The Impact of Sports on Health and Well-Being

Not all sports activities are suitable for everyone. In general, sports practice is recommended for sports professionals, while physical exercise is recommended for non-professionals. Sport can cause injuries very often; however, physical exercise can rarely do any harm.

Physical exercise is conceived as any aerobic activity that is sustained over time, which "allows you to speak while you are practicing"; that is, it is not strong enough to cause the person to breathe difficult, ragged, or wheezing.

Exercises considered aerobic are preferred: those that use long muscle groups, which produce deeper breathing and more regular heart work. This type of exercise improves physical, respiratory and cardiac capacity, tends to balance blood pressure, heart rate and contractions and reduce plasma glucose and blood cholesterol levels, while increasing muscle strength and preventing osteoporosis.

In general, any amount of physical exercise, no matter how little, is better than none at all. However, the general objective is to carry out regular and sustained physical exercise over time for 30 to 60 minutes a day.

For example, walking briskly, jogging or biking or swimming during this time, at an intensity that does not cause wheezing and allows you to breathe at a rate that allows you to continue talking. Other aerobic exercises can be cross-country skiing, rowing, etc., with an intensity and duration equivalent to walking at a good pace.

Before starting an exercise program, it will be essential to consult with your family doctor to find out the previous state of health and what the individual recommendation is, especially if for a while you have not performed any physical activity or it has been very scarce.

The beginning of the physical exercise program should be gradual from a slight effort, to gradually progress until reaching the goal of 30 to 60 minutes a day.

Some recommendations to make physical exercise a safe, enjoyable and healthy activity can be:

• The activity carried out must be to the liking of the person and appropriate to their state of health and training.
• Choose a comfortable time, at hours with a comfortable temperature and never after the main meals.
• Prioritize outdoor activity, in natural or pleasant and comfortable environments.
• Change activities and routines from time to time: alternating between walking, cycling or swimming, etc., so as not to make the activity a monotonous event.
• It is recommended to do it in the company of another person with whom you get along, or with some nice complement such as listening to music.
• Be patient, progress should not be unnaturally accelerated; each person progresses at their own pace.
• The end goal should be the maintenance of an optimal level of health, not the achievement of a certain mark.
• Neither pain nor suffering are beneficial to health at all: they are warnings that something is wrong and that the activity is exceeding physical or mental capacities.

To conclude, the most advisable and easy physical exercise to do because it does not require special supplements and because it is safe (it can rarely cause injuries), is usually taking daily walks at a good pace, lasting 30 to 60 minutes in an environment natural (urban park or in nature), preferably in the company of another person with whom you get along. With this, the benefits will not be limited to the physical sphere, but this physical activity will result in added psychological and social benefits.