared the 'winner' of an activity, you are talking about sports. When there is no winner, but athletic practices are still in place, then this would constitute physical activity.