Running isn’t everything – what other sports to do? 

Running is not the only sport in the world. Everyone knows that. Therefore, you don’t have to limit yourself to just running. You can add to your plan other sports that interest you the most. Maybe you were once fascinated by a certain sport? Be brave and make your dream come true. Start training it. 

In this article, I’ll introduce you to a few sports that you might enjoy and see the benefits they have for your health, body, and spirit 🙂 

Why do different sports? 

“Well, exactly why? After all, I can only run and it’s enough for me – running, exercise, diet.”

Of course, you can, but there are several advantages that I will present to you and you will see that it is worth it.

• Comprehensive development of the whole body – surely you know that different sports develop different parts of the body, for example, in football it will be the legs, in swimming it will be the arms and shoulders. By doing different sports you can slowly develop muscles in different parts of the body. This makes it less likely that you will develop an injury. 
• You will meet new people – do you have friends who run? Wonderful. You can expand your circle of friends by choosing other sports as well. You can add yourself to various groups on social media and find someone close to you who does the same activity and do it together. 
• No boredom – let’s face it, constant running can get boring. However, if you add other sports to your routine then every day becomes more interesting. Not only will you not be bored, but also your body. If you repeat the same exercises, eventually your body will get used to them and you will stop seeing an improvement in your figure or weight loss. 
• More competitions to choose from – many competitions allow you to combine several sports into one such as duathlon or triathlon. 
• An injury won’t be a reason to take a break – can’t run? Ask your doctor what other sports you can do during your rehabilitation.
• Say goodbye for a while to your problems – if you want to relax you go for a run. Sometimes this is not enough – other sports can help reduce stress even better than running in the park. 
• Better athletic ability and skills. 

What sport should I do? Choose biking

The most common additional sport that runners choose is cycling. Not surprisingly, both of them are done outdoors, but with a special machine, you can also exercise at home (treadmill, orbiter).

Probably there is nothing better than riding a bike, enjoying the beautiful views and the wind in your hair. What’s more, by cycling you can exercise both in the city on flat terrain and in forests and mountains (this is more extreme). 

When cycling at optimal speed, you can burn about 500 kcal during one hour of training. 

But let’s get to the most important part, what are the benefits of cycling:

• strengthens thigh and calf muscles,
• does not strain the joints,
• improves motor coordination, 
• reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, 
• improves well-being, 
• improves the efficiency of the body, 
• slims down the figure,
• increases lung capacity. 

What sport should I do? – boxing 

Boxing is the perfect sport for anyone who wants to get all their negative emotions out. Really, for many people, such training helps to cool down. A dozen punches on a punching bag can work wonders. 

How many calories can you burn during an hour and a boxing workout hitting a punching bag? 600-800 kcal. That’s quite a lot. 

What are the advantages of boxing?

• you strengthen the muscles of the arms, abdomen, buttocks, and shoulders,
• you gain more confidence and shape your character, 
• you improve your strength, reflexes, balance, and flexibility, 
• improve your concentration,
• helps you sculpt your figure,

Interestingly, it is believed that boxing is the best sport if you want to lose weight. 

Ice skating – the perfect sport for the winter season

What sport should I do? When there is snow outside the window, the temperature drops and sometimes it is hard to leave the apartment. The answer is Ice skating. 

Maybe you are lucky and live near an arena with an ice rink that is open all year. Then you can go ice skating whenever you want! 

Depending on how intense your workout is on the ice, you can burn 300 to 800 kcal. 

What benefits will you get from ice skating?

• helps exercise coordination and balance,
• strengthens abdominal, thigh, and buttock muscles, 
• improves joint flexibility, 
• stimulates circulation, 
• shapes your figure, 
• improves fitness, mood, and mental performance,
• reduces the risk of heart attack and hypertension. 

Love to skate and don’t have an ice rink close by that you can go to in spring-autumn? I have a great alternative for you – roller skating. You will be able to travel many kilometers on the asphalt while burning 600-700 kcal per hour of training!

Dance not only during the party! 

Dancing is also a great way to move off the couch and burn some calories. The amount of them is hard to pin down because it all depends on the intensity, but it’s from 250 to even 500 kcal in an hour. 

You don’t have to sign up for any dance courses. The best form of training will be dancing at home. Turn on your favorite music and start moving. You don’t have to worry about your movements, no one will judge you. 

If you don’t have any ideas about how to dance by yourself, you can use some interesting forms: 

• find dance courses on Youtube, 
• invest in a console with Kinect – do the same steps as the person on the TV, and the Kinect will detect your movements and award you points for the figures you perform (e.x. Just Dance) 
• look for dance courses close to your home 
• learn dance routines to your favorite songs – it’s all over the Internet. The most popular right now is K-pop. You can always find tutorials for songs of your favorite group or you can learn the moves from fancams of your favorite band member on Youtube. 

Thanks to dancing you will be able to relax, strengthen your muscles, gain more confidence, and improve your balance and flexibility. You will not be bored. 

Go to the tennis court – the tennis 

Want to train in something more original than running and cycling? Choose tennis. Go there with your friends and play a match. During an hour of such training, you will burn about 500-600 kcal. 

What are the advantages of playing tennis? 

• strengthen the muscles of the arms, abdomen, and legs, 
• positively affects the cardiovascular system and heart function, 
• improves motor coordination, 
• sculpts the figure, 
• reduces stress. 

“I have no one to play tennis with.”

Don’t let this be an excuse. You can go to special rooms where the tennis ball can be bounced off the wall. This way the training will be even more intense. 

Team sports – don’t practice alone

Do you want very much to start practicing a sport other than running, but don’t want to do it alone? What sport should I play, you may ask? Choose a sport for which you need to gather a whole team. And if you don’t have one, then who knows, maybe you can join someone on the field or find a sports club near your home. This is a very good option to meet new people. You can choose among others: basketball, volleyball or soccer. 

Thanks to such sports: 

• you will meet new people or talk to your friends and have a nice time,
• you will relieve stress, 
• strengthen your muscles, 
• improve your reflexes, 
• improve your fitness. 

What sport should I do? – swimming 

Swimming is becoming increasingly popular. It is best to take advantage of this option if you live near a swimming pool. Many people immediately give up on the idea because they don’t know how to swim. Sign up for swimming lessons at the pool to learn how to do it and have no excuses. 

During an hour of intense swimming, you can burn up to 900 kcal! Isn’t that wonderful? Remember, however, that when swimming, you need to make sure that your workouts are regular. The best option would be to swim 2 times a week for at least 45 minutes each. 

What are the benefits of going to the pool?

• strengthens abdominal muscles, arms, buttocks, legs,
• improves fitness and endurance,
• increases lung capacity (supports the respiratory system)
• improves blood circulation in the body, 
• improves body flexibility and motor coordination, 
• helps reduce stress. 

Yoga – relax your body 

Do you want to feel fully relaxed? Are you dreaming of light movements that will help stretch and relax your body, especially after a hard day? Choose yoga. If you don’t know what exercises to do, turn on Youtube videos – there you will find a lot of channels with many videos and tutorials. 

How many calories will you burn during yoga training? It all depends on the style you choose – from 190 to even 500 kcal. 

What are the benefits of yoga?

• improves flexibility,
• stretches the entire body, 
• improves body control, 
• strengthens muscles, 
• relaxes.

“What sport should I do”? It has to be said that it is not one-size-fits-all, so you should choose what you like the most. The most important thing is that you derive not only health benefits from this activity but also joy from doing it. Otherwise, it’s pointless, after a few workouts you’ll get bored or forcefully exercise.