Playing football is considered a complete exercise, because intense and varied movements through runs, kicks and turns help keep the body healthy and is a great option for women as well, because it helps prevent osteoporosis and PMS symptoms.
This sport is a great way to lose weight and keep fit, it also fights stress and anxiety, as well as improving social interaction, avoiding cases of childhood obesity and depression. To achieve all the benefits, it is recommended to practice soccer for at least 30 minutes two to three times a week.
1. Helps to lose weight
During the game of football the whole body needs to work together, and this leads to a large expenditure of calories. The need for constant movement causes a great fat burning, and it is possible to lose an average of 250 calories every 30 minutes.
Moreover, due to the intense work of the body, football speeds up the metabolism, which causes the calorie burning to last for many hours after the game.
2. Increases muscle mass
During soccer practice, various muscle groups of both upper limbs, lower limbs and abdomen are used constantly, which causes the growth and multiplication of their muscle fibers. In this way, over time, practitioners develop bigger and stronger muscles.
The association of sport with bodybuilding, two or three times a week, makes strengthening and gaining muscle mass even more efficient.
Check out the following video for more tips on increasing muscle mass:
3. Helps lower blood pressure
Playing football regularly is an excellent method to help control blood pressure because, like other sports that require movement of the body, it improves the functioning of the heart, circulation and blood flow. In this way, this sport prevents diseases caused by high blood pressure, such as stroke or heart attack.
In addition to the cardiovascular system, soccer practice stimulates various cup systems and activates their functioning, improving digestion, immunity, breathing, and prevents serious diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol and even cancer.
Learn about other strategies to lower your blood pressure naturally.
4. Strengthens bones
The amount of calcium in the bones of those who play soccer is higher than those who do not do physical activities. The great stimulus to the body decreases the loss of calcium from the bones, and these become stronger.
In this way, this sport helps prevent osteoporosis, a disease that is very common in older men and women after menopause.
5. Reduces risk of falls and fractures
The dribbles and steps make people who practice football have better flexibility, agility and reflexes. In this way, the balance improves significantly, resulting in a lower risk of falls and bone fractures.
6. Decreases the chances of stress and depression
In addition to releasing hormones that bring well-being, such as endorphin and serotonin, playing football brings benefits by stimulating team spirit and teamwork, as there must always be contact with other people and friends. For these reasons, in addition to being easy and fun, the practice of this sport decreases the feeling of stress or sadness, being an excellent ally for prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression.
For these reasons, for women, soccer practice is a great remedy against PMS symptoms.
7. Prevents the onset of Alzheimer's
The practice of football makes people respond faster, and develop brain functions such as concentration, attention and reasoning. In this way, the brain becomes more active and avoids the chances of developing brain diseases and dementias, such as Alzheimer's.
Understand the risks of playing football
Before beginning to practice football, it is important to make a medical evaluation, especially cardiac function to check for problems such as cardiac arrhythmias that, when unidentified, can be life-threatening.
In addition, to practice soccer, some care is needed to avoid harm, such as:
- Muscle and bone injuries: This can happen in cases of jerky movements without adequate pre-stretching;
- Trauma: As it is a sport of a lot of physical contact with other people, great care must be taken with injuries caused by impact with other people or objects, such as bruises, fractures or even bleeding;
- Joint wear: The practice too exaggerated and without the guidance of a professional can cause the body to be excessively required, and wear a cartilage that forms the joints.
It can be seen that the benefits far outweigh the malfunctions of football practice, but it is advisable to stretch before or after training and, preferably, to have a professional accompaniment, make playing football an excellent medicine for health and well-being.
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