The Sport, welfare and sustainability: there is a link between these concepts that is not only theoretical. There are many sports activities that can be practiced outdoors. Besides fighting a sedentary lifestyle with immediate benefits for the mind and body, they represent an opportunity to enjoy nature better and take care of the environment.
Sport
The dictionary contains the following definition: a physical activity organized according to the rules, which can be individual or as a team.
Pierre de Coubertin, the inspirer of the modern Olympic Games, says that "sport seeks fear to dominate it, the effort to overcome it, the difficulty to win it". .
After all, sport is a matter of perspective, motivation and desire. For this reason there are many: solitary, group, strong, elegant, rich, economic, classical or modern.
Did you know, for example, that chess is considered a sport?
To find the true definition of sport, perhaps everyone should answer the question: what is sport for you? What do you want?
Meaning of the word sport
The word derives from English and means 'fun' but also 'shows with pride'. Actually it comes in the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary only in '500 as an abbreviation of' French desport ', of which Spanish sport and Italian pleasure.
It was introduced into the Italian vocabulary only in the 19th century, through France, but at first it served to indicate something free.
The modern meaning attributed to the word sport of "practice of physical exercises at different levels", both amateur and agonistic, occurred in the mid-twentieth century.
Sport as a way of life
Caring for your physical form means spending at least half an hour a day on a healthy and enjoyable activity. Better still if it is practiced outdoors, favoring direct contact with the natural environment. This allows the body to be oxygenated and free of accumulated stresses.
Overweight and sedentary lifestyle, in fact, are the main dangers of this era and should be eradicated from everyday life.
In addition, through the practice of outdoor sports, it is possible to breathe clean air and develop a more mature environmental awareness. That's why doing sports in is convenient for everyone!
About age
Physical activity varies with age. You can not expect to make the same, intense and prolonged efforts before the age of 20, when you are 60 or 70 years old, even if you are extremely trained.
The body changes in the course of life and reacts differently. You have to adapt However, in any physical condition and age, we recommend a small daily movement.
The World Health Organization (WHO) offers recommendations on sports practice for age groups:
From 5 to 17 years, at least 60 minutes a day of moderate or sustained activity that stimulates the child's cardiac activity and at least 3 times a week an activity that strengthens the muscular system and the skeletal system.
Starting at age 18, we recommend 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of sustained activity, and up to 300 minutes per week to increase health benefits.
Always consult a doctor before starting the practice to rule out any contraindications.
Benefits
There are so many advantages to practicing sports. Even running and walking, for example, are economic activities that do not require special equipment, apart from a good pair of sports shoes, but they are one of the most popular sports and more benefits in the osteo-articular system and decrease in weight.
Sports activities have many physical, psychological and social advantages:
Help the cardio-circulatory system.
Fight cholesterol.
Help control body weight.
Helps rehabilitation, which allows the patient to recover their physical abilities or develop other new social instructive ludic competitive, in relation to others, but also to themselves.
As a social integration
Maybe we do not believe that sport can be a form of redemption, both socially and physically, because it can help people, especially young people, who find themselves in difficulties due to poverty, unregulated life, the underworld, the violence, pharmacological or psychological doping to find the strength and self-confidence to get out of the sad situation in which they find themselves.
Thanks to sports practice there is a reduction in the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, and the advantages are also psychological, with a decrease in the depressive and self-destructive phases and social, as it increases social inclusion.
As a therapy
The most well-known virtues of sports, especially aerobic ones, are related to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. But its constant practice makes it an essential element of physical and psychological rehabilitation, since it allows the development of self-confidence in sick or disabled people, pushes to exploit their intelligence, increases the spirit of competition and camaraderie.
Physical activity has numerous therapeutic benefits because it allows the patient to recover their physical abilities or develop new ones. In addition, it helps to relate to others, but also to oneself
Therefore, the use of physical and sports practice is born as part of the course of care in hospitals.
As a medicine
The main advantages derive from the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, but it also lends itself to medicine for patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic diseases.
In fact, movement and training are a great stimulant for the brain and the body, since they improve the psychological balance, the tolerance of the treatments, the effectiveness of the therapies, strengthen the immune system and reduce the sensation of fatigue.
Sports practice is successfully used in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease, to control the effects of diabetes, in people with respiratory failure and chronic lung diseases.
Finally, maintaining a good level of energy consumption reduces the risk of developing colon cancer by 25% and increases the life expectancy of those suffering from breast and prostate cancer by 50%.
