Taking up a sport is much more preferable than going to the gym
Sport is healthier than weightlifting for body, mind, and social skills
Everyone knows that staying active is the key to health. And weight loss is simple mathematics: more calories burned than more calories eaten. But there are different ways to stay active.
Taking up a sport is far more preferable than going to the gym.
By a "sport," we mean physical activity such as surfing, sailing, trail running, touch football, hiking, Frisbee leagues, tennis, golf, paddle boarding, or any other type of sporting related activity. These sports are far more preferable to spending hours in the gym.
Sporting activities are characterized by the following list of positive attributes:
1. Random, uncorrelated movements
2. Hours of continuous involvement
3. A social component- either competitive or friendly
4. Taking place outdoors
In sporting activity, the participant is fully involved. They are focused on the game. They are making movements that are random and uncorrelated- not repetitive. Their mind is engaged- planning, estimating, and strategizing.
Just as importantly, the participant is engaged in a social component. In many sports, there is the camaraderie of teamwork. There is strategizing against the opponents. There is a fellowship that occurs outside the sport- planning for that day at the beach, organizing team leagues, and other fraternal activities.
All of these things are tremendously beneficial for health. It is well known that scientists have determined that mental activity and social engagement are just as important for anti-aging as diet and exercise. The person who stays sharp, and stays engaged with others, will enjoy many more productive years.
Contrast the benefits of sporting activity to the typical gym routine:
The average gym is a pretty depressing place. It has a social pecking order of who is more beautiful, or pumped up. The focus is on appearance- not substance.
Real friendships are seldom formed: just the occasional head nod, or "can you spot me" on heavy weights.
Techno music blasts, giving the same nervous energy as a nightclub and making calmness and a sense of focus impossible.
Worst of all, very little actual exercise occurs at a gym. Only a few minutes of concentrated exercise actually takes place. One set of ten reps takes less than a minute to perform. Compare this to the hours spent driving to the gym, changing clothes, waiting around the machines, and showering afterwards.
"Going to the gym" may consume two hours of a person's day- during which only twenty minutes of actual exercise take place!
Gym activity takes place indoors. Long before Covid, there were health concerns about wallowing in other people's sweat and breathing recycled indoor air.
Whenever you go the gym, you will see many people standing around, eyeing each other surrepitiously. Occasionally a weight will be lifted. Music is blasting. Much time is spent preening and attempting to impress members of the opposite sex.
Compare that to an activity such as stand up paddle boarding: where a group of people get together to explore a lake or cove. The entire body is worked out: the core, the arms, the legs. The entire time spent atop the paddle board is a workout that also employs hidden and unseen muscles used for balance and coordination. Mother Nature is enjoyed to the fullest. The participants leave refreshed, energized, bonded together- and looking forward to doing it again.
The results of the sport vs. gym speak for themselves. At the Olympics- the world's largest sporting event- who is the public enamored with: the athletes competing in sport, or the weightlifters?
The former are gymnasts, pole vaulters, and surfers. They are lithe, graceful, and beautiful. Compare them to the power lifters: bulky and immobile. It is no comparison who the public appreciates most.
If you want to be truly healthy, get involved with a sport. Find a local league, or join a club or tournament. You'll make friends, use your mind- and be in better shape, too.