Sports can be a great way to get in shape or stay that way. Having a specific goal can be a great motivator. Physically, you need strength and endurance. Your training will vary with your sport. You would not train the same way for pole vaulting as for swimming. You might, however, cross train. Cross training simply means that you include a variety of fitness activities in your program. Research shows that cross training builds stronger bones.

Remember to listen to your body. If you frequently feel exhausted or you are in pain, you may be overdoing it. Injuries can be the result. And be sure that you use your body and your equipment safely. What you eat and drink is also important. Water is the most important nutrient for active people. Drink it before, during and after workouts.

http://bodyfitness.blinkweb.com

I love playing sports as a way to stay in shape and workout. I have found that if I have a sport or event to train for, it gives me more motivation to workout!

I agree. My favorite sport is tennis and according to my iPhone on average you burn around 429 calories an hour. For me I think that is awesome because when I play the sport I am having so much fun that I do not even feel like I am working out. Usually I can play for a few hours before getting tired. So that means after 2 hours of plaing tennis I have burned around 850 calories! The main problem for me is that I tend to only play in the summer months because it is cold and rainy outside in the Seattle area. I used to play inside too, but for me the drive is just a bit too far to make it reasonable, plus I like playing outside way better anyway.

Sports are generally the way I love to workout... only when I don't have a sport to play is when I find myself doing an aerobic workout at the gym. I'm curious what your iPhone says about basketball... how many calories does it say you burn when playing basketball full court for an hour?

It says basketball is 416 per hour on average. Of course all of this is just estimates, I am sure if you work really hard when you play its way higher. Same with any sport on here.

Really? The iPhone says you burn more calories playing tennis than basketball?? Hmmm... I play both sports and I am way more exhausted after basketball than tennis so I find that interesting...

I think it is great to mix up the sports to, so that your body doesn't get used to the activity over time. I played so much basketball that even when I was out of shape, I didn't get as winded as I do when I am playing tennis. My body is just used to the pace of basketball.

Tammy, when you play tennis you probably have been playing against people better than you or worse than you if you think basketball is more intense. Either someone is trying to hit it close to you so you can hit it back so you don't have to run as much or the other person can't keep a rally going long enough to wear you out! I deninitely think Tennis is more vigorous, especially against a half-court game of basketball, but I still love basketball more!

I was the guy everyone wanted on their team when someone thought of playing basketball because I was always taller than everyone else, until they discovered I suck at basketball, bad. I wont touch a basketball unless it's just farting around on a court shooting these days, I played a lot, I just can't get the hang of it.

I kinda liked playing tennis, but I spent soo much time gathering my balls from outside of the court that I never really learned to play. If there was a sport that involved making a tennis ball go as far as possible, I'd be Olympic material.
I'm going to try raquet ball again when I find a place to play it. At least I think it's raquet ball, it's the smaller tennis raquets and the rubber blue balls you slam against the wall that I'm thinking of. I'm going to be a happy camper if the YMCA has it.

Volley ball has always been fun, we never played much though because nobody wanted to get all sandy. I thought diving into the sand was the best part myself. I don't really care for indoor volleyball though, something about diving onto a hard-wood floor never sounded like a good idea to me.

I still like to play baseball, I would be a happy camper if all I had to do was run the bases. I love stealing them.
Batting cages are a good work out, it's soo much more fun when "I only get 3 tries" isn't sitting in the back of your mind.

Yup! That's racquetball!! So does that mean you are going to get a Y membership? All the YMCA's around my area have racquetball courts to play on so hopefully the YMCA by you has it too!

They also have squash courts. Squash is similar to both racquetball and tennis. It is similar to racquetball because you play in the same enclosed court area and it is similar to tennis because there is a lot more strategy involved. The difference between Squash and Racquetball is, the ball is bigger in Racquetball, the ball is bouncier and the court is longer. In Squash, the ball is not as bouncy or as big as and so the ball is harder to control. I personally like Squash better, but both sports are fun! Oh, and the Squash racquet is a bit longer and skinnier than the Racquetball racquets.

Here are some photos of Squash vs. Racquetball.

Squash is a lot more vigorous. You are constantly running. In racquetball you can let the ball come to you... in squash you have to go to the ball or else you will not get a chance to return it. In racquetball your best position is near the back of the court... in squash your ideal position is directly in the middle. Squash is more racquetball like full-court 5-on-5 basketball is to half-court 3-on-3 basketball... both are fun, but if you want a killer workout squash is the way to go... you only play to 9 points in squash... that should tell you how intense the games are!

I've got a Y that's realisticly within walking distance from me I'm going to signup at once I get myself back in good enough shape through riding my bike in the mornings and doing situps to work out without hurting myself at the Y.

I'll definately have to try both squash and raquetball. The Y near me is fairly large and I remember someone mentioning something about pools awhile ago so I'm anticipating there's going to be courts of some sort there.



I think I will start with racquetball.

That's what I started with too... it is a sport that you can get okay in pretty quickly because you can have so many different strategies... mine is the power game