We fairly often comment on the relatively happy marriage that exists between the world of exercise for health and leisure and the world of competitive sport.
Traditional thinking reveals differences between the two, one of the most dramatic being that one is competitive and the other is not, but there are also some fundamental similarities. They both involve making us and our bodies better in some shape or form. Both involve being more physically active, which in turn leads to a host of physiological and psychological benefits.
The health and fitness realm has learned a lot about exercise from the cutting edge science and research associated with improving sport performance. The sports world has also gotten a little something out of it too.
Nowadays, it seems like the lines are blurring and the two spheres are almost merging into each other. With the growth of Crossfit, also known as the sport of fitness, and the increased popularity of figure and physique contests, it would seem we are intent on making fitness a competitive sport.
Meanwhile, many international sports federations have turned heel and embraced the relatively new philosophy of ‘sport for all’. This does not just mean making their sports more accessible to specific population groups, but literally packaging and promoting sport with the aim of reaching just about everybody, even those with no competitive aspirations whatsoever.
The international cycling federation claims that more than two billion people worldwide cycle. Whether you see it as a mode of transport or a source of leisure, if you ride a bike you are no less a cyclist than the winner of the Tour de France.
If everybody cycled to work, we would enjoy better health, less congestion in our cities and less pollution. Sports governing bodies are now pushing and promoting their disciplines as physical activity performed in its own right for its own intrinsic worth and not for some external gift like recognition, admiration or trophies and medals.
It is not all about the competition, which means that mainstream sport is suddenly looking a lot more like the fitness industry. It provides places for people to go if they want to start looking and feeling better as a result of good old-fashioned exercise. Whether you are lifting weights in a gym or running around playing five-a-side soccer with friends, your body is almost always the winner in perhaps the most important competition of all – a life of good health.
The international gymnastics federation similarly claims its sport is already practised by more people than we might initially think. Militaries have used gymnastics methods to keep their forces fighting fit since well before the times of the ancient Greeks, and if you have ever performed a press-up or a sit-up, you have done gymnastics too.
Regardless of age, gender or physical ability, if you simply get your body moving today, you can be relatively certain you’re moving it in nothing but the right direction
Almost all gym members and athletes hold stretching positions before or after a session and, guess what? Yes, they are all doing gymnastics as well.
Olympic weightlifting has also been promoted for some time now as a ‘sport for all sports’, practised by athletes in a multitude of disciplines to get stronger and more powerful, as well as those performing the lifts to improve functional strength for everyday life.
Similarly people hit heavy bags and practise punch combinations all over the world without ever intending to step inside a boxing ring. People have been splashing about in water since long before Michael Phelps became one of the most iconic Olympians of all time and donning running shoes long before Usain Bolt ran 100 metres in less than nine-and-a-half seconds.
It was in this context that I was asked whether all sports have physical gifts to bestow on prospective practitioners, to which I retorted with a resounding “Yes!” I was then challenged with the trick question: “Well, what about darts? Or snooker?” A little more difficult to answer, considering this all depends on exactly how you define sport, but while such activities may do little to help you shed fat or build muscle, their benefits are still hard to discount.
Success in many sports depends on honing physical fitness in the traditional sense, but others may call for a very specific type of skill, which is still a physical pursuit yielding benefits to the body systems more easily forgotten, like the nervous system.
Such sports often require the development of fine motor skills and movement patterns. They may also depend on the development of optimal hand-eye coordination, all important components of ‘physical literacy’ – a holistic approach to physical development important enough to heavily inspire modern physical education curriculums in schools.
Many great shooters or archers once threw quoits over cones or balls through hoops as young children at school. The direction we all seem to be headed in is to a world of physical activity and sport which is all-inclusive, making it easier than ever for absolutely anyone to get involved.
Everyone is welcome, and given the lifestyle threats we face from all quarters – including the widespread availability of cheap, calorie-dense and unhealthy foods, stressful life and work schedules, and an ever-increasing orientation to sedentary and inactive leisure pursuits – there’s never been a more important time to actively combat some of the dangers these pose.
Regardless of age, gender or physical ability, if you simply get your body moving today, you can be relatively certain you are moving it in nothing but the right direction.
matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt