No age limit to enjoy rec team sports
Having fun and working up a sweat with friends is good for mind, body and soul
You’ve tried to love the gym, but it’s a no go. Same with Cross Fit and yoga; nothing seems to stick. Maybe the problem doesn’t lie with a lack of motivation, but with your choice of workout.
Not everyone is cut out for the gym, unless of course it means shooting hoops, spiking a volleyball or kicking a soccer ball. Not often promoted for its ability to improve fitness, recreational team sports don’t get enough credit for the health benefits they offer. A recent editorial in the Journal of Sport and Health Science wants to change that. It highlighted several studies demonstrating that team sports are good for you.
“There is a considerable body of published knowledge supporting the health and fitness benefits associated with recreational participation in team sports,” said Carlo Castagna of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Rome Tor Vergata.
Let’s not overlook the psychosocial payback of playing recreational sports, which ranges from improved self- esteem to reduced stress. Having fun and working up a sweat with friends is good for mind, body and soul. Granted, most of the discussion around the benefits of team sports have centred around kids, youth and teens, with parents being one of the primary cheerleaders of getting their kids involved in recreational sports. But there’s no reason to leave all the fun and fitness associated with playing sports to the kids. Studies of adults participating in recreational sports have confirmed that there’s no age limit to the health benefits of chasing a ball, puck or opponent around a field, court or ice surface.
Admittedly, most of the studies have focused on soccer. One of the most popular participation sports in the world, with 265 million people playing in recreational and elite leagues and teams around the globe, there’s no shortage of study subjects. Running around the pitch in pursuit of a soccer ball twice a week for 40 to 60 minutes significantly improves cardiovascular fitness, lower limb strength and body composition in adults. In fact, recreation soccer players have demonstrated fitness gains similar to those experienced by swimmers, runners and cyclists pursuing their sport at a recreational level.
As for bone health, recreational soccer players who continued to play the game as they aged demonstrated skeletons comparable to a younger, albeit, sedentary population.
Encouraging as these results are for anyone who prefers kicking a ball to lifting weights or running on a treadmill, there’s no guarantee that other sports will provide the same benefits as soccer. Basketball games played on half a court don’t deliver the same improvements in health and fitness as full- court games.
The goal is to participate in a sport that requires a high enough intensity of play to improve fitness, even if it’s not sustained. Short intense bouts of activity followed by more moderate play are generally sufficient to improve your cardiovascular system.
“The type of running and movement inherent in team sports means that almost all aspects of fitness are improved,” Castagna said.
Getting in a couple of games a week is also important. Yet most cities don’t consider organized recreational sports leagues for adults a priority when it comes to allocating resources. Corporate and privately run leagues fill some of the demand, but are generally found in larger cities. With emphases not just on the physical aspects of play, but on the social side of recreational sports, leagues geared specifically for adults help keep sports lovers in the game.
It’s worth a reminder that the joy of winning has no age limit. Nor does the pride that comes from working as a team to beat the opposition. In fact, all the things that were so great about being part of a team as a kid don’t expire with age. And while some sports, hockey in Canada and soccer in Europe, have a long- standing tradition of “old- timers” divisions, participation rates in most team sports drops drastically as the teen years approach and again after high school.
With confirmation from sports scientists that recreational team sports are as effective at improving health and fitness as individual pursuits like running, swimming and cycling, it’s time more adults rediscovered the joy of play and the competitive spirit that fuels every good team.
We need to create a culture that sees team sports not just as play but as a valuable component in the pursuit of healthy aging, keeping adults of all ages physically and socially active.
“Playing our favourite team sport two to three times per week for one hour with friends has so many benefits that it is hard to understand why we gave up the games of our youth,” Castagna said. “We loved playing those games then, and there is no reason not to continue playing now.”