If you’re thinking of taking up a new sport, then take a look at our handy guide below. We’ll be listing some of the best sports to take up depending on your individual preferences and needs, as well as the best ways to help make sure your health is supported when taking up new sports pursuits. Keep reading if you would like to find out more.
Simple Guide to 6 Things You Need to Know When Taking Up a New Sport
The Importance Of Warming Up And Cooling Down
When taking up a new sport, it’s important to make sure you take the time to prepare your muscles to avoid strain to them or injury. This should not only be done when your first start out with a new sport but even when you’re more experienced.
Warming up your muscles helps to avoid sports-related injuries such as muscle strains and tears and improves blood flow around the body. It also gives your heart a chance to begin increasing your heart rate gradually, rather than as a sudden shock to the system. It will help to improve your flexibility and oxygen intake which can help to improve your performance during sports as well as your stamina.
Examples of how to warm up your muscles include stretches such as lunges, fast-paced walking, arm swings, squats, and jogging on the spot. After you have finished playing a sport, you also need to allow your muscles to cool down. This can include breathing exercises, gentle stretching, and a slow walk.
Foods To Support Your Health When Playing Sports
If you’re going to be taking up a new sport, it’s important to make sure you’re supporting your health to do so. This includes making sure your bones and muscles are strong and healthy, which will decrease your risk of injury. If you have a pre-existing health condition, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor before taking up a new sport in case it will put a strain on your health.
When you begin a new sport, you will need to make sure you’re adding extra nutrition to your diet to help boost your health and protect your body from the increased activity and strain it will experience. Important nutrients to add to your diet include things such as calcium and vitamin D for good bone strength, magnesium and potassium for increased energy levels, and meats, fish, and nuts as a source of protein for muscle strength and repair.
Taking Supplements For Sports
Sometimes it can be difficult to get all the nutrients we need from the food we consume alone. Therefore, adding supplements to your routine could help with introducing the vitamins and minerals you need. Meritene Proactive is a simple way to help make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need to support bone health, energy levels, and muscle strength and repair.
It’s also important to make sure you’re staying hydrated and drinking more water when taking up a new sport to avoid dehydration and poor performance.
Water-Based Sports
If you want to take up a new sport and you love water-based activities, then here are a few options for you to consider. If you want an adrenaline rush, learning to surf could be the perfect water sport for you, or perhaps white-water rafting. Or if you want something a bit calmer, paddleboarding and kayaking allow you to enjoy the calmer waters of the sea and lakes. Swimming is one of the best options when it comes to choosing a new sport, due to the full-body workout it can offer.
Best Low-Impact Sports
If you’ve got an existing injury or you want to avoid potential injury, then you could consider some of the following sports. We’ve mentioned that swimming is one of the best options for a full-body workout, however, it’s also one of the best low-impact sports to take up too. For this reason, it’s often recommended for those with weak bones, those recovering from an injury, and pregnant women.
Cycling is another great option as it doesn’t put too much strain on the bones and joints of the body in comparison to other forms of exercise such as running. If you’re more interested in exercising as a hobby rather than a sport, you could also consider hiking as this is a great way to give your body a workout without too much strain. You can also choose the level of intensity you want to push yourself to by the different routes and paths you choose to hike on.
Best Sports For Cardiovascular Health
If you’re looking to give your heart a workout and improve your cardiovascular health, then some good sporting options include running, boxing, soccer, and weightlifting. All of these sports give your heart a workout and improve the blood flow around your body. Improving your cardiovascular health can help to reduce the chances of developing conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Taking part in events such as marathons also helps to give you an extra boost of motivation to pursue your new sport.
