Recommended Sports for Every Age: Which Ones are Suggested?
Building a life based on healthy habits requires the convergence of different factors. Among them, diet, self-care, and physical exercise stand out. You can achieve the latter through the recommended sports for every age.
All sports disciplines are included in what we call “physical exercise”, a fundamental pillar that can help you lead a healthy and balanced life. Children and adults of any age can exercise, thanks to the fact that there’s a wide variety of sports for every age.
Recommended sports for every age: the best options
The factors that you must take into account regarding exercise are diverse; one of them is age. This is because the chronological time of life is relevant due to the evolution, or involution, of each person’s physical and cognitive abilities.
An older adult doesn’t have the same energy as a child. Therefore, the sports indicated for each must vary. Below, we’ll share the recommended sports you can choose from according to the stage of life you’re in.
Recommended sports for childhood
Childhood is one of the most important stages for human beings since they build the foundation for their physical, psychological, and social habits during this stage. At an early age, scheduled physical activity should focus on playing, especially games.
The main goal of teachers and coaches, regardless of the sport in question, is for children to end up enjoying physical activity. Otherwise, they may become frustrated and lose interest in practicing a sports discipline.
On the other hand, while this motivation occurs, games must play a fundamental role in terms of stimulating basic movement patterns. Their main goal is to enhance basic physical abilities.
The perfect sports for children are those that have a playful, social, and fun component. Although the best examples of this are soccer, swimming, gymnastics, or martial arts, there are many others.
Sports during adolescence
At this stage of life, basic physical abilities are usually fully developing. For this reason, the indicated sports for teens are those that favor the gradual stimulation of these abilities.
Another very important aspect to consider is that the teen must enjoy the sports discipline they choose. For example, a common mistake parents make is forcing their teenage children to play sports they don’t enjoy, which can lead to a loss of taste for sports.
Practically all sports are good for teens, as long as they enjoy them. Some of the most popular alternatives, but not the only ones or the best, are swimming, track and field, soccer, and volleyball, which promote muscle development in a very good way.
Sports for every age: what about adulthood?
Adulthood encompasses different ages, which are all marked by relevant physical aspects. It isn’t the same to practice a sport when you’re just 18 years old, when your muscles are fully developing, than at 30, when your physical capacities begin to suffer.
The recommended sports for the early stages of adulthood are those that favor the improvement of basic physical abilities. At this stage, the intensity and the loads can be elevated, and even reach the limit.
After age 30, sports disciplines must lose intensity in terms of strength. The ideal thing is to place a broad emphasis on cardiorespiratory function, to boost the circulatory and respiratory systems. This way, you can prevent heart diseases.
During late middle age, at about age 50, the recommended sports are those that avoid plyometrics. This is because doing jumps at these ages can cause joint injuries, especially in the lower limbs. Therefore, the most recommended sports are Pilates, yoga, swimming, and cycling.
And what about old age?
This stage is the pinnacle of life and the result of all the experiences of the previous stages. It’s much easier for a person who’s led an active and healthy life to continue with the regular practice of some sports. Likewise, sedentary people can also do it, but taking some restrictions into account.
The recommended sports for people over 60 are those that work coordination and heart and respiratory condition. In this vein, taking walks, meditating, and swimming are great options.
Sports for every age and for every person
In short, whatever their age, each person should discover the sport that they’re most passionate about practicing. Apart from that, other factors also influence this decision, such as clinical status, genetic inheritance, and physical and psychological status.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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- OMS. (2015). OMS | Envejecimiento y salud. WHO.
- OMS. (2017). La actividad física en los adultos mayores. Organización Mundial de La Salud.