Beginner in sport: how to get started?
Many people see sport with a bad eye: zero motivation, source of suffering, aches and pains, loss of time in an already overloaded daily life … Yet it remains the best way to be in shape, morally and physically, and to remain so. If you are a beginner and want to start a sports activity, here are some valuable tips.
Beginner in sport: why start?
To get into sport, the first question to ask is undoubtedly why. Answering this question makes it possible to find motivation. And to this question, several possible answers:
The main reason to start (or resume) the sport is toregain a good physical condition. Health remains the first motivation, and thebenefits of physical exerciseare multiple: better cardiovascular tone, amplified breathing skills, maintenance ofjointsand bones, reduced risk of serious diseases, better mental health, improvedsleep… Playing sports allows you to get back in shape and keep it, for a long time.
Some beginners in sports put forward other reasons: need to decompress, to let off steam or to change their minds. In a word: regain mental well-being. Sport has the virtue of chasingaway stressand above all, of doing something by oneself, for oneself. More concretely, physical activity leads to the chain secretion of different hormones contributing to this well-being, including dopamine, which reduces the feeling of pain and leads to a kind of euphoria, and endorphin, a group of neurotransmitters responsible for the sensation of pleasure during and after exercise.
Sometimes, starting the sport is motivated by adesire tolose weight. Several elements to highlight here: sport will not systematically lead to significant weight loss; In addition,weightis an arbitrary data, muscle weighing heavier than adipose tissue. However, physical exercise generatescaloric expenditure, but above all it increases thebasal metabolism (decrease in blood pressure, increase in muscle volume), while modifying the silhouette.
Finally, sport is asource of multiple pleasures: thrills of extreme sports, feeling of camaraderie via team sports, personal satisfaction to surpass oneself, pride in achieving physical and mental performances, simple joy of practicing physical activity outdoors … A simple reason to start!
Beginner: how to start the sport?
As with any other leisure activity, it is a matter of making an inventory of one’s own needs, desires, abilities and availability.
Which sport to choose when you are a beginner?
Beginner’s first step: choose the sport that suits him. Because the activity must in no case be experienced as an obligation or a punishment. The question is simple:
- Sports indoors or outdoors?
- If inside: at home or in the dining room?
- Solo sport, in groups, in teams? Need a coach?
- Nature of the sport: rather intense? Moderate? Calm? Does my age or my physical condition allow me to practice this sport?
- One or more different sports? Can I practice all year round?
This first questioning should make it possible to identify a list of different sports activities.
How to prepare for practice?
When you are a beginner in sport, it is sometimes difficult to understand the parameters governing the practice.
First element: give yourself the time to play sports. To do this, you have to act, and block a slot each week. And above all, do not deviate from it, nor find a bad excuse to give up. Yes, sport requires a minimum ofmotivation and willpower, but regularity always pays off.
Second element: choose the best time to exercise. The studies on this subject are rather contradictory, but all agree that two periods of the day are to be avoided: the period ofdigestion , and a schedule close to that of Bedtime, especially if the chosen sport is intense. Otherwise, the best time remains the one that suits you best, both in terms of availability and ability to provide physical effort.
Third element: measure your effort. When you start the sport, you are often in the euphoria of the beginnings, driven by the enthusiasm of discovery. But overdoing it can lead to fatigue and possible injury. It is therefore recommended to start with a weekly session, and to gradually increase the frequency and/or intensity of the sessions. The important thing is to listen to yourself and to have a practice adapted to your personal abilities.
Last element: to be supervised, if one is completely lost, or if one begins at an advanced age. Sports trainer, gym coach, sports doctor, associations… Many professionals can help recovery. A friend can also play the role of the coach, especially if he is already experienced in the discipline. Finally, you can follow videos on the Internet, to punctuate your sessions.
Some examples of sports for beginners?
Some sports are easier to practice than others when you are a beginner. But there is no rule, the important thing is to find pleasure in it. In addition, you can consider:
Fitness walking: an intuitive physical activity, accessible to all and requiring no special equipment, apart from a good pair of shoes and comfortable clothing. ActiveWalkinguses all the muscles and can be amplified as you practice. Moreover, after a while, you can decide to start Nordic walking (with poles), to vary your practice.
Running : another sport for beginners, to practice indoors (on a Treadmill) or outdoors, alone or accompanied. Running remains one of the most accessible sports, as it requires little equipment. It has many health benefits, starting with good caloric expenditure and a toning effect on the cardio-respiratory system.
Indoor sport: fitness, cardio, yoga or zumba workshops… Choosing to join thegym, when you are a beginner, remains one of the best ways to get into sport. Supervision by a sports coach allows you to set up a progressive training program adapted to your needs and abilities. Again, the equipment is not really expensive: an outfit, shoes, sometimes a floor mat. For the rest, the gym has everything. Only downside: the cost, which can be a hindrance for some (or a motivation for others!).
The soft gym: a calm sport, which allows more to strengthen the deep muscles than to gain muscle mass, but which is suitable for all audiences. In addition, this sport allows you to start the sport serenely, to reclaim your body and to regain strength, agility, flexibility and balance.
Cycling: a very fun sport, whose practice can be progressive and smooth. This is again a complete sport, which can be practiced alone, with family, friends or in a club. In addition, cycling is a means of locomotion, so the activity is easy to integrate into your daily life. We start by making our daily trips by bike, and we end with long trips of several tens of kilometers!
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.