Sports are a wonderful activity, allowing you to remain physically active, enjoy the outdoors, socialize with friends and teammates, and get exercise in a fun and exciting way. Playing sports is one of the best things that you can do to improve your day-to-day health and to promote physical activity for a lifetime of health. But sports also pose somewhat of a health risk as they come with a risk of injury. Here are three things that you can do to keep yourself busy while playing sports so you can enjoy sports without worries.
Stay Fueled and Hydrated
The first thing that you need to do to keep yourself healthy while playing sports is to stay fueled and hydrated. A major risk when playing sports, or exercising in any format for that matter, is that you will become dehydrated, or lack the energy necessary to perform athletic activities. You need to eat before exercise, and particularly before playing sports, to ensure that your body has the calories it needs to perform activity. You also want to stay hydrated and make sure that you are drinking water well before your games or practices, and hydrate during as well.
Wear Protective Equipment
The next thing that you need to do to keep yourself healthy while playing sports is to wear protective equipment whenever you play your sport. Almost all sports, but particularly contact sports which carry the highest risk for injury, have required protective equipment that you should be wearing for every practice and game. You should wear all of it to ensure an injury free experience, including a mouthguard. A chipped or broken tooth requires an immediate trip to the dentist. By wearing a mouthguard, you significantly decrease your chances of a dental injury while playing sports.
Warm Up Before Playing
The final thing that you can do to keep yourself healthy while playing sports is to warm up before playing every time you suit up. Warm-ups are important to get your body prepared for physical activity. Without a proper warm-up, you can put your muscles through too much strain without preparation, which makes it much more likely that you will become injured. Give yourself 5-15 minutes before a game or practice to stretch and get your blood flowing so that your body is prepared to play.
Sports are a great and healthy way to get exercise and hang out with friends. But sports can also be harmful to your health if you play in ways that are dangerous and unsafe. Follow these three tips to make sure that you stay healthy when you play sports.
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