As work
The world of sport is becoming more and more professional. In addition to athletes and coaches, this sector needs more and more qualified profiles of managers, salespeople and marketing specialists.
It offers excellent job prospects and is a very dynamic sector. Of 350,000 professionals in all disciplines, two thirds work in the private sector and in voluntary work, and one third in the public sector.
As an education
Youth sports education was born in England. The idea of coding the loudest and most agitated English high school students of the Victorian era was made by Thomas Arnold, an enlightened teacher who managed to bring order and discipline. It was enough to code these games (it is impossible to play together or against each other if you do not respect the rules) and trust that some leaders make them respect.
Sport understood as a pedagogical solution has always responded to a specific educational concern: to discipline young people.
Without the imposing will of a higher authority, but with the voluntary acceptance of common rules that should go beyond the playing field and be applied in daily life. This allows cultivating and channeling the dynamism of young people and men and forging their character, highlighting positive moral qualities, such as the spirit of initiative, loyalty, perseverance, the idea of struggle and victory.
outdoor sports
Moving in a dynamic and 'alive' environment like the park near the house, a bike path or an extra urban route is also stimulating from other points of view. Running or walking outdoors, in fact, allows you to measure yourself with the elements of nature and the obstacles of the road.
Recent studies also show that one hour of running outdoors allows you to burn 30% more calories than one hour of running on the treadmill.
In addition to running, walking, and even swimming in cold water to tone up, outdoor physical activity includes a series of anaerobic activities that can be practiced in all seasons of the year. What you need is a bank, a path with descents and ascents and a simple 'tool' available on site or an outdoor pool, but a pond and the sea are also fine.
Plank, burpees, bear ride, jumps, worm, lunges, push-ups, cross or fast swimming are just some of the many exercises that can be combined with favorite sports routines.
For some, the ultimate in well-being is outdoor yoga. It is an introspective and profound discipline in itself that connects with the elements and energy of the Universe. Practiced in an open and unstructured natural environment, the link with your own ego and with the earth can be analyzed in a deeper way.
Practical tips
The first step to practice sports is to make informed decisions. Needless to say, we must pay close attention to the direct and indirect relapses that our sports activity will have on our body.
Therefore, we can not ignore a careful evaluation of our behavior, the clothes we decide to buy and even the food choices we will adopt.
Attention, therefore, do not use clothing or equipment of processing cycles that exploit child labor, that violate the rights of workers or that are dangerous to the environment.
Many articles of clothing, for example, are produced with the help of chemical products and Pfc such as perfluorocarbons, in particular polluting and dangerous substances.
Even the smallest trivial trick can be useful. Using bottles of water instead of plastic bottles can reduce waste and waste.
The consumption of fruits and vegetables helps not only to replace the minerals lost during the exercise, but also to respect the natural cycles of the earth, always in favor of organic farming.
Soucer
Ecological sports
If doing outdoor sports is the best way to take care of our well-being, it is also true that rules must be observed to combine outdoor sports with the principles of sustainability.
Hydration
Rehydrating our body during and after a sports session is essential to maximize the benefits. As it was said, it is good to do it with bottles of water brought from home, maybe full of tap water. In addition to buying supplements, we can easily make an excellent isotonic drink by adding lemon juice and half a teaspoon of iodized salt.
Power
An athlete should have a balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, but also with protein and carbohydrates. Avoid energy bars and prefer a good pasta dish. Besides polluting less, it is the healthiest and most genuine way to take care of your physical shape. And if the sports session has been particularly intense, remember to take hot and liquid foods, seasonal fruit and low sugar drinks.
Materials and clothes
Using sports equipment from recycled products would really be the best.
And if you do not sweat and do not get dirty, the clothes can be reused at least one more time. In any case, frequent or half-load cycles should be avoided.
Call to laziness
Regular physical activity improves energy efficiency, reduces the possibility of getting sick and minimizes the use of energy for daily activities and trips.
Climb the stairs, go to the supermarket on foot, choose the bicycle instead of a car, spend free time outside the home are excellent habits to feel good and help the environment.
Therefore, in its broadest sense, sport can and should promote a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle. The increasingly frequent ecological disasters caused by climate change, pollution and disturbances related to a sedentary lifestyle and the wrong choice of food, confirm that humanity is a source of environmental crises.
Reversing this trend is a duty that belongs to everyone and begins with the smallest daily decisions.