Sports-Type Exercise

Doing a sport usually means taking serious exercise. In fact, many sports were originally invented so rich young people -- who didn’t need to do any physical labor -- could keep themselves in shape. They did this by playing something amusing... Tennis, badminton, croquet, ice skating, cricket and baseball all fall into this category of sports type exercise.

Other team sports, such as football, were invented to channel the excess energies of adolescent boys into something less violent than being in gangs. Even Scouting (as in the Boy Scouts) began in England as a way to keep teenage males out of trouble and channel those energies into something useful for those times.

And while sports-type exercise began as amusements for the rich - while the poor slaved their butts off just to stay alive - modern sports have become something that most people just sit on their backsides and watch, through the wonders of television.

Being a keen sports fan, even if you visit the stadium, won't make you fit. I mean, watching sport doesn’t make you fit. You have to actually do the activity to get the benefits. That’s exercise.

You can get your exercise alone by jogging, running, walking or swimming. Or maybe you can join a group or a team. Personally, I’d be more inclined to look for a group rather than a team. You see, in a group, everybody wins. But in a team, it’s normally competitive, so there is pressure not to lose in competition with all the rival teams.

Some sports like tennis can be played socially or, if you get good enough, competitively. You can play tennis for fitness and then take your choice once you’ve gotten fitter... and decide if you want to play "comp" or not. There are many other sports and activities you can get in to for fun and fitness.

Think baseball, softball, rounders, hockey, cricket, rowing. All of the things you or your kids were offered when you went through school. That's why they had a sports program, to help us grow up fit and healthy. But once we left school and "grew up" we forgot about it all, didn't we?

At this stage, I think you’ll agree, the aim is to lose weight and keep it off. We do that by dieting, losing weight, exercising regularly, and changing to a permanent healthy eating plan.

It’s different strokes for different folks. Some people get into martial arts for exercise, others swim or play golf. You pays your money and you makes your choice, as they say.

If you stop and slide back to your old ways, guess what happens... All the weight comes back, with a vengeance! I've done it, and most of us have. So you know that's true. Your new healthy lifestyle needs to become a full-time way of life. And it’s so much more enjoyable if you can keep fit with a sports type exercise. Or at least do things with a friend.

Now, a look at exercise to burn fat.