It’s no secret that you can boost your health by being more active, but team sports are a particularly effective means of staying healthy and improving your fitness. This is because such sports can see you cover a wider range of exercise types, and in addition, can help give you a better mindset and desire to get fitter.
Here we’ve taken a look at a few examples of the types of team sports that are good for fitness and how playing them can be beneficial for our bodies.
Best team sports for fitness
The following team sports are typically the best options and you can often find local clubs that can cater to different ages and abilities. These include:
- Football
- Rugby union
- Tennis (doubles)
- Basketball
- Hockey
How your health and fitness can be improved by these sports
While there’s some varying degrees in the intensity and skills involved in each of these sports, on a general level you can get the following health and fitness benefits:
Better cardio
All the running, jogging and even walking you’ll be doing (on top of your current daily amount) will see your stamina and cardio get better and better. If you were regularly training and playing full football or rugby matches, you’ll easily meet the minimum aerobic targets for adults.
More muscle growth
Getting involved in any of these team sports will also promote more muscle growth. This is especially prevalent with racket sports and rugby union as you’ll rely on the power in your arms for tennis and the power in your legs for many elements of rugby.
Fat loss
A simple advantage of getting more exercise from team sports is that you’ll reduce your BMI when you start getting rid of fat and replacing it with lean muscle.
Improved flexibility and coordination
Any team sports involving your hands (e.g. handling the and catching a rugby ball, using a tennis racket or holding a hockey stick) can also make you more flexible and can improve your dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
Better mental and emotional health
With all of the above your self-esteem can improve, but team sports are also social events and this teamwork and togetherness can benefit your mental and emotional health.
Football and rugby union are especially good for this as their global fanbases, huge social media presences, forums and news websites, international and domestic events and their variety of skill level playing options means that everyone can get involved with them and there are many platforms for people of all ages abilities to engage with and get fit.
