Different sports provide a range of health benefits and the opportunity to improve core fitness areas, such as stamina or balance. There are many advantages when it comes to building muscle strength – it helps with body alignment, increases metabolism and makes performing daily tasks much easier.
Muscular strength isn’t all about how strong you are, it involves endurance and power. Choosing the right sports which can improve and develop your strength is extremely important. So, we’ll take a look at which sports offer the most benefits when it comes to muscular training and performance.
Cycling
Cycling over long distances requires energy and extreme strength of the buttocks and legs. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are really put to work and with diverse training and workouts between hills and flat terrain, it gradually increases muscular endurance. It also increases the capability of the heart and lungs in order to provide vital oxygen to muscles with minimal fatigue.
A cycling plan is wise in order to avoid participating in long rides and therefore not giving your body enough rest. It’s important to be flexible and diverse with cycling in order to receive the full benefits and improve the performance of yourself and the body.
If you’re new to cycling, we’ve got a few essential strength training exercises to help! Here’s a quick preview so you know what to expect;
- Planking
- Squats
- Step ups
- Arm rows
Swimming
Swimming is known to effectively build muscular strength, and with regular training it can significantly boost performance for your body. The repetition of strokes improves muscle endurance because the water creates more resistance against the body. This results in muscles strengthening and toning. If you were looking to enhance your core strength too which is crucial for overall health and stability, swimming does just that!
There is a very long list of what exercises you can do when you’re swimming to feel the full impact of the sport and instead of boring you to death with a long list, we have swimming exercises to enhance your workout. Here’s what to expect;
- Kickboard, flutter and dolphin kicks
- Pikes
- Sprints
- Weights
Gymnastics
First developed in Ancient Greece, gymnastics is one of the first and only sports that combines athletic skills with aesthetic performance. We’re not saying to become a gymnast, but it could be extremely beneficial to learn about training and techniques as it does drastically improve upper body strength and flexibility. It strengthens deltoids, pectoral and triceps muscles which is why many gymnasts cross train, to gain a stronger muscle core!
There many activities you can perform in the gym, as well as taking up a sport for muscular strength and endurance. Try weights and bands with assistance – such as dumbbells and weight machines are ideal. Weights and bands are able to provide resistance to your muscles, and this essentially ignites physical change in the tissue which allows your muscles to generate more force. Quite cool, right?
Building muscular endurance and strength is a long term process that you must be willing to put the work in for, and with the top 3 sports listed above, it’ll make your development and progress even more productive and fun!