Favorite sport

[JuanJoFitbit]

Hi everyone! I'm a huge fan sports but I really love Football due to the strategies that need to be studied and practiced in order to score successfully.

I'd like to know what's your favorite sport guys and read what you like about it.

See you around!

[NellyG]

@JuanJoFitbit My sport of choice is Dancesport - Ballroom Dancing.  I only started dancing about 10 years ago and find it is a sport older age groups can do, that helps with many things - notably physical fitness, strength, mental fitness, balance, coordination, and the main reason why I do it - pure enjoyment! My dance partner and I compete in Dancesport in Australia.

 

[JuanJoFitbit]

@NellyG Wow, that's awesome! Ballroom dancing is one of the best sports in the world. Is very complete and as you mentioned, it requires a lot of concentration, coordination and strength. When I watch the competitions on TV, I can notice that participants really enjoy every move. I'm pretty sure you enjoy it as well.

Is that you in the photo?

[NellyG]

Yes that is me and my dance partner, Jim. We were dancing in the Australian Open Dancesport Championship a couple of years ago. It was cancelled last year due to Covid, so we are hoping it will be on again this December.

[JuanJoFitbit]

Amazing, @NellyG! That's an excellent picture and you guys look so professional. I really hope the competition can be carried out in December and you guys win. Don't forget to share the pictures in the Community.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi @JuanJoFitbit! I'm not the biggest sports fan, but the only sport I do practice and that I truly enjoy is swimming! 💪

I stopping swimming for many years and had planned to pick it up again last year, but I couldn't do it due to COVID and I just recently started swimming again. 😀

[NellyG]

Thanks @JuanJoFitbit though it would be pretty amazing (and unlikely I'm sad to say) if we won! 🤣🤣

[t.parker]

For me, it's rock climbing and bouldering. Perfect for pretty much any age (I know 82 years old climber who is a regular in one of the climbing centers I go to), a great sport for the whole family as long as it's kept safe. I prefer bouldering due to its more athletic nature, although I'm not a fan of modern, parkour-style, bouldering. I still prefer stylish static climbing. I haven't been doing outdoor climbing since mid-2020 (lockdowns on and off and then the UK weather doesn't make it easier) and I had a long break from indoor climbing, too so got a bit rusty. I do both, outdoor and indoor climbing, and indoor is more like a workout while outdoor is more like an adventure. Sometimes it's just a part of a longer hike. It happened a few times during hikes with my wife that I climbed up the rock just to get a better view and because the rock looked... well... climbable (although my wife isn't too happy when I do it and there's no anything protecting me from the fall).

I will focus on indoor climbing here. Indoor climbing is definitely safer, it's a controlled environment, and less likely you're gonna get injured (however, that happens too, I had a few close calls and one of my friends broke the forearm in the fall). I in fact swapped the regular gym for a climbing gym. Climbing gyms usually have a section with regular equipment like weights and machines but regular gyms have no climbing walls. Most of the gyms (due to sizing) are made only for bouldering which is climbing up to approx. 5 meters with no harness and the only protection is a soft mat on the floor (which may not be enough, learning to fall correctly is one of the first things climber learns). Larger gyms provide top rope and lead routes and for those, who have no partner to climb with, auto-belay routes (I actually like auto-belay routes, good for endurance, less hassle, and clipping in is quicker than tying in). It is fun but also can be a serious full-body workout that includes strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, and brain. The brain plays a very important role. There is a reason why bouldering routes are called "problems". Problem is something that one has to solve and sometimes it takes a lot of thinking about how to approach the problem. My only regret is that I haven't discovered climbing when I was younger 😉

Just some examples from my own indoor climbing. This is the style I like (static):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0fm5KBgfSA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4qCD35aeQ4

This requires good core strength (believe me, it's not about arms):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB_b103-gAI

This one is about endurance (we have a game with my friends to climb the route until failure, the total score = total_ascent x grade_of_route):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDLkRcxlHmQ

And this isn't my favourite style (dynamic) but very often I have no choice due to my height:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1zHXBr75-o

Problems/routes are graded. I know that I will never hit grade V8, I'm probably too old and started too late but I'm happy with the mobility and ability to climb in my 40s.