Sports exercise

I love sports.  It is what keeps kids active for years and it is my primary source to staying fit.  Even when I’m not playing sports, the teams I play for and my teammates that depend on me and my top performance give me the motivation to hit the weights and exercise even when I don’t have a ball to chase.  Playing sports affects and adapts the mind more than exercises alone.  Motivation to stay on the task is also much higher and it is frequently more enjoyable.  Here are the reasons why:

Because sports require competitors to outdo each other, willpower, and determination are increased.
To aid in the competition’s survival the body increases adrenaline.  Adrenaline Increases heart rate and breathing, physiological initiation of the flight or fight response.  Increases muscle contraction speed and energy consumption.  Neurotransmitter. Aids in long term memory retention, appetite suppressant, decreases insulin, helps maintain blood pressure, aids in switching to the use of fats to maintain exertion.

Team work
Working as a team causes the release of oxytocin which gives a sense of caring, joy.  Stress reliever, calmer.  It helps in retaining positive memories and suppressing negative ones.

Being watched increases stress.  If this is eustress this will cause an increase in adrenaline.

Problem solving
Recreational activity affects more the ability to adapt to different situations than exercise alone.  Problem solving occurs constantly in sports to defeat your opponent, and combined with exercise this accelerates the brains capabilities to problem solve.

Immediate results
Unlike exercise where results are difficult to be seen and sometimes can’t be noticed until months later, a sport shows the athlete immediately the results of their work.  They are scored and grades almost as soon as they are finished.  This score is rarely perfect and the athlete knows what score they need to get next time in order to beat the previous.

Sports are more exciting than regular exercise, this causes the heart beat to rise faster and higher than regular exercise.  With this elevated heart beat the body burns more calories and raises the metabolism to burn more calories even when not exercising.  Because the activity is more exciting, more endorphins are released which are a natural pain killer and appetite suppressant. Endorphins give feeling of emotional well being and enhances immune response. Increased focus, Dilates eyes, cognitive initiation of the flight or fight response.  Endorphins are also a very affective antidepressant and neurotransmitter.

Join a team!  Incorporate sports and competition into your exercise regime and you may find some more motivation (and fun) to help you continue in your healthy lifestyle

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