Perhaps the coolest birthday gift I ever received was a gym membership on my 16th birthday. Prior to that, I was an avid parti-cipant in track athletics, the sprints in particular.

My first forages into any sort of gym environment took place in the school ‘weights room’, where only exercises specific to the act of sprinting as fast as possible would be performed on rusty and archaic-looking bits of kit.

On that fateful birthday, however, my present seemed more of a ticket to getting buff than anything else, with running faster rele-gated to a quest for another time and place. The machines were fancy, the music was current, the lights were bright, the people were from all walks of life. It was all very novel and exciting.

With time, however, I started to realise getting buffer and running faster were perhaps not so distinct from one another and had many methods and processes in common. And it wasn’t just about looks or performance anymore either. Getting healthier, busting stress, getting engrossed and feeling good all joined the growing list of wonderful benefits to be had from living an active lifestyle.

OK, so there are so many varied routes to the same place, but which to choose? I would not dare use the word the ‘best’, but today we shall explore some pretty darned good options. Here are three options that are engaging, exciting and, perhaps, not the first that might spring to the conventional fitness-oriented mind.

The first is all-American inspired. Picture a stereotypical state-side suburban house with a large driveway emanating from the public sidewalk. Perched above the garage door surveying the driveway beneath, what would you expect to see?

If you said a basketball ring, then yes, many Americans do indeed love to shoot some hoops and engage in a little one-on-one competition in their free time.

When I’ve tried it myself with friends or family, I’ve always been surprised how time seems to fly and how hot and sticky we all tended to get surprisingly quickly. A basketball and a ring, not a huge investment by anyone’s standards, but what exactly will they provide?

Well, to get in shape and tick all the fitness boxes, we can set out some basic criteria and components. Our activity should ideally hone strength, speed, stamina and flexibility, and target both the upper and lower body in a balanced way.

Our activity should ideally hone strength, speed, stamina and flexibility

It should be engaging and fun, and provide some sort of challenge that motivates you to keep it up over a significant span of time. Playing basketball at an organised level, or even just enjoying it in its driveway variety, involves changing direction, maintaining balance, jumping, throwing and executing movement skills with a degree of accuracy.

All this ensures we are moving at different speeds, getting the heart rate up high, challenging the muscles of the entire body and exploiting full ranges of movement. That ticks all of the fitness boxes in my book any day.

While I take the opportunity to pass on a congratulatory nod to our national team ambassadors of our next sport, who continue to do us proud both locally and in the international scene, I continue to become increasingly convinced of the effectiveness of waterpolo as a means of developing exceptional fitness. And best of all, this time of year anyone can have a go.

If you’ve ever tried treading water while passing, shooting and attempting to foil opponents, you’ll know that this sport also engages the combined effort of upper and lower body.

It requires a demanding mix of strength and stamina, and the freedom of movement allowed by the water also permits the development of flexibility. The demands of tactical gameplay also mean changes of speed are employed automatically, not at all a bad tally of fitness components.

The water also ensures that impact on the joints are minimised, challenging the body in a very different yet complementary way to land-based activities.

Last but certainly by no means least, one of my personal favourites is boxing. Don’t let the very mention of the word send a shudder down your spine. Yes, while the nature of the sport might arguably be rooted in aggression, and stepping into a ‘real’ boxing gym can certainly be quite an intimidating experience, if you can get past its brutish exterior, a world of wonderful gifts awaits you in the hard-punching world of pugilistic preparation.

Many modern clubs and gyms have managed to present the methods used by some of the fittest athletes in the world in a fun, approachable and accessible way. The footwork, the high defensive hand guard, the rythmic head and body movement, the rotary movements of the core with every slip, weave and punch and the powerful hip extension with every quick duck and uppercut all combine with cunning tactics to provide a full-body, multi-faceted fitness workout that is second to none. Also, when it comes to stress relief, boxing training is a very tough opponent to beat, pardon the pun.

You don’t need to stand toe to toe with an actual opponent to reap the rewards. Just be prepared to deal a knock-out blow to lethargy and physical mediocrity if you do decide to slip on those punching gloves or having a go at these or any other way of getting your body, mind and spirit on the move in the right direction.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt