How do I find the right sport for me?
Some of us find our dream sport as a child and stay true to it throughout our lives, others rather torture themselves to workout because they know it’s good for them, but at the same time they don’t really enjoy it. Yet the joy of sports is exactly what motivates us to keep at it! That’s why it’s so important that you find a sport where you get ambitious and enjoy working out. If you have already tried many different sports and are still wondering: Which sport suits me? Then we’ll help you choose in this article!
Which sport suits me? How do I find out?
Why the right sport for you is not so easy to find? Because the different sports have very different demands on you. On the one hand, physically, because for strength training, for example, you need a lot of stamina to achieve a corresponding muscle build-up. Soccer is not as demanding in that respect, but the load is distributed over different areas, because you also need endurance to run over long distances and agility. If you have joint problems and also don’t like to sweat during sports, swimming is the right choice for you. If you are very fond of animals, you will surely enjoy horseback riding. Here you train as a team with the horse, sometimes also with other people. However, this also means that you have to clean your animal friend after the training. As you can see – dealing with the question “Which sport suits me?” is very important.
Which sport suits me? Test yourself!
You’ve already tried out a few sports, but you’ve never found the right one? Then maybe a test will help you to find the right sport for you.
What is your goal?
The first thing you should ask yourself is what you want to achieve with sports. If you want to lose weight, you won’t be able to do that with weight training, while you won’t become a muscle man with marathon training. If your goal is to simply have fun while exercising (which should never be missing!), you should choose a sport like swimming or dancing that focuses on this criterion.
Team type or lone wolf?
For example, you should think about whether you prefer to do sports in a large group, whether you prefer a small team of 2 to 3 people, or whether you prefer to train alone. Of course, this also depends on how ambitious you are. In a team, everyone is needed and if you are often unmotivated and shuffle around the court, your teammates will not be happy. If you’re the kind of person who can push through, you’re more likely to make it to the top of the climbing wall than someone who’s physically strong enough but loses motivation halfway up or gets distracted by the altitude.
Competition or relaxed sport?
Is success in sports important to you? Do you like to compete – and win, of course? Then team sports are probably a good fit for you. In addition, you will probably enjoy sports more in a club than on your own. Or are you more interested in personal success or simply enjoying exercise? In that case, you might prefer to run laps on the track or meet a friend at the gym.
How often do you want to work out?
Especially if you want to play a team sport or take a class, you need to think about how often you can and want to work out beforehand. But even if you don’t actually have a fixed date for training, it makes sense to decide beforehand whether 5 training sessions or once a week is enough for you.
Where do you want to exercise?
You don’t send the dog out in the rain! If this is your regular argument for not going outside, outdoor sports are probably not for you. If you already have a hard time motivating yourself to exercise, it certainly doesn’t get any better when it’s pouring or the sun is blazing. However, if you prefer to gather new energy in nature, hiking, running or mountain biking are something for you.
Which sport suits me to lose weight?
Burn fat
If your goal in exercising is to lose weight, you should focus on burning fat. This works especially well with endurance sports like jogging. Because your body first needs a little effort until it accesses the fat reserves. However, if the load then already subsides again, the fat is not burned at all. The right cardio workout not only burns calories in the moment, but also makes your body process fat better in the long run.
Hiking and Nordic Walking
If you like to be outside but tend to run on fumes when jogging, hiking or Nordic walking may be more suitable for you. Especially for beginners who would like to lose weight, it is less strenuous, but of course you will consume fewer calories. If you want to exercise to burn fat, we recommend a walking or hiking route with an incline.
Treadmill training
It’s raining cats and dogs outside and you have absolutely no motivation to get out the door right now? Then the treadmill is the perfect solution for you! Unlike jogging, you don’t have the bad weather as an excuse, you can adjust the level of difficulty to suit you and check how long you’ve been running and how many calories you’ve burned. Another advantage over jogging is that the treadmill is gentler on your joints than running on asphalt. Also, you don’t run the risk of twisting your ankle because of uneven ground. However, even on a treadmill, you put a lot of stress on your joints, so you need to be careful, especially in the beginning and when you want to increase the duration of your workout.
Bicycle ergometer
Exercising at home is also possible with a bicycle ergometer. This sport is suitable for you if you notice that jogging puts too much strain on your joints. Then you should rather burn the calories by pedaling. However, you have to be careful not to get too comfortable, because at low resistance you will naturally burn few calories. Make sure that the sport really challenges you.
Swimming
Among endurance sports, swimming is a real insider tip, because it has many advantages that you are probably not even aware of. For one thing, you can do it in any weather, both outdoors and indoors. On the other hand, it is also very gentle. Especially with a lot of weight, your joints are exposed to a lot of stress in everyday life and jogging increases that. When swimming, on the other hand, you are in suspension and can train completely without discomfort. Due to the special breathing rhythm, you also train your heart and lungs in this sport and all your muscles are challenged. You can adjust the load flexibly by swimming faster or completing more lanes at a time. And best of all: as a reward you can relax in the whirlpool afterwards.
Dance
If you know Zumba class is on today, you’re more likely to head to the gym than if you don’t have an appointment. A regular class helps you stick with it, exercising in a group motivates you, and the music lifts your spirits. Perfect conditions to burn fat! However, when choosing a course, make sure that the content is appropriate for your level, so that you are not underchallenged, but also do not give up in frustration.
Conclusion
We hope that we were able to help you a little with this article to help you answer the important question “Which sport suits me?”. We wish you, a lot of fun with your choice, whether at home or on the road.