The Physical and Mental Benefits of Playing Baseball
Playing a sport is one of the best ways to stay fit. Workouts are a good option for those who want to build a strong body as well as show off their six packs. But if you want a perfect combo, of strength, stamina, and flexibility, sports are the easiest option. Any sport involves spending an intense amount of energy, and a good level of concentration as well. An overall fitness of body and mind is the ultimate benefit of sports.
Being the national sports of the United States, baseball is something that people of all ages are in love with. Read on to learn about the many physical and mental benefits of baseball. Who knows – you might just feel compelled you to buy a kit and tread to the ground yourself!
- Cardiovascular training: The best part of cardio exercises is that it’s very good for boosting up your metabolic activity. The thing is that even if you don’t workout after a good cardio, the body still keeps on cutting the excess fat stored in your body. Baseball involves a lot of cardio exercises. These exercise strengthens your heart muscle and improves lung capacity. Batters running the bases, outfielders running to catch a fly ball and catchers chasing a foul ball gives you a proper dose of cardiovascular exercises. Just play baseball everyday and your metabolic activity would be great.
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- Strong arms: The complete set of swinging a baseball bat, throwing the ball and catching the ball are good ways to build arm strength . At the same time it also improves the flexibility of your joints. Throwing the ball and swinging the bat involve all the muscles of the arms and also strengthens the biceps, triceps and the muscles of the chest as well as the shoulders.
- Strong legs: Baseball recruits all of the major muscle groups in your legs, as running is a major part of the sport. Moving laterally, throwing and squatting down to retrieve a ball engages your quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles to a great extent. The running involved in the sport is not only a good cardiovascular workout, but also ideal for toning and building up your leg muscles.
- Hand-eye coordination: Pitching the ball and batting requires a great amount of hand-eye coordination, which is boosted while playing the sport. The more you play, the more you get accustomed to coordinated movements. A study had proved that it’s far more effective than playing video games, for this purpose.
- Burn calories: Swinging, running, catching and even walking to and from the dugout are exercises that may boost your metabolism and burn a lot of calories. According to a study, a person who weighs 160 pounds can burn 365 calories an hour playing baseball. This helps you to cut some kilos naturally, without any gym workout.
- Relieves stress: Numerous studies show that getting involved in baseball develops mental focus, concentration and refreshes the mind from everyday distractions and tensions. A study has shown that playing sports like baseball can decrease the symptoms of depression . Being involved in this sport has a very relaxing effect on your mind.
- Leading kids to a better future: Researchers have shown that kids who take part in baseball are more likely to live longer, have fewer health issues, stay away from substance abuse and study more as compared to those who don’t.
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- Sunlight: Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins which is very essential for the absorption of calcium. Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D . No more supplements, just pure vitamin D. Go out and play the sport in the sun.
- Sharpen the mind: Making split-second decisions on which is the correct strategy to implement on a specific situation is something that boosts up your concentration. This also keeps you alert and improves your reflexes. The consciousness of our brain gets to a next level. The response to your immediate stimulus gets quicker.
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