Playing football is considered a complete exercise, because the intense and varied movements through running, kicking and turning, help to keep the body healthy, making it a great option for women as well, as it helps prevent osteoporosis and PMS symptoms.
This sport is an excellent way to lose weight and maintain good shape, it also combats stress and anxiety, as well as improving social interaction, preventing cases of childhood obesity and depression. To achieve all the benefits, it is recommended to practice football for at least 30 minutes, two to three times a week.
1. Helps you lose weight
During a football game the entire body needs to work together, and this leads to a large expenditure of calories. The need for constant movement causes a great deal of fat burning, making it possible to lose, on average, 250 calories every 30 minutes.
Furthermore, due to the intense work of the body, football accelerates the metabolism, which makes the burning of calories last for many hours after the game.
2. Increases muscle mass
During football practice, different muscle groups in both the upper limbs, lower limbs and abdomen are constantly used, which causes the growth and multiplication of muscle fibers. In this way, over time, practitioners develop larger 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 video below for more tips for increasing muscle mass:
3. Helps lower high blood pressure
Playing football regularly is an excellent method to help control blood pressure, because, like other sports that require body movement, 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, playing football stimulates several body systems and activates their functioning, improving digestion, immunity, breathing, and preventing serious diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol and even cancer.
Discover other strategies to lower high blood pressure naturally.
4. Strengthens bones
The amount of calcium in the bones of those who play football is greater than those who do not do physical activities. The great stimulus to the body reduces the loss of calcium from the bones, and they become stronger.
In this way, this sport helps prevent osteoporosis, a disease that is very common in the elderly and women after menopause.
5. Reduces the risk of falls and fractures
Dribbling and stepping make people who play football have better flexibility, agility and reflexes. In this way, balance improves significantly, resulting in a lower risk of falls and bone fractures.
6. Reduces the chances of stress and depression
In addition to the release of hormones that bring well-being, such as endorphins and serotonin, playing football brings benefits by stimulating team spirit and group work, as there always needs to be contact with other people and friends. For these reasons, in addition to being easy and fun, practicing this sport reduces the feeling of stress or sadness, being an excellent ally for preventing and treating anxiety and depression.
For these reasons, for women, playing football is a great remedy against PMS symptoms.
7. Prevents the onset of Alzheimer’s
Practicing football makes people react faster and develop brain functions such as concentration, attention and reasoning. This way, the brain becomes more active and avoids the chances of developing brain diseases and dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.
Understand the risks of playing football
Before starting to play football, it is important to have a medical evaluation, especially of cardiac function to check for problems such as cardiac arrhythmias which, if not identified, can be life-threatening.
Furthermore, when playing football, some precautions are necessary to avoid harm, such as:
- Injuries to muscles and bones: This can happen in cases of sudden movements without adequate prior stretching;
- Traumas: As it is a sport with a lot of physical contact with other people, great care must be taken with injuries caused by impact with other people or objects, which can be bruises, fractures or even hemorrhages;
- Joint wear: Exaggerated practice and without guidance from a professional can cause excessive stress on the body, causing wear and tear on the cartilage that forms the joints.
It can be seen that the benefits far outweigh the harms of playing football, but it is advisable to stretch before or after training and, preferably, have the support of a professional, making playing football an excellent remedy for health and well-being.
