WHY TO DO SOME SPORTS?

 Each person who plans to play sports does so for reasons of their own: need to let off steam, desire to surpass themselves, desire to please, etc. The practice of a sports activity often makes it possible to achieve several objectives at once.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OR SPORTS ACTIVITY?

"Sports activity" should not be confused with "physical activity".

Going shopping on foot, cycling on Sunday afternoons with your children, swimming a few lengths in the garden, pool: these activities cannot be called a sport. However, these physical activities are commendable because they fight against sedentary lifestyles. In terms of benefits for one's health, there is no need to practice a sport. Physical activity performed several times a week, or even every day, is enough.

Sports activities include disciplines practiced in clubs or associations and which involve regular training conducted at a steady pace, possibly with the objective of achieving performance.

An activity carried out individually outside an organized framework can also be considered as a sport from the moment it is practiced under the same conditions of regularity and intensity.

The practice of sports requires an investment greater than physical activity, in time and motivation. Before choosing a sport, it is important to ask yourself if this investment is possible in order to avoid disappointment and discouragement.

DOING SPORTS TO LOSE WEIGHT.

Let's break a myth: sport itself is rarely enough to lose weight. For this, it must be combined with a suitable diet. To think that the practice of a sport will be able to compensate for a diet that is too rich is illusory. To burn a kilogram of fat, you would have to do for example 140 km of walking or 100 km of jogging! Regardless of the sport, its ability to burn too many pounds is very limited. So why do we tell people who want to lose weight to play a sport?

When a diet intended to lose weight is set up in isolation by a professional, it will put the body in demand for energy because the diet is no longer enough to cover its needs. Spontaneously, the body will obtain this energy by "burning" fat and muscle, that is, by transforming adipose tissue and muscle proteins into sugars.

The regular practice of a sport will force the body to preserve muscle and turn to fat to find the energy it lacks. For this reason, the practice of a sport is the indispensable companion of a diet intended to lose weight. It allows to burn more energy (the energy expenditure related to sport contributes to the final effect), but above all prevents the body from consuming muscle rather than fat.

In choosing a sport intended to accompany a slimming diet, one tends to prefer endurance sports. Indeed, sports practiced without interruption for at least half an hour are the ones that best trigger the process of fat consumption. In the case of obese people, the choice of sport to practice also depends on the condition of their joints, especially at the hips and knees. For these people, swimming or cycling are well-suited endurance sports because they relieve the joints of body weight.

PLAYING SPORTS TO KEEP FIT.

Staying in shape is the most common motivation for people who play sports. The benefits of a sport on health are very numerous and contribute globally to the improvement of the quality of life:

better pulmonary ventilation;

• strengthening of the heart and vessels, which helps prevent high blood pressure and infarction;
• increased muscle mass and, associated with an adapted diet, decreased fat mass (fight against overweight and obesity);
• decreased risk of type 2 diabetes (fatty diabetes in the elderly);
• maintenance of bones and joints (fight against osteoporosis and osteoarthritis);
• maintenance of reflexes and motor coordination (fight against falls in the elderly);
• fight against stress, isolation, lack of self-esteem, anxiety, and depression;
• Prevention of erection problems (impotence) in men over 40 years of age.

To enjoy all these benefits, it is often more effective to practice several sports or physical activities with complementary virtues. The combination of a sport that develops resistance (e.g. bodybuilding) with a sport that develops endurance (e.g. Swimming) allows complete maintenance of the whole body.

Sport and... Laziness!

It is quite normal to sometimes be reluctant to go exercise: staying at home seems a much better solution when it is cold or raining! A sport that really provides pleasure will quickly forget the small effort necessary to overcome this difficulty and, after the session, will leave an impression of victory over the temptation to stay at home.

PLAYING SPORTS TO FEEL ATTRACTIVE

Beauty is a matter of time, fashion and culture. But from time to time, athletic figures have served as a standard for physical representation. Choosing to do sports to please (or please) is therefore understandable.

This benefit can be felt even without a major change in morphology: a slightly flatter belly, slightly firmer legs can be enough for the person to have a better image of himself and feel more confident in his abilities.

In addition, the simple fact of having a sporting activity, even without much aesthetic benefit, gives a more positive self-image that is also found in the look returned by the entourage.

Erase your small imperfections

Which sports to choose to feel more attracted to?

For a flatter belly: series of abs, of course, but also rower, back crawled, rowing.

For firmer buttocks: jogging, skating, rollerblading, crawling, step, abs-gluteal classes.

For a straighter back: volleyball, basketball, horseback riding, backstroke.

For better designed thighs: jogging, rollerblading, skiing, cycling, fitness.

For a more developed torso (and firmer breasts): swimming, bodybuilding, rowing.

PLAYING SPORTS TO MANAGE STRESS

Many sports activities have a beneficial effect on stress: swimming, shooting, yoga, tai chi, etc. Sport triggers the production of hormones called endorphins in the body. These hormones trigger in the individual, such a feeling of well-being that a real addiction can take hold. Sport also forces you to focus on something other than your dark ideas, work, or domestic troubles. It allows you to have moments for yourself, apart from the hassles of everyday life.

Many sports activities, especially those practiced in the middle of nature, help to escape, to change horizons. A way to get away from problems, not to run away from them, but to approach them more serenely.

The competition allows you to gain better self-confidence and learn to manage moments of tension. It contributes to an improvement in the ability to take a step back, which is the key to stress management.

PLAYING SPORTS TO HAVE FUN

Above all else, pleasure must be the main factor in choosing a sport. Without this sense of pleasure, it is difficult to persevere or maintain the attendance necessary for performance advancements and health benefits.

This pleasure can take on various aspects: immediate excitement felt during training, the euphoria of having passed an event, the joy of improving a personal performance or simply meeting with friends, well-being after a sports activity, etc.

Other pleasures can also be found in sport: extreme sensations (sliding sports, free flight, speed, sports, etc.), different environments (high mountains, seabed, forests, cliffs, etc.).

PLAYING SPORTS TO MEET OTHERS

Sport is often played in pairs or in groups. It is an opportunity to meet up with friends or to make new acquaintances. Sport is sometimes an aid to break isolation. People who prefer individual activities to team sports, however, have the opportunity to practice them in a club where they can meet other amateurs and participate in events within a group.

PLAYING SPORTS FOR THE LOVE OF COMPETITION

Competition (against the elements, an opponent, or a team) is an excellent motivational tool for practicing a sport. Even for an individual sport, the events are often approached by a team. In competition, it is important not to disappoint your coach and partners (and, in the end, yourself) which allows you to train with more assiduity and seriousness. The competition also offers the opportunity to assess one's level, to push one's abilities to the maximum, to learn how to manage the anxiety of the event. It can be done at many levels: Interclub meetings, masters championships (adults), associative tournaments.

Is competition a good thing?

Some athletes do not plan to practice a sports activity without competition at the end. Careful! In the context of a competition, it is quite possible to exceed, without realizing it, one's physical abilities and to lead to accidents. Age must also be taken into account. Participating in sports competitions when you are past your forties is riskier.

If the goal of an athlete is to keep in shape, to relax without being tempted by the competition, he must not force himself. Sport must remain a pleasure, it is not necessary to suffer in order to progress